During the archaeological season of 2010 undertaken in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis, at the same time as the restoration of the Roman theatre orchestra’s floor, some smaller trenches were opened beneath its flagstone level.
The excavation identified details of the theatre’s building techniques and confirmed its construction date to the reign of Hadrian. The most significant discovery was that of the remains of an earlier structure, revealed below the bottom level of the theatre. From this structure are preserved only the foundations of an arched wall of limestone blocks and reused tiles; the associated artifacts date to the Hellenistic period. However, further investigations will enable us to see whether the structure belongs to a Hellenistic building, functioning probably as the city’s public assembly (_bouleuterion?_), or as a place for theatrical shows (theatre?).
During the excavations, remains of the supporting columns of the porticus post scaenam were also discovered. The archaeological data confirms that the theatre remained in use even during the end of the 4th Century AD, this probably due to the rehabilitation of the floor on the western side of the orchestra and the scaena, where supporting timber columns were replaced by soil deposits.