Archaeological Site of Petra
The ancient city located on the western shore of Lake Petra is the best known and most systematically researched archaeological site in the region of Florina. It was discovered in an area of 15-20 hectares, at the location of Grantista 1.5 km northwest of Petra, as early as 1913, when Nikolaos Papadakis recorded and published the inscriptions in the church of Agios Nikolaos. Twenty years later, Professor Antonios Keramopoulos certified the existence of house foundations after the limited excavation research he carried out. The systematic research of the settlement began in 1982 by the IZ’ Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and continues to this day.
Archaeological Site of Petra
The earliest remains of settlement in the area, based on the pottery that has been sporadically identified, date back to the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (1200-600 BC). The settlement, which flourished in the period between the 3rd and the 1st century BC, is a typical example of a comma of Upper Macedonia with an agricultural and pastoral economy. Some scholars believe that the site can be identified with the Kelli of the medieval travellers. It is located very close to the Egnatia Odos and at the bottom of the fertile valley of Amyndeon. The excavation research has so far brought to light a strong wall which encloses a settlement with a free urban organization, which makes the best use of the curves of the hill on which it is located.
The residential areas are organized in groups of three with common external walls.
Two-storey structures, without a courtyard, with underground spaces for storerooms and workshops, the houses of Petra contribute to a better understanding of Hellenistic housing.The ground floors are built with clay masonry, while the upper floors are built with lighter materials and timber frames.The interior was decorated with coloured mortars, enriched in some cases with abstract motifs A system of roads crossed the settlement, while clay water pipes leading to fountains and wells have been found.Important public buildings were the sanctuary of Zeus – according to the inscription found inside it – and the large underground pitheon found nearby. The settlement has wealth and a high standard of living to show, a fact that goes back to its proven commercial and cultural contacts with cities of Central and Eastern Macedonia as well as with the West. In the settlement there were many pottery, metalworking and probably sculpture workshops. At the same time, the abundance of agricultural tools testifies to the agricultural activities of the inhabitants. The settlement was abandoned in the middle of the 1st century BC and moved to the site of the present-day village of Petra.
We could note here that in the present village we are faced with a characteristic example of the coexistence of ancient remains with later buildings. Apart from the fragmentary architectural remains of the Roman settlement scattered throughout the village, the use of ancient architectural elements and funerary columns for the construction of the church of Agios Nikolaos is remarkable. This three-aisled wooden basilica with a narthex and a women’s balcony was dated by Professor Nikolaos Moutsopoulos in the early 18th century.From the formerly registered church, only some frescoes in the niche of the sanctuary are preserved today, while the turreted bell tower is also preserved.
