Chalkis
Traces of settlement from the early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC). Mycenaean cemeteries of chambered tombs from the period 1600 - 1200 BC. The city is mentioned by Homer in the list of ships that took part in the Trojan campaign.
It was founded around 800 BC. with the settlement of neighboring towns. The presence of the city during the Second Greek Colonization in the 8th century BC was intense (colonies in Chalkidiki and Lower Italy). At the end of the 8th - beginning of the 7th century BC her conflict with Eretria for the sovereignty of the Lilandion Field is set. In the 4th century BC became a Macedonian naval base. In 197 BC it was conquered by the Romans. The city was devastated by an earthquake in 365 AD. The bridge over the Strait of Euripus was constructed after 411 BC and at the end of the 4th century BC became a "diplethros" (length 60 m). The ancient city is located under the modern one. On the hill of Veli Baba, a fortified acropolis of the classical period (5th - 4th century BC), while in Vathrovouni, above the bay of Agios Stefanos, a large part of the Hellenistic wall with 18 towers (3rd century BC) is preserved, which reached the Wheel and the spring of Arethousa.
Classical houses, cisterns as well as workshops for metalwork, pottery and purple processing have been excavated in various districts of the new city. Some Doric capitals from the area of the medieval castle probably belong to the important temple of Olympian Zeus (first quarter of the 5th century BC).
Remains of houses with arcades, patios and men's houses with mosaic floors belong to the Hellenistic period (3rd - 2nd century BC). The city also flourished during the 2nd century. A.D. and then mansions with luxurious equipment (patios, baths, frescoes) date. Tombs of the classical, Hellenistic and Roman times with various gifts. During the reign of Justinian I (6th century) the two banks of the Euripus were connected by a drawbridge (couple). An early Christian floor with plant decoration (first half of the 5th century) comes from an unknown building. Agia Paraskevi, a three-aisled basilica with a wooden roof, was built for the first time in the years of Theodosius I (5th century) as a temple of the Virgin and was probably rebuilt in the 12th century. Remains of the baptistery west of the church.
In the Archaeological Museum finds from the area of Chalkida but also the rest of Evia.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou