85-94

Koromilia, Kilkis prefecture, 2003-4 : excavation of the early christian Basilica

• Μακροπούλου, Δέσποινα
• Καψούδας, Πέτρος

The small village of Koromilia is 11 km north of Kilkis. Excavation there brought to light a three-aisled basilica with external dimensions of 14.90x21.65 m. So far the nave, the south aisle, and the sanctuary have been excavated The nave is separated from the aisles by colonnades which rested on elevated stylobates. Four letters (builders’ symbols) are incised in the columns and the capitals of each colonnade: A, L, E, Z. The floor of the nave is chip-paved with white and blue marble. The east half of the mosaic is badly scorched, indicating how the church was destroyed. The entire south aisle was uncovered. No trace of a floor was found. Approximately in the middle of the aisle and beside the south wall a tile-grave was found containing an infant burial without grave goods. The east part of the north aisle has been excavated. A fresco on the north wall depicts a fishscale pattern on a red ground. The floor of the narthex has the same chip-pavement as the nave. In the west wall are two doorways, coinciding approximately with the stylobates. Another doorway at the south end of the narthex leads into a four-sided space. A matching space was found at the north end of the narthex. After the church was destroyed the building was despoiled. The excavation yielded fragments of closure slabs, columns, capitals, coins, small objects of everyday use, and a considerable quantity of pottery, all of which suggests a dating for the church in the 6th c. The ruins of a settlement survive on Profitis Ilias or Kasteli Hill north-east of Koromilia.In the late 18th or early 19th c. a three-aisled timber-roofed church was built on a low eminence to the north of the village. The east wall survives, together with the sanctuary apse. The quantity and extent of the antiquities of Koromilia suggest that a hitherto unknown settlement flourished there. On the basis of the village’s Turkish and Bulgarian names, we conclude that its original Greek name was Herakleia.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)
• Χριστιανικές αρχαιότητες

θρησκευτικά κτήρια, Παλαιοχριστιανική εποχή, Κιλκίς, συνέδρια

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