Aigai - 2021

Aigai. Angelika Kottaridi (Ephorate of Antiquities of Imathia) reports on new discoveries made during the study and maintenance of the large building complex located near the NW gate of the ancient city.

The complex consists of square and rectangular rooms, arranged around a large courtyard. The S part of the E and W wings have so far been revealed. To the E there is a temple-like area with two Doric columns overlooking the courtyard. This building was constructed by the end of the fourth century BC, but during the reign of Philip V (221–179 BC) renovations were carried out. Mosaic floors were laid, and the walls were covered in coloured plaster (mainly purple, but also greens). The complex was destroyed in the middle of the second century BC, but parts of the W wing and some areas near the E wing were rebuilt, and in the Augustan era a large peristyle (1000 sqm) was added to the SE.

Finds from this area included marble altars, fragments of a marble frieze (with ornamentation), figurines, and seals with the Macedonian shield. Roof tiles were found stamped with the name ‘AMYNTOU’: these help to date the building, as these probably refer to Amyntas III, who had a cult established in the area.

A particularly rare find was a ‘poem’ inscribed on a skyphos of the second century BC, thought to be a ‘student exercise’. More information on this find will be presented at the 33rd Archaeological Conference for excavations in Macedonia and Thrace (22nd–24th April 2021).