It is located about 20 km west of Alexandroupolis and was founded at the end of the 7th century by settlers who came from Samothrace. Herodotus mentions it as one of the most important fortified cities, "the walls of Samothrace". The excavation findings suggest the existence of an economically strong city that maintained special contacts with the Ionian cities.
An interesting excavation find is the wall, made of hewn stones, with square towers, with a total length of 1,370 m. Houses and shops, organized according to the Hippodamian system, dating from the 5th to the 2nd century BC were discovered in the walled settlement. Most houses are built with hewn stones, have large rooms (andrones) and paved courtyards. Also found to the north of the southeast tower, the sanctuary of the goddess Demeter, a three-room rectangular building with an enclosure. A treasure of silver and gold tiles with cult performances (4th-3rd century AD) was excavated here.
Outside the western wall, excavations brought to light the extensive cemetery containing a variety of tombs, from cist and tile-roofed, stone and clay sarcophagi to inhumations and cremations as well as a prehistoric burial mound.
Editor: Niki Kalopaidis