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The excavation site is a cemetery outside a basilica. The southern part of the basilica is cut off from the dirt road that runs through it and serves the neighboring fields. The graves in the church are impressive. They are underground, spacious with beautiful decoration, inscriptions, etc. They are in the shape of catacombs. There are also above-ground coffin-shaped tombs, vaulted roofs of the familiar type also found in the other northern cemetery basilica. Unfortunately, the area is not accessible, except through a hole in the wire mesh on the south side.
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The ruins of the basilica "extra muros", discovered in 1992, are located in Krinides 500m from the parking lot and are well worth a detour, as they originally belonged to the entire complex of Philippi. It was badly damaged by the Ostrogoths during the siege of Philippi in AD 473. It was finally destroyed in the first half of the 7th century due to a strong earthquake and in the 9th century by the Bulgarians when they occupied Philippi. Some graves have been found. It is believed that there have been cemeteries there since Roman times. Next to the basilica there is a nice café under the trees, where you can relax from a walk there.
It was probably built by King Philip II in the middle of the 4th century BC and extensively redesigned and completed by the Romans in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, so that the function of the theater could meet the needs of the performances of the time. It has been partially restored, and is used in summer for theatre and musical performances. The view from the ranks over the ruins and Pangaion Hills in the background is fantastic.
It was a large, three-aisled basilica (130 x 50 m) with transept aisle on the east side, a square atrium, and a gallery over the aisles and the narthex (narrow, single-storey lobby at the main entrance). Fragments of the luxurious pavement and part of the ambo (pulpit) are preserved in the middle aisle. Particularly impressive are the frescoes that imitate orthostates (dados) in the porch of a chapel. Dated to the end of the 5th century AD.
The Forum Romanum/Agora was the central place for political decisions, economic transactions, social interactions and religious ceremonies, making it the vibrant centre of public life. It was a complex of public buildings, arranged around a central open space. The most impressive buildings are the northeastern and the northwestern temples.
Three-aisled basilica dates to about 550 AD. It has a narthex and appendages to the north and south (phiale, sacristy). The almost square aisle was covered by a vault supported by large pillars. A second vault covered the Holy Bema (closed space in Orthodox churches) .The basilica covers most of the previous Palaestra (No. 11), a humanistic Roman institution for physical and spiritual education. The Palaestra consisted of a central courtyard, rooms and a small amphitheatre.
A three-aisled basilica with the remains of luxurious marble inlays on the floor. Dated as no later than the 6th century