Brauron is located on the east coast of Attica, in a fertile valley which in ancient times was watered by the river Erasinus. The first human habitation dates back to about 3500 BC, and in the ninth century BC the sanctuary of Artemis was built on the banks of the Erasinus. Here the custom of arcteia was honoured, in accordance with which young girls, who were known as bears (arctoi) stayed for a while with the goddess preparing for married life and child-bearing. Also worshipped at Brauron was Iphigenia, who was traditionally believed to have stayed a while in the sanctuary before dying. In the archaeological site, we can see the ruins of the so-called cenotaph of Iphigenia, of a Doric temple of Artemis (5th century BC) and of a Doric stoa where the bears lived, the earliest Π-shaped colonnade yet found in Greece (420 BC). The offering of the faithful and other finds from the site can be seen in the interesting Museum of Bauron.