Brauron is located in eastern Attica.It was supposedly one of the 12 ancient cities of Attica prior to the synoikismos of Theseus, during which all of these communities were unified with Athens. In the historical period, Brauron was best known as the site of a sanctuary of Artemis, part of which has been excavated. To judge from the numerous votive offerings, the sanctuary seems to have been founded in the 9th or 8th century. The early cult may have focused on a sacred spring and on a cave. The first stone temple to Artemis is thought to date to the 6th century B.C. Most of the buildings on the site today date from the 5th century, and include a stone bridge and an elaborate stoa with dining rooms. The Temple of Artemis was also probably rebuilt in the 5th century. Numerous votive reliefs and statues were dedicated in the sanctuary in the late 5th and 4th centuries. An inscription dated to the 3rd century B.C. orders the inspection and repair of several buildings at the sanctuary, perhaps implying some sort of damage or a period of neglect. Sometime later, the sanctuary seems to have been largely abandoned, and the site was buried (and therefore preserved) by the flooding of the nearby Erasinos river. The evidence for any activities in the sanctuary during the Roman period is minimal.