Eordaia ( el, Εορδαία) is a municipality in the

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley. The city lies above sea ...

regional unit,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. The seat of the municipality is the town

Ptolemaida Ptolemaida ( el, Πτολεμαΐδα, Ptolemaïda, Katharevousa: Πτολεμαΐς, ''Ptolemaïs'') is a town and a former municipality in Kozani regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of th ...

. The municipality has an area of 708.807 km². The population was 45,592 in 2011.

Municipality

The municipality Eordaia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units: * Agia Paraskevi *

Mouriki Mouriki ( el, Μουρίκι) is a former municipality in Kozani regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Eordaia Eordaia ( el, Εορδαία) is a municipality in the Kozani r ...

* Vermio * Vlasti

Province

The province of Eordaia ( el, Επαρχία Εορδαίας) was one of the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the Kozani Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipality Eordaia, and a few villages of the municipality

. It was abolished in 2006.

History

The history of Eordaia can be found stretching long before 2000 BCE when the first

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

known as the Mycenean Greeks began to inhabit this area. Remnants of copper mines exploited from 2700 up until 1200 BCE indicate strongly that the

inhabited Eordaia for many years. Iron mines have also been exploited in the region.D. C. Samsaris, Les mines et la metallurgie de fer et de cuivre dans la province romaine de Macédoine, Klio 69(1987), 1, p. 154, 156–157, 169–170

Recent discoveries

Within a 50-year period, paleontologists and archaeologists have made many discoveries due to the industrial development of the Eordaian countryside. In particular, the skeletal fossils of a prehistoric mammoth, a prehistoric

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

, and Stone Age tools have all been found within the province of Eordaia. These finds add to knowledge on the variety of animal species and human artifacts in this particular region of western Macedonia. In addition, two ancient Macedonian tombs have been excavated within Eordaia. The first was located in a rural area of the village of Spilia, while the second was located in the village of Pyrgoi.

External links

Ειδήσεις για την ΕΟΡΔΑΙΑ (www.eordaia.com)

References

Municipalities of Western Macedonia Provinces of Greece Populated places in Kozani (regional unit) {{WMacedonia-geo-stub