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Excavation of byzantine Pynda

• Μαρκή, Ευτέρπη

The research of ancient Pydna (Byzantine Kitros), carried out by the 9th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, includes: 1 ) the discovery of the episcopal church of Kitros of the Middle Byzantine period, dated to the 10th century A.D.; it is a basilica with a dome and a surrounding porch outside the building, 2) the location of two earlier basilicas, below the former, dated to the beginning of the 5th or the third quarter of the 6thcentury, 3) the conclusions concerning the destruction of the episcopal church by a fire about the end of the 12th century and its use as a military camp by the Francs in 1204;then, a high tower with a well was built in the Berna, while an underground domed cistern was built north from the temple for the needs of the camp, and 4) the discovery of a cave for worship in the slope of the late Bronze Age mound; the floor of the cave is painted, while the murals of the walls belong to two phases, dated to the mid-llth century and the 12th century A.D. The excavation carried out in 1988 aimed at the location of the boundaries of the archaeological site. A gate covered with a vaulted roof was discovered south from the cistern, while 55 m. of the eastern part of the surrounding wall and 65 of the northern were also excavated. Furthermore, the excavational data indicated that the dimensions of the castle built by Justinian in the southern part of the ancient city were4.20x1.30 m. The castle was built in two phases and it was afterwards altered and repaired. The inner wall, 1.40 m. wide, and the big square tower of the northern surrounding wall were built during the first phase; the outer wall, 1.30 m. wide, made of stones, plaster and fragments of bricks, was built in the mid-Byzantine period. Finally, certain parts of the surrounding wall, built with cloisonne masonry recalling the Episcopal Church, were built later

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Πύνδα, Πιερία, συνέδρια , βυζαντινές αρχαιότητες

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