The archaeological site of Philippi in northern Greece has been officially inaugurated onto the UNESCO’s World Heritage list. The announcement was made on July 15th during the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee in Istanbul, Turkey. With the addition of Philippi, the number of Greek World Heritage sites comes to 18.

The World Heritage List’s site says that the scheme “seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.”

The remains of the walled city lie at the foot of an acropolis in the present-day region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, on the ancient route linking Europe and Asia, the Via Egnatia. Founded in 356 BC by the Macedonian King Philip II, the city developed as a “small Rome” with the establishment of the Roman Empire in the decades following the Battle of Philippi, in 42 BCE. The Hellenistic theatre and funerary heroon (temple) were supplemented with Roman buildings such as the forum. Later the city became a centre of the Christian faith following the visit of the Apostle Paul in 49-50 CE. The remains of its basilicas constitute an exceptional testimony to the early establishment of Christianity.

The Municipality of Kavala and the Greek Ministry of Culture had joined forces to propose the site’s nomination, submitting their application in January 2015.