Guide
Tios lies in the town of Filyos, in the Çaycuma district of Zonguldak. Founded in the 7th century BC as a colony of Miletus, it passed under the rule of one kingdom after another through the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Rome took it in 70 BC, and under the Byzantine empire it became the seat of a bishop. From 1261 it was held by the Genoese, and at the start of the 15th century it came under Ottoman rule, under which the city shrank into a small fishing village.
Through antiquity Tios was an important harbour on the Black Sea, and river and sea transport together made it a centre for trade in fish, wine and grain. Excavation since 2006 has uncovered an acropolis with building remains on it dated to the 6th century BC, a medieval church, a Corinthian temple of the Roman period, and west of that temple a funerary chapel of the 10th to 12th centuries AD. Other structures visible on the site include an ancient harbour with its breakwaters, a Roman theatre, baths, what is thought to be an aqueduct, the remains of a fountain, and the cemetery area.
The Ministry calls Tios the best-preserved ancient city in the region, and gives a concrete reason for it: the modern settlement grew up outside the ancient city rather than on top of it, which has been a real advantage both for preserving the site and for investigating it. Filyos is reachable by both road and rail; the address is Sefercik, 67660 Filyos, Çaycuma.
