The inscription published here, carved on Thasian marble and written in the Parian alphabet, is dated to the years 470/460 BC, and refers to the concession of real estate by the inhabitants of Berge to the Thasian Timesicrates. The place where it was found and the content of the inscription leave no doubt that the ancient city of Berge can be identified with the archaeological site south-west of the present day village of Neos Skopos near Serres. The problem of identifying Berge has therefore been definitively solved and the city has found its place in the historical environment of the region. Berge was founded by the Thasians in the 6th century on the shores of Lake Kerkinis and the river Strymon. The first settlement must have been an emporion, which rapidly gained city status, minting its own coins and enjoying democratic institutions — boule and demos — , at least by the beginning of the 5th century. Due to its location, the city formed an important link in the chain of Thasian colonies and a stage on the commercial Strymon valley route. This, thanks to the navigability of the river, formed the easiest access for the Thasians to the Thracian hinterland as far as Pis- tiros, thus ensuring trade dealings between Greeks and Thracian dynasties, as is clear from the Pis- tiros inscription. This is the reason that, immediately after the collapse of Thasian maritime power, the Athenians included Berge in the Athenian confederation, while waiting to found their own colony of Amphipolis, which enabled them to effectively control the Strymon valley.
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