The first season of the Angelokastro excavation, a joint Greek-Chinese dig at the site of ancient Arsinoe in western Greece, ended in July 2026, the Greek Ministry of Culture said on Friday 16 October.
The Ministry of Culture carries out the systematic research together with the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Aitoloakarnania and Lefkada.
The work forms part of a five-year program running from 2026 to 2030. Its aim is to investigate the settlement of ancient Arsinoe in a systematic way, study how the town was planned and organised, and examine the important architectural remains at the site.
Dr Olympia Vikatou, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Culture, directs the program. Dr Li Xinwei, Director of the Chinese School of Classical Studies, leads the Chinese team.
Where the Angelokastro excavation took place
The team dug at the Kakavaria site, where architectural remains of ancient Arsinoe had come to light in earlier years. The 2026 season focused on extending the older excavation, investigating and documenting the remains, and looking for new evidence on how the ancient settlement was organised.
Angelokastro lies in central Aitoloakarnania, near the eastern bank of the Acheloos River. Ancient writers, including Polybius and Strabo, describe a town in this area called Konope, which later took the name Arsinoe.
According to Strabo, the settlement began as a village and was enlarged and renamed in honour of Arsinoe II, the Macedonian princess who became queen of Egypt as the wife of Ptolemy II. Some historians, however, place the refoundation earlier, around 285–284 BC, when Arsinoe was married to Lysimachus, king of Thrace.
Inscriptions and roof tiles stamped with the name of the Arsinoeans later confirmed the identification of the site. Even so, Angelokastro has never been excavated in a systematic way until now.
A peristyle building with several phases
Of particular interest was the investigation of a significant building, parts of which the archaeologist Lazaros Kolonas had excavated in the past.
The new data show a square building of careful construction with a peristyle courtyard, a central yard surrounded by columns. The building shows traces of alterations and successive phases of use.
It also resembles buildings at other sites in Aitoloakarnania, such as ancient Kalydon, the ministry said.
The Angelokastro excavation also produced significant archaeological material. The finds include roof tiles, clay antefixes, pottery vessels, bronze coins and animal remains.
Conservators are now treating the material, and specialists are studying it. Identification and dating will follow.
Plans for the next four seasons
Over the rest of the five-year program, the team plans to continue digging and to investigate the town’s fortifications.
In addition, researchers will use geophysical methods, remote sensing, surface surveys and geoarchaeological research. The goal is a fuller understanding of the urban layout, history and development of ancient Arsinoe.
The effort will cover a wide area. In June 2026, before the first season began, the project partners said they would investigate about five hectares of land believed to hold the buried city.
The ministry described the first season as the starting point of an important international scientific partnership.
It said it expects the collaboration to help reveal ancient Arsinoe and deepen knowledge of the site, while also strengthening cooperation between Greece and China in archaeological research and the protection of cultural heritage.
The Chinese School of Classical Studies in Greece
The Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens is one of the newest foreign archaeological schools in Greece. Greek City Times reported on the opening of the Chinese School of Classical Studies in Athens in November 2024.
Foreign schools play a long-established role in Greek archaeology. Under Greek law, they carry out excavations in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and its regional ephorates, which remain responsible for the sites and their finds.
At Angelokastro, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture directs the program, with the local ephorate and Li Xinwei’s team working alongside it.
With four more seasons planned until 2030, the Angelokastro excavation is expected to add new evidence on one of the least explored ancient towns of Aetolia.
Source: Hellenic Ministry of Culture
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