Greece to spend 2.3 million euros on ancient Philippi

The head of the Eastern Macedonia-Thrace Region Christos Metsios has approved the spending of 2.3 million euros from the region’s 2014-2020 Operational Programme to carry out improvements at the Philippi archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Centre since 2016.

According to an announcement on Thursday, the money will be spent on works to improve the site, making it more accessible and functional. The project will be supervised by the Kavala-Thassos Antiquities Ephorate, which is responsible for the ancient theatre at Philippi, the Roman Forum and Octagon and the early Christian churches.

It includes removal of the tarmac of the old national road from Kavala and Drama, which for many years had split the site in half. The road had previously been the only one connecting the two cities and had passed through the middle of the site. Its removal will finally allow the site to be fully unified, while the ancient road network between the monuments will be excavated and unified to improve access, while excess earth and rubble from previous excavations will be removed.

Other improvements will include a new perimeter fence, a new entrance to the west of the site, restoration of the eastern fortifications and archaeological verification of the finds, with the production of the necessary informational material for visitors.