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>The first inhabitants would definitely recognise them immediately today from the unique landscape (like Yerevan). I doubt someone would recognize Marseille at
by Bayart 7y ago
>The first inhabitants would definitely recognise them immediately today from the unique landscape (like Yerevan).
I doubt someone would recognize Marseille at first sight. If they looked hard enough they might recognize the harbour having vaguely the same shape and some mountains outside the city being the same.
I actually annotated a drawing of Roman-era Marseille with the names of modern features a few years back [1].
The natural features were massively overbuilt or even erased (like during the 19th c. to make way for avenues), which made things level off somewhat. The same goes for every city. Go to Rome someday. The famed hills are now invisible, expect for the Capitol (although it would look far less remarkable if the Forum hadn't been excavated).
[1] https://i.imgur.com/zsc0Zz1.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zsc0Zz1.jpg
- mytailorisrich 7y agoThe islands, hill next to the harbour, and hills around the city are quite unique and as visible now as they were then. The major change that has happened is that the trees are now all gone. I'm thinking that the view looking to the south end of the city, with its striking hills, would be instantly recognised by any local from the Greek period. I agree, though, that the harbour itself would most likely be unrecognisable, not only because of the extensive urbanisation but because the shape has been seriously remodelled.