Greece To Nominate Archaeological Site Of Philippi For UNESCO’s World Heritage Site Status

The Archaeological Site of Philippi hosts monuments of distinguished importance since the Hellenistic, Roman & palaeochristian era.

By 30 September the Greek Culture Ministry will submit a nomination proposal to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the purpose of having the Archaeological site of Philippi be placed on the list of World Heritage sites.

Philippi is the most important archaeological site of eastern Macedonia, with characteristic monuments of the Hellenistic, Roman and Early Christian periods.

The regional governor of Eastern Macedonia – Thrace Georgios Pavlidis said in an announcement on 17 September that the region will offer its full support during the site’s nomination process.

“We will support the nomination of Philippi to be included on the permanent list of World Heritage sites of UNESCO. The site deserves to be on the list,” he said.

Archaeological Site of Philippi – one of the most important archaeological sites of Greece.

According to Mr. Pavlidis, the Archaeological site of Philippi meets all the requirements to be included on UNESCO’s list as:

The Agora (forum) was the administrative center of the town during the Roman era.

– it is deeply connected with Greek history and especially the Macedonian era.
– it is associated with the decisive battle of Philippi that judged the future and the course of the Roman Empire in the year 42 BC.
– it is the place where the first Christian church in Europe was established and in which Paul the Apostle baptised the first Christian woman.

Once the nomination file of the Archaeological site of Philippi is submitted, it will be evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union. These bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. The Committee meets once per year to determine whether or not to inscribe each nominated property on the World Heritage List.

Nominated sites must be of “outstanding universal value” and meet at least one of the ten criteria.

The final decision is expected to be made in 2015.

The ancient Via Egnatia passed by the town of Philippi.

Photos © Regional Division of Kavala