The ancient city of Methone was located on the northeastern shore of the Thermaic Gulf, in the northern Aegean in Greece.

[citation needed] The ancient Eretrian settlement of Methone, located at the interface between the Thessaloniki plain, the hilly terrain of Pieria and the shoreline of Thermaic Gulf, has gone through numerous wartime situations over the past centuries.

Identification of the precise location of the port of Methone holds great significance from a geomorphological point of view, but above all represents a major archaeological concern.

The port infrastructures appear to have been disconnected from the rest of the city: Several decrees (notably in 430 and 423 BC) provide us with information on the matter (Queyrel, 2003).

These infrastructures had been seized by the powerful city of Athens, in order to leave Methone a degree of commercial autonomy with regards to the Kingdom of Macedon which was in full development at the time.

One of these decrees, dated 430 BC, mentions that "the Methoneans must enjoy unrestricted rights to use the sea and [the Macedonians] must allow them, as before, to import goods on their territory".

There are signs of occupation during the Imperial period but there is no evidence of a continuous presence in the sector after the 4th century BC (Papazoglou, 1988).

Their research was more focused on the quest for the royal tomb of Philip II and the necropolis of the Temenid and Macedonian kings: Aigai, identified in the 1980s with the site of modern Vergina.

[citation needed] Methone was founded in the second half of the 8th century BC of Eretrian settlers, who were previously evicted by Corinthian colonists from the island Corfu.

Originally the settlers wanted after the expulsion from Corfu return to their hometown of Eretria on Euboea, but were prevented there by force of arms off the shore.

[citation needed] Unlike the rest of Pieria, Methone was not ruled by Macedonia but was an ally of Athens and since 434 BC, a member of the Athenian League.

It is probable that the apostle Paul resumed his second missionary mission to Athens from here, after leaving Berea (modern Veria) (Acts 17:14, 15).

[citation needed] One problem that hinders the excavations is that most of the land belonging to the ancient city is privately owned.

[citation needed] One of the most important finds was the exposure of the agora and its surrounding buildings on the west side of the eastern hill.

The finds from the excavations of Methone, especially in the Ypogeio, contributed significantly to the research on the genesis and distribution of the Greek alphabet and its early use.

[citation needed] From 2013 to 2017, a team from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), led by Dr. Sarah Morris and Dr. John Papadopoulos took part at the excavations.

[citation needed] The results were published in 2012, funded by the European Union in the Education and Lifelong Learning program.

[citation needed] The Ypogeio (cellar, here meeting basement, Greek Υπόγειο) is a more than 11 meters deep pit on the crest of the eastern hill.

Around 700 BC the pit was then filled with wooden beams, stone molds for metal working, slag and potsherds.