Monuments

The early Christian basilica of Elia is located on the small flat-topped peninsula “Mytari”, at a distance of 10 km from Nikiti to Neos Marmaras. It is a three-aisled basilica, an edifice of the 5th century, decorated with frescoes and a mosaic floor in the central aisle. The dimensions of the church are 15.20 X 13.80 m. The church was probably destroyed in the 6th century, but was repaired and was once again operational for a brief period. The exonarthex was part of the repair phase. Five graves were found under the floor of the exonarthex, one of which was a cist grave, two were barrel-vaulted and the remaining two were pit graves. Children burial pits were found under the floor of the north aisle and outside the church, along the south wall, where there were also adult tile covered graves (kalyvites). In the 14th century, it is referred to as the ruined church of the Apostles Peter and Paul. It was excavated in 1972 and 1976 by the 10th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities. 

The basilica of Elia must have been the cemetery church of the settlement of Elia. The settlement was located on the road leading to west Sithonia. It seems that it existed in the 1st century AD, at the very least, and it was founded next to the namesake small bay, at a distance of about 100m north of the basilica. According to the oral tradition of Nikiti, Elia was one of the settlements which jointly formed the establishment of Nitiki.

Kleanthis Doukas