Founded by Athenians in the 11th century BC, Priene was an important city by the 4th century BC. Today it is an archaelolgical site. The town has a fine site overlooking the plain of the River Menderes (Meander) and is a planned town with a rectangular grid of streets. As with many other Greek cities, there was no room for gardens within the city and no need for a hunting park, because it is near wooded mountains. There are however likely to have been horticultural plots on the irrigated plain below the city of Priene.
