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Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-03-13
CONTENTS
[01] New Philippi finds presented
[01] New Philippi finds presented
Excavations conducted at the archaeological site of Philippi since 1988
have unearthed new findings. Philippi is an ancient town east of
Thessaloniki in central-eastern Macedonia, northern Greece, situated
east of the Strymon River on the border with the province of Thrace.
King Philip II of Macedon (382-336 BC), the father of Alexander the
Great, gave the town its name and fortified it to control nearby gold
mines. In 42 BC it was the scene of the decisive Roman battle in which
Mark Antony and Octavian (later Augustus) defeated Brutus and Cassius,
the leading assassins of Julius Caesar. Many Christian ruins,
especially of the 5th - 6th century AD, are spread over the site. St.
Paul had preached the gospel to Christian converts there. Private
residences and an agora in successive residential phases through the
centuries have been discovered in the region of Philippi as new
excavations brought to light up to three layers of settlements, one
built on top of the other during different time periods. Among the
findings of the new university-sponsored excavation, to be presented
during the 21st meeting assessing the 2007 archaeological work, which
was launched Thursday at the Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum, is a
4th century AD mosaic floor of impressive technique featuring
geometrical design. The recently unearthed floor was discovered
beneath findings that were built earlier, dated in the times of Emperor
Justinian (527-565 AD). In 2006 and 2007, excavations were funded by
Thessaloniki's Aristotle University and the Macedonia-Thrace Ministry
conducted with the participation of archaeology professors, associate
professors and over forty graduate and postgraduate archeology
students.
Caption: Findings during excavations at the archaelogical site of
Philippi, northern Greece on Wednesday 12 March 2008 ANA-MPA/STR
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