In Ampelonas (NW) an ancient town has been found that was abandoned at the end of the 5th century BC. It is assumed that at the period when Delos maintained its sacred nature solely, the initial town of Delos was built here and it was inhabited by those who were not directly related to the operation of Apollo’s Sanctuary. Relics of the Hellenistic town and the sanctuary of Hercules are preserved in the area of Agia Triada. South of the islet, on a hill, there is a lighthouse which is considered to have been a copy of the notorious lighthouse of Alexandria. On the east side, across Delos, there are the ancient cemeteries. Circa 426 BC the Athenians performed the so-called “purification of Delos” by opening up all the graves on the sacred island and transferring the bones and offerings to Rineia, where they were buried in a common ditch, the “cesspit of purification”. It was then that they decided that no one would be born or die in Delos, but that the parturient and the seriously ill would be transferred to Rineia – that is why treatment centres were created and the islet was not just an endless necropolis. The cesspit was excavated by the first Inspector of Antiquities of Cyclades, Mr. Dim. Stavropoulos. You will see the findings at the Archaeological Museum of Mykonos. West of the islet there was the town of Rineians and significant sanctuaries.
Rineia Archaeological findings
