The original inhabitants
Archaeological Museum of Arta
The average age of the ancient people of Ambracia was 36 to 45 years for the men, and 33 to 42 years for the women, since many of them lost their lives during childbirth. Men were significantly taller than women, reaching an average height of 172 cm compared to 158 for women, but as we move from the Classical to the Hellenistic period they seem to grow shorter, losing as much as four centimeters on average. Most people were employed as day labourers, farmers, herders, or artisans. Anemia was widespread, even though people had access to sufficient animal protein. The culprit must have been malaria that was endemic in the mosquito-infested waters of the Ambracian Gulf.
As seen on
Arta: the royal city