Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes in Wien, Band 82/2013, pp. 305-338, 2024/10/15
On the southern slope of the hill which leads from Castelluccio to the acropolis of Elea lies a large area
(91 × 95 m, sacred area 8) known in the scientific literature as ›Terrace of Zeus‹, since 3 inscribed stelae
with dedications to Zeus Ourios, [?] Olympios Kairos and Pompaios were found there. This sacred place
was extensively excavated in 1927 by A. Maiuri and later on in 1953 by P. C. Sestieri. These excavations
brought to light the remains of a stepped structure which is commonly interpreted as a monumental altar
(approximately 25.3 × 6.9 m). The present contribution summarizes the state of research regarding this
sacred place and focuses on the archaeological documentation, analysing the remains of the monumental altar and its neighbouring structures. The measurements and setting lines still visible on the steps allow a
reconstruction of the base layers and suggest that this structure may have been planned to be built based
on a foot unit of 0.2875 m. For the upper layers too few elements are left to permit any reconstruction
proposal.
