HISTORICAL TIMES: ROMAN PERIOD

In 148 BC, Macedonia became a Roman province. Shortly after that, between 146 and 120 BC, the Romans undertook the construction of the Via Egnatia, a strategic road that linked the Adriatic coast to Byzantium. The road passed right next to the spring of Dikili Tash, which offered an ideal resting place at the eastern exit from Philippi.In 42 BC, Philippi was the site of an important battle between the “liberators” Brutus (assassinator of Julius Caesar) and Cassius, and the followers of Julius Caesar, Octavian (the future emperor Augustus), and Mark Antony.

After the battle, the victorious Mark Antony discharged some of the troops and founded the Colonia victrix Philippensium, which was re-founded in 31 BC under the name Colonia Iulia Augusta Philippensis. Endowed with a fertile countryside, the city flourished during the Empire, receiving many new public buildings (a forum, theater, etc.) and a new city wall. In 49 or 50 AD, Apostle Paul visited the area and founded the first Christian community in Europe.

In the area of Dikili Tash, several tombs and funerary monuments, such as the one dedicated to Caius Vibius, adorn both sides of the road that leads to Philippi. On the mound itself there is no construction during the Roman period, but we have evidence that extensive clearing took place on it.