Πολυρρηνία (aka Polyrinnia)

Randall thinks Falassarna has too many alternate spellings.  Gentle readers, I bring you:

Polyrinnia/Polyrinia/Polyrhinnia/Polirinnia/Polyrhennia...  You get the picture.  I think there may be 27 permutations of the Romanized spelling of this village name between Google maps, Wikipedia, Waze, and the Mythological Atlas of Greece, and to use any GPS, you have to know the exact spelling for each location, which may not be consistent on the app.  Google wanted the Acropolis of Polirrinia, the Gate of Ancient Polyrrenia, and the Necropolis of Ancient Polyrinnia.  Even signs issued by the government can't agree:

But what makes Polyrinnia special?  This is a "Scavenger Hunt" site.  There is no one encompassing archeological site, but rather a series of random monuments scattered around the locale.  Half the battle is identifying how many "items" are on the list.  So, I started with the three which Google divulged.  We figured we'd start with the Gate--it was likely to be reasonably accessible (i.e., not on the side of a hill) and probably pretty close to an existing road.  Unfortunately, Google and Polyrinnia haven't agreed on private versus public ways.  

What we did immediately find was a Roman cistern and a really awful map that had a barely legible legend.  We were able to separate Roman or Byzantine from Greek and approximate location and set off for the acropolis.  Randall was uncertain about whether, if we started to drive up the road which was barely the width of one car, he would be able to turn around so rather than confront the possibility that he would have to back down this road any distance, we elected to park in a "safe" place at the bottom of the hill and start hiking.  Of course, knowledge is expensive. It was a clear, sunny day and there were not just multiple place to turn around further up the steep incline, but there was a restaurant up there with parking!

Anyway, we walked past the restaurant, determined to see what we came for before we rewarded ourselves with any food or cold water (we had the water from the car which was room temperature after a 2+ hour drive).   There we found:

Rock cut homes

Stones in a circle

  A fantastic view further up the acropolis where we were never going to walk.

Random walls, but with the church in the background, it was easy to see where the rest of the stones had gone.

Boarded up ancient well.

Foundation of a Hellenistic house, now protecting a waste bin.

Another view to the north showing the Bay of Kissimos

  AND...A better map!

Well, after all that hiking, and searching every nook and cranny of the acropolis for something more meaningful to warrant the 4 rating from the Mythological Atlas of Greek Mythology, we decided to patron the restaurant on the acropolis and regroup.  

Our next foray was to the Necropolis (Cemetary) of Polyrrhinia, which was down the hill, towards the gorge.  The path wasn't particularly clear, and one had to trek onwards, often on faith, to make the real find.

 

Rock cut tombs, which bear a striking resemblance to the rock cut homes...

I prefer to be surprised by my archaeological finds, so I try to go without knowing what I was supposed to see.  fortunately, I had broken my rule, and knew where was something more.  I kept following the goat path through the olive trees and around the corner, and eventually found these chiseled tombs.

 

I'm pretty sure there was another impressive tomb on this hillside, and perhaps even dozens more that don't make anyone's may, but that will have to be another trip...or someone else's experience.  If you want to know the coordinates of this picture, ask me.