Stadium and Stera

The Stadium in Byllis is unique in comparison with the horseshoe-shaped stadia in antiquity. Due to the terrain it has only one arm which draws on the slope of the terrain and had a length of 134m while the standard length of stadia was about 190 m. stadium. Under the northern part runs a large water reservoir. This is the part with the best preserved stadium stairs, built with rectangular blocks. There were 19 stairs with a height of 0,30 m and a width of 0,40 m. Such size does not offer room for seats for the spectators , they attended sporting competitions staying.

The Stera, which serves to collect rain water from the steps of the stadium and, apparently, from the roof of the great stoa, has a rectangular form of 50,90 m x 4,20m. It is not excavated until the end but the evidence suggests a depth of 6m. It represents a large reservoir of water, filled during the winter and serving to supply water for the numerous citizens, who gathered in the agora during political activities, festivals, theater performances or sports competitions. It is covered with a system of limestone blocks and for avoiding the infiltration of dirt, the sphere has been plastered with a mix of ceramics. In a block of one of the first stairs was carved an inscription in Greek: ” When was prytan Aleksomas, Botihu, son of Lykiskut, made inscriptions for his release from slavery, according to the law ”.

In this part of the stadium are found some bronze objects, apparantly serving as access ticket, with the inscription Byllis and with a hole in the middle, so that it could be fixed at the belt because outfits at that time had no pockets.