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.
