Caulonia or Caulon (; also spelled Kaulonia or Kaulon) was an ancient city of Magna Graecia on the shore of the Ionian Sea. At some point after the destruction of the city by Rome in 200 BC, the inhabitants moved to a location further inland. There they founded Stilida, which developed into the modern town Stilo. Since 1863 AD the name Caulonia has also been used by the city formerly known as Castelvetere. The city changed its name to Caulonia in honor of the ancient city, which was mistakenly believed to have been located in its territory. Today the ruins of the ancient city can be found near Monasterace in the Province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy. Some of the artefacts which have been excavated at the site can now be seen in the Monasterace Archeological Museum. Geography The city was located between the mouth of the Stilaro river to the south and the mouth of the Assi river to the north. In ancient times the mouth of the Assi was located slightly further to the south. Punta Stilo, the "Cape of Columns", is a gentle arc-shaped headland located immediately north of the site. In ancient times the shoreline of Caulonia lay 300 meter further seawards. More than one hundred fluted columns which have been discovered on the seabed in front of Caulonia stood then on a broad arc-shaped headland. This headland probably did not have natural or artificial facilities which could provide protected anchorage for ships. The recession of the coastline started around 400 BC and ended in the 1st century AD. It was the result of a tectonic phase which caused landward rise and submergence of the seafloor. The shoreline stabilized in the period from the 1st century AD to the present. The walls of the city enclosed an area of approximately 35 to . History Foundation There is no literary evidence for the foundation date of Caulonia, but archeological evidence shows that it was founded early in the second half of the seventh century BC. Both Strabo and Pausanias mention that the city was founded by Achaean Greek colonists. Pausanias also gives the name of the oecist, or founder, as Typhon of Aegium. Others sources such as Pseudo-Scymnus claim that it was founded by Croton. A. J. Graham does not consider these two options to be mutually exclusive because the oecist and settlers could have been invited