Archaeological Site of Aiani – Ancient City
A visit to the hill of Megali Rachi offers a fascinating insight into the region’s ancient past. Ancient Aiani has been identified with the settlement uncovered on the high, naturally fortified hill of Megali Rachi, which extends across a series of terraces. Although the site had suffered extensive stone robbing in the past, archaeological excavations have brought to light impressive public buildings, private residences, a large central reservoir that supplied the city with water, streets and shops, workshops and places of worship, as well as monumental built tombs with rich grave goods. The site was continuously inhabited from the Neolithic period (5th millennium BC), through the Bronze and Iron Ages. Its greatest prosperity came during the Classical and Hellenistic periods, while archaeological evidence indicates that Aiani served as the capital of the ancient kingdom of Elimeia since early times. Megali Rachi was permanently abandoned towards the end of the Hellenistic period.
