The cemetery of the ancient city of Paros covered a large area and was continuously used from the 8th century B.C. until the 2nd century A.D. The graves of the Archaic period (cist-graves and pithos-burials) are organized in spaces divided by vertical and horizontal walls. In the 5th century B.C. the burials were placed in large, marble urns or in monumental structures with pedestals and funerary stelae. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, marble, pedestaled sarcophagi were used. The excavation started in 1983, during the construction of the Municipal Cultural Centre of Paros, near the harbour. It was continued until 1985, when the finds prooved that this was one of the most important cemeteries of the Cyclades. The excavation was carried out under very difficult circumstances, since the area had been converted into a marsh with dense plantation, due to underground water and high sea level. The area was drained with the use of pipes and water-pumps in 1989. The grave monuments with the funerary stelae and sarcophagi have been restored. The excavation site has been organized as an archaeological park, visible from all sides. Photographs of the excavation and representations of the burials are displayed in an old, restored building outside the site.
The cemetery of the ancient city of Paros covered a large area and was continuously used from the 8th century B.C. until the 2nd century A.D.