Brauron - Modern Vravrona

Modern Vravrona

The modern Brauron, known as Vravrona, is a tiny settlement of Markopoulo located nearly 1 km southeast of the archaeological site. It contains dozens of homes; the population in 1991 was 90. The urban area lies about 200 m northward and is linked with a road between Markopoulo and Artemis (Loutsa). The town never grew because the adjacent gulf of Vravrona is rocky and not suited to swimming. The area, amply watered by the seasonal Erasinos river, was once famous for its tomatoes and figs. The locally grown batala tomato varietal is considered the best in Greece: it is sweet, very flavorful, very large and fleshy, and consequently very heavy. This spelled the varietal's commercial doom, as the fruit cannot be stored at all because it collapses under its own weight within a few days after picking. It was only sold at roadside stands by local farmers. Nowadays batala tomatoes are found only in home gardens. The Vravrona or "royal" figs are also very large, sweet, with a thin, light green skin even when fully ripe. They are also practically impossible to store, and furthermore they grow so large that, as soon as they are perfectly ripe, their underside starts bursting apart. This means they are commercially non-viable and their cultivation is restricted to home orchards.