The Byzantine city of Servia is an archaeological site full of ruins, most unexplored. This section presents some of the most important monuments visible to the visitor but have yet to be systematically studied by archaeological research. This mainly photographic documentation aims to give the visitor a sense of the wealth of archaeological information that can be drawn from the specific archaeological site.
Traces of many buildings are still visible within the walls but have yet to be sufficiently investigated by archaeological research. 1) The single-space church of the Holy Apostles is located north of the middle wall on the city’s eastern side. 2) A small single-space church (measuring 5 x 4.60 m) on the eastern side of the lower town, north of a rectangular tower of the external walls. The church had traces of wall paintings, the fragments of which can lead us to a date around the 16th century. 3) A small single-space church (internal dimensions 6 x 4 m) at about 70 m southeast of the middle wall, traces of which were uncovered during the construction of the modern cobbled path. The church was covered with wall paintings that can be dated from the late Byzantine period to the 15th century, as shown by the numerous fragments that were collected and the larger parts of the wall paintings that were removed. 4) A church near the bathhouse, in the western part of the outer walls, from which today only the niche of the sanctuary can be seen, where few fragments of wall paintings survive. The church should be identified with the chapel of St. Constantine, located within the walls. 5) The single-space church, mentioned above, adjoining the middle wall gate, with a portico on its north side and 14th-century wall paintings on its wall.
Near the Basilica of Servia, another small church was visible until the end of the last century and is mentioned in the literature as being dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is probably the same church mentioned in a description of Servia from 1872 as the church of Zoodochos Pigi, which is even described as still standing with its roof. This church could perhaps be connected to the cistern with an arched entrance that survives in good condition a few meters south of the church of St John the Baptist, a short distance from the Basilica. Finally, other churches mentioned in sources, such as that of St. Solomoni and St. Nicholas, have not yet been identified by research.
On the western side of the lower city, almost in contact with the external walls, are the ruins of a rectangular building with a three-part arrangement. From the reinforced mortar that survives in superimposed layers on its walls, one can assume that the site could have been used as a bathhouse. The existence of a spring mouth with running water near this building is another argument for identifying this building as a bathhouse. It would be particularly intriguing to connect this particular bathhouse and the one described in the Strategikon of Kekaumenos (late 11th century) as being located ‘below the castle in the cliff.’ A hidden underground passage from this bathhouse to the inner enclosure of Servia is mentioned in the sources, and its use was part of the only successful stratagem used by the Bulgarian besieger Demetrius Polemarchios to conquer the city.
The creation of this website is part of the implementation of the Act “Consolidation and Restoration of the Western Tower of the Castle of Servia,” which was implemented by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kozani and co-funded by Greece and the European Union / European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme “Western Macedonia” of the NSRF 2014-2020.