«Tour description»

Histria was named after the Greek name for the Danube River and was founded 656 B.C. It lays about 30 miles (70 km) away from Constanta.
The drive up to the coast through rural Romania is pleasant as your Romanian guide describes the passing scenes and prepares you for the archeological site.
On the shore of the lake Sinoe, in the Northern part of Istria peninsula, 2.600 years ago was raised the city if Histria, founded by the Greek merchants and navigators in order to trade with the native Getae. Olive oil, wines, Greek valuable objects were changed on cereals, honey, wax, beef skins, salted fish s.o.
Histria is the most valuable asset of the Romanian national heritage from the Greek, Roman and Byzantine Ages. During its history of 14 centuries (7th century B.C. – 7th century A.D.), Histria was connected to all the major events of the Greek, Roman and Byzantine world. It was one of the first Greek colonies founded in the basin of the Black Sea, being the oldest colony on the West coast. At the same time, Histria is the oldest urban structure on the Romanian territory. Although essentially it is a Greek fortress (due to its institutions, religion and culture), Histria is also a focal point of the spread of the Roman civilization. Later on, the Byzantine era gave Histria a new status, that of an Episcopal centre. The town started to decline after the middle of the 7th century, when the urban life style was replaced by the rural one, which also disappeared later. The area remained abandoned and forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1868. The archaeological research started in 1914 and still goes on today. Histria, with its 73 ha, is the archaeological site on which research has been made for the longest period in Romania. The urban ensemble discovered here has been called the Romanian Pompeii. The nine decades of archaeological research produced a large quantity of information on essential aspects of national and universal history.

The Halmyris bay, where the city was, began to be sanded and slowly the access to the Black Sea got more difficult. Even so, the trade on see was made until the 6th century. The invasion of the Avars destroys almost entirely the fortress, and the people are forced to go in safer places. The name and the city disappear.

Histria, the oldest urban settlement from our country, was discovered and brought to light by the excavations of the great historian and archaeologist Vasile Parvan. The museum besides the ruins displays an unique collection of high valuable archeological discoveries from the area.
Afterwards you drive back to Constanta and visit here the Roman Mosaic, which used to cover over 2000 square meters, being one of the largest of its kind in this part of the world. The Mosaic Complex houses 11 ware houses used by the Romans to store the goods coming by ship in the Tomis harbor.
Afterwards drive back to the ship.

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