The hill of Prophet Elias offers a beautiful view and has always been a strategic point for controlling the area. It is located near Arnaia and is considered the acropolis of the ancient Arnaea mentioned by Thucydides in the Peloponnesian War. The excavations of 2003 by the 10th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, led by archaeologist I. Papangelos, uncovered the wall, while on the slopes, the ruins of the Acropolis are preserved. Pottery, coins, and tombs have been found. The hill took its name from the small chapel that exists there. It is mentioned from the period of the Macedonian Struggle (1904-1908), but it may have been rebuilt later.
The archaeological site of Prophet Elias is identified by some scholars as the location of ancient Arnaia, although this theory has not been fully substantiated. Thucydides may be the only reliable source for the ancient city. The great Athenian general and historian mentions that the Spartan general Brasidas, leading his army from ancient Akanthos towards Amphipolis, departed from the city of Arnaea.
Therefore, Brasidas, having set out from Arnaea in Chalkidiki, marched with his army towards Amphipolis, and upon arriving around dusk, he reached Avlona and Vormiskos.
(Thucydides IV,103).
Based on historical data and archaeological findings, it is hypothesized that the location of the ancient city of Arnaia was to the north of the Prophet Elias hill. According to other archaeologists, around the hill there was another ancient city, Avgaia, and at the top of the hill, its acropolis was built. It is said that the city of Arnaia was a colony of the Andrians, a theory supported by the fact that in Andros, after the period of the Persian Wars, a city named Arni is mentioned. The time and cause of the destruction of Arnaia are also unknown. It may have followed the fate of the cities of the Olynthian League, which were completely destroyed by the King of Macedonia, Philip II.
What has been confirmed is that human settlement on Prophet Elias hill was already organized during prehistoric times (around the 15th century BC) and continued almost uninterrupted until the 14th century AD. The reasons for the continuous habitation in the area are obvious: the site has natural fortification, there is potable water, fertile land in the adjacent plain, the area’s forests are rich, and the regions with the mines – from Stano to Isvoros – are relatively nearby.
The evidence points to the fact that the settlement on Prophet Elias, or Ai-Lias as the locals call the hill, reached its peak during the 5th and 4th centuries BC, and for a second time during the Roman period. These periods must be closely related to the rise of mining activity in the area, which, as is well known, was rich in silver and gold ores since ancient times. Moreover, there are clear indications that support this theory, as building materials used in the castle and the houses of the medieval settlement come from the quarrying of stone grinding mills from the equipment of the ancient mines.
While historical sources confirm that the Roman settlement existed until the 4th century AD, with a probable period of destruction around the mid-6th century, excavations show that there was also a Middle Byzantine settlement on the hill of Prophet Elias, upon which the castle and later settlement were built. The castle covers an area of 2,200 square meters, has an irregular circular shape, and was constructed at the top of the hill using stones that had been used in previous building phases. Some sections of the castle are preserved up to a height of 2 meters, while according to archaeologists, it did not exceed 5 meters. It was built with mud and lime mortar was used only in certain spots on the exterior.
Info
Additional information about the archaeological site of Prophet Elias in Arnaia was gathered from the article “The Excavation Research on the Hill of Prophet Elias in Arnaia in 2003,” by archaeologist Dr. Ioakeim Ath. Papangelou, which is included in the book “The Archaeological Site of the Hill of Prophet Elias in Arnaia,” by Dimitrios Th. Kyrou.
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