Edessa is an antique and very interesting town located in the northern region of Greece, which counts with a very rich past and is especially attractive from the point of view of anthropology and history. This town, which counts with a population of about 24000 inhabitants, is considered the capital as well as the provincial capital of the Prefecture of Pella.
One of the main attractions offered by Edessa is its waterfalls, with the particularity of being situated in the central area of the town. This town has beautiful waterfalls as well as many lakes, rivers, and water sources in general, in such a way that it actually used to be known as the “town of the waters”.
According to historians and anthropologists, the first settlements of Edessa could be traced back to the 3rd millennium BC, in the Early Bronze Age. This settlement became very prosperous and towards the 4th century BC it was an established city fortified with an impressive wall.
Anthropologists have discovered a variety of interesting objects and inscriptions throughout the territory of Edessa. According to these objects and inscriptions and the information they transmit, archeologists affirm that this city used to have a temple of Zeus, a temple of Dionysus, a temple of Ma, and a Bouleuterion.
Due to the great amount of antique basilicas and related ruins that can be found in Edessa, it is possible to infer that during the Christian period this was a very important city as well. This way, nowadays tourists can still find many ancient ruins and parts of constructions which can be especially interesting to all those who are fond of the anthropology, architecture, or history.
Although there have been anthropological excavations taking place in Edessa since the year 1968, nowadays this activity continues due to the great amount of interesting discoveries and objects found in it, many of which have provided crucial pieces of information that allowed a much better understanding the history of the past. Nowadays, the excavations are focused mainly on the area known as the lower city and the areas that would surround the city walls and the antique cemeteries, nearby the area of the Via Egnatia.