Archaeological Museum of Alexandroupolis: In the flow of the Evros River

The Museum tour starts from the coast and proceeds inland, ending at the burial tumuli of Thrace. One need not go very far. To the south of Alexandroupolis, in the Makri toumba – one of the most important Neolithic settlements in the Balkans – was found an anthropomorphic spherical vase from the second half of the 6th millennium BC, unique in Greece for both its size and style.

In the Evros hinterland, to the southeast of Didymoteicho, Plotina, wife of the Roman emperor Trajan (AD 98-117), gave her name to Plotinopolis, where colourful fragments of mosaics with scenes and decorative motifs, once adorning the region’s buildings, were discovered.

Nevertheless, nothing compares to the grave goods from the Thracian tumuli, i.e. the artificial mounds found throughout the territory of Thrace. With a diameter of 15-60m and a height of 1.50-12m, their function was twofold: on the one hand, they marked the burial site, while on the other they protected the tombs from looting. The oldest one, dating from the Late Bronze Age, was discovered near the village of Kanada, in Trigono. The museum holds a small collection of grave goods from the 4th century BC to the 4th century AD, ranging from weapons and jewellery to delicate glass urguentaria that managed to survive the passage of time.