Introduction.
Nekromanteion architecturally appears as (see map ahead) an almost rectangular polygon  62,40 x 46,30 meters wide, with an entry on the northern side, which internally isolates a square structure 22 meters wide, the sacred area, central and most ancient core of the oracle, in its turn divided into three aisles stretching out in North-South direction. The external walls of the main body, built in polygonal masonry, are 3.30 meters wide and preserved for a height of about 3.30 meters; the internal walls are only 1 meter wide.

All around the sacred area a series of rooms take their stand acting as a logistic support to the main building: cult rooms, stores, passages, the courtyard and its annexes on the western side, including the priest and visitor quarters. Above the sacred area it can be observed what remains of an 18-th century a.D. monastery, the small church of Ayos Ioannis Prodromos, resting on the walls of the ancient central core.

Initially the Nekromanteion was a two-storey building. The second floor, constructed with square, baked and unbaked bricks, timber and mud tied, collapsed in consequence of the fire set by the Romans. The structure is completed by an underground room (the house of Hades),  15 x 4,50 x 4,50 meters wide, stretching out just under the central aisle of the main building. Therefore three levels can now be observed, the undergroung cript, the ground floor with the main building and its annexes, the small church on the top floor, three centuries old only. All the above is immediately verifiable from the vertical section below which anyway does not include the church profile.
 
 

General "image map" of the Nekromanteion
Click the coloured parts of the map below to visit the archaeological excavation

	H. Entry courtyard 1. Northern passage   1', 1", 2' Lodgings   1"' Bathroom 2. Eastern passage 3. Labyrinth 4. Main Sanctuary     I,  A1, A: Western aisle   K, M1, M: Eastern aisle 5. External passage 6. Purification room Back to homepage reference 1 of bibliography
	The House of Hades Vertical sections Back to homepage Back to introduction the image on the left is taken from the publication in reference 1 of bibliography