The Ancient Methone Archaeological Project and Publication

John Papadopoulos Distinguished Professor of Archaeology & Classics, UCLA and Director, Athenian Agora Excavations

Ancient Methone (Pieria) was a major port and industrial center in northern Greece from the first millennium B.C. until Philip II of Macedon destroyed the city in 354 B.C., and in the process lost his right eye. Excavations at the site since 2003 have unearthed Bronze Age burials, important Early Iron Age deposits and inscriptions, and direct evidence of the Macedonian siege, destruction, and aftermath, thereby extending the history of the settlement from the Late Neolithic period into the fourth century B.C. In 2012 an international team from UCLA joined the Ephorate of Antiquities of Pieria to study and publish these discoveries, and as the Ancient Methone Archaeological Project, launched a fresh phase of multidisciplinary fieldwork from 2014 to 2017.