In the wider area of Thessaloniki, a Neolithic settlement (5300 - 4500 BC) developed with stilt and clay houses, as well as stone-paved common areas for craft activities.
It was located at the mouth of the Thermaic gulf and flourished mainly in the Archaic years (7th - 6th century BC) until the beginning of the 5th century BC. In 480 BC its port was the base of the Persian fleet during the campaign in Southern Greece. Some researchers place ancient Thermi in the center of today's Thessaloniki, others locate it in Ano Toumpa Thessaloniki with a harbor at Cape Karabournaki (Mikro Embolo) and others, on the contrary, consider that its core and port was in Karabournaki. In the last two places, ancient settlements with remains of archaic and classical buildings have been excavated in recent years. The abundant mobile findings testify to close relations with other regions of the ancient world (Evia, Ionia, Aeolia, Attica, Corinth).
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou