The Abdera Urban Plan Project (AUPP) is a three-year (2024–2026) collaboration between the Ephorate of Antiquities of Xanthi and the Canadian Institute in Greece, directed by Maria Chrysafi (Ephorate) and Maria Papaioannou (University of New Brunswick). The project aims to examine the transformation of the urban landscape of Abdera, one of the earliest and wealthiest Greek colonies founded along the Thracian coast in the 7th century BC.
As a case study, the excavations at Abdera focus on the Insula of Houses, a Hellenistic housing block that contains a Roman-period peristyle house, excavated almost in its entirety by Demetrios Lazarides in the 1960s and later analyzed architecturally by Maria Papaioannou in the early 2010s.This re-examination of housing at Abdera has sparked renewed interest in the built environment and architectural development of the Insula of Houses, seeking answers to questions about its role in shaping urban identities and connections to political, social, and economic networks that might have influenced its layout. In 2024, geophysical surveys conducted to a depth of 2.00 m revealed the remains of peristyle and prostas-type houses, framed by streets to the east, west, and south, along with street drains and adjacent insulae to the west and south. Excavations in 2025 attempted to identify the road bordering the Insula of Houses to the north, confirm the overall dimensions of the insula, and expose the north wall of the Roman peristyle house. Further investigations will aim to uncover the complete plan of the insula and to develop 3D reconstructions of the peristyle house and the housing block as a whole.
Select Bibliography
Plageras, A., Papadopoulos, N., Oikonomou, D., Papaioannou, M. & M. Chrysaphi. 2025. “Multidisciplinary Geophysical Prospection in the Archaeological Site of Abdera, Greece.” ArcheoSciences, 49.1: 291-293.
Read more about AUPP’s 2024 season here: https://www.cig-icg.gr/the-abdera-urban-plan-project-aupp-2024-a-multidisciplinary-approach-to-the-study-of-urban-identities/
Read more about AUPP’s 2025 season here: https://www.cig-icg.gr/the-abdera-urban-plan-project-aupp-results-from-the-2025-season/
