The low rocky hill in the valley of the Acheron has been frequented by people since the prehistoric period; some even buried their children here. Many centuries later, in the Hellenistic period, someone erected this complicated building we call the Necromanteion. Around 167 BCE it was destroyed by fire, perhaps deliberately set by the Romans who were punishing the Epirotes by destroying 70 of their cities for offering resistance. As time went by, in the 16th century CE a monastery was founded on the ruins of the Hellenistic complex. It is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. A short distance away, perhaps in the first half of the 19th century, a fortified house appears (koulia). A local Ottoman landlord probably used it to control his land and his peasants.