Paleochristian Basilica of Kraneion - Paleochristian Basilica of Kraneion

Freely accessible gigantic Early Christian Basilica. The basilica of Kraneio is located to the east of the modern settlement of Ancient Corinth, outside the early Byzantine wall of the city and near the gate of Kechrei of the ancient fortification. Pausanias said that the area "Kranio" was a grove of cypress trees, where there was a temple of Aphrodite Melanida, the chthonic worship of which took place in cemeteries. The density of pottery from the classical, Hellenistic and Roman years, makes the use of the space from the classical to the Roman period certain. Finds of burial monuments before the basilica, justify the cemetery character of the area and the basilica that is considered to have been built during the first twenty years of the 6th century AD. and experienced later phases of use and conversions. It is a three-aisled basilica, with pillars on pillars, a semicircular arch of a sanctuary with a synthron, a non-protruding transverse aisle and a narthex. It is framed by outbuildings, funerary chambers, a triangular building and a large courtyard to the south, a patio to the west and a baptistery to the northwest. In plan, it resembles the basilica of the martyr Leonides in Lechaio, but it is smaller in scale. In the masonry of the basilica carved porous structures were used in the corners and on the thresholds and plinths. Externally the masonry was covered with plaster and internally with orthomarbling and possibly with mosaics. The basilica had marble floors in various colors and formations. The burial use of the space continued in the 7th century. Smaller domed temples succeeded the basilica in the mid-Byzantine period (ca. 10th-12th century) and during the Frankish occupation (1204-1453), occupying the eastern part of the central aisle. The baptistery had also been turned into a temple, while in parts of the basilica there are indications of residential remains after its ruin and abandonment.