The Greek Ministry of Culture has recently announced that the archaeological site of Philippi located in the municipality of Kavala will be the official Greek candidate for evaluation and inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Philippi's forum and basilica B seen from the acropolis
[Credit: Marsyas/WikiCommons]


A study on the site was prepared and conducted by the Scientific Working Group of Kavala Municipality in collaboration with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the local ephorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and of Byzantine Antiquities, and is awaiting final approval by the Greek Ministry of Culture.

According to the Archaeology News Network, the Ministry of Culture will present a candidature dossier in September at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and in February 2015 the international organization will evaluate the submission.

Philippi (or Philippoi - Φίλιπποι) was a city in eastern Macedonia, established by Philip II in 356 BC and abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest. The present municipality Filippi is located near the ruins of the ancient city and it is part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace in Kavalla Greece. According to Wikipedia:

"Philippi was established by the king of Macedon, Philip II, on the site of the Thasian colony of Krinides or Crenides (Κρηνἱδες, "Fountains"), near the head of the Aegean Sea at the foot of Mt. Orbelos about 8 miles north-west of Kavalla, on the northern border of the marsh that in Antiquity covered the entire plain separating it from the Pangaion hills to the south of Greece.
 
The objective of founding the town was to take control of the neighbouring gold mines and to establish a garrison at a strategic passage: the site controlled the route between Amphipolis and Neapolis, part of the great royal route which crosses Macedonia from the east to the west and which was reconstructed later by the Roman Empire as the Via Egnatia. Philip II endowed the new city with important fortifications, which partially blocked the passage between the swamp and Mt. Orbelos, and sent colonists to occupy it. Philip also had the marsh partially drained, as is attested by the writer Theophrastus. Philippi preserved its autonomy within the kingdom of Macedon and had its own political institutions (the Assembly of the demos). The discovery of new gold mines near the city, at Asyla, contributed to the wealth of the kingdom and Philip established a mint there. The city was finally fully integrated into the kingdom under Philip V.
 
The city remained. It contained 2,000 people. When the Romans destroyed the Antigonid dynasty of Macedon in 167 BC and divided it into four separate states (merides), it was Amphipolis and not Philippi that became the capital of the eastern Macedonian state.
 
Almost nothing is known about the city in this period, aside from the walls, the Greek theatre, the foundations of a house under the Roman forum and a little temple dedicated to a hero cult. This monument covers the tomb of a certain Exekestos, is possibly situated on the agora and is dedicated to the κτίστης (ktistès), the foundation hero of the city."

No announcements have been made on when either confirmation or rejection of the plan will happen.