Location information

Thracian sanctuary

ESSYMI (Village) ALEXANDROUPOLI
Between Avandas and the next village that is called Eseme another hill is rising, in this area the hill is named Monastere or after the Turkish Chepel- Kagia. On the hills’ very difficult to reach top a Thracian sanctuary was discovered, the life span of it is starting from the prehistoric ages till the Hellenistic and Byzantine ages. In the yard of this sanctuary you can find chiseled constructions, like a temple, sinks, stairs, solar discs etc.

This extract is cited Mar 2003 from the Development Company of Alexandroupolis URL below.

Archaeological Site of Makre

MAKRI (Small town) ALEXANDROUPOLI
Tel: +30 25510 71219
  The first habitation of the site dates from the Neolithic period (5000 B.C.) and is attested in the area of the cave. The accumulated debris of the successive clay buildings of the prehistoric periods, gradually created a low mound (Toumba). In ca. 1000 B.C. a small settlement was established on the site by the Thracians and later, Greek colonists of the 7th century B.C. founded a small trading post of which the refuse pits are preserved, full of amphoras. In the Roman period, a strong retaining wall was constructed and during the Byzantine era, the site was used as a cemetery.
  The site was discovered during the First World War. George Bakalakis was the first archaeologist to visit the place and he identified it as the ancient city of Zone and cape Serreion. Excavations on the site were first carried out in 1988 by the 19th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and are still in progress. The Neolithic settlement which has come to light is one of the most important in the Balkans. The excavation results also prooved that the ancient settlement was simply a trading post and not the city of Zone, while cape Serreion can now be securely placed at the end of Ismaros.

  The most important monuments on the site are:
• Neolithic settlement.
  It consisted of post-hole structures of which the floors, pise walls, ovens, hearths etc. are preserved.
• Trading post of the Classical and Roman periods.
  Two pits, the fortification wall and houses are preserved.
• The "Cyclops cave".
  Small cave with two chambers.
• Rock-cut structures.
  Still visible today are stairways, niches, cisterns and an observation post.