Drama: The existence of an ancient settlement was confirmed by findings in excavation work

During excavations at I.N. Agia Sophias in found significant that reveal an unknown period for the city and also the existence of an ancient settlement. An ancient settlement of historical times exists under the city of Drama. The excavations carried out in the area where the church of Agia Sophia is located resulted in the discovery of findings revealing the ancient city. This claim has not yet been established with architectural remains Some recent data was presented by archaeologist Constantina Ameridos at the 36th annual Archaeological Meeting on the Archaeological Project in Macedonia and Thrace, held in Thessaloniki. “At this time work is being done to restore and promote the Holy Temple of Agia Sophia Drama, a temple located in the center of Drama and dates back to the 10th century. The excavations began in 2020 in the surrounding area of the temple, as part of a project that is included in the NSRF 2014 – 2020 and is carried out by the Drama Antiquities Agency”, Mrs Ameridos explained to the Athenian/Macedonian News Agency. “Until now we have found an extensive cemetery of the population living inside the castle of Drama, with 159 burials of various types of Byzantine years”, the archaeologist stressed, saying that the results of the specific excavation research concerning the Byzantine part, namely the cemetery and the architectural elements of the temple, will be announced when the excavation work is completed. The announcement at the Thessaloniki Conference concerned the pre-Christian findings of the excavation, i.e. what has emerged and is part of times before Christ, the Hellenistic and Roman years. These findings are shells, i.e. pieces of pottery, dating back to Hellenistic times, a section of clay figurine of male form, a magic stone of catapult, a section of marble anathema column and a fragment of inscription of Roman times from a tombstone or sarcophagus. “It is to total that assures us what we already knew before, that within the center of Drama and under the city, there was an ancient settlement of historical times. That hasn’t been established so far, and we don’t know exactly where. However, wherever we dig, there are findings of pre-Christian times,” stressed Mrs Ameridos. After all, excavations that have been made from time to time by the competent Ephorates of Antiquities have brought to light a set of marble or stone statues and busts.