The most important ancient town-port of northeastern Chalkidiki. It was colonized by the inhabitants of Andros and was built upon the remains of a prehistoric settlement in the mid-seventh century BC. Extending over a seaside hill range, about 600 m southeast of today’s Ierissos, the town is excavated by the 16th Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. The remnants of the walls of Akanthos surround an impressive section probably belonging to the acropolis of this town. There are also scattered architectural members and buildings mainly dating back to classical and Hellenistic times. Its vast cemetery occupies the coastal zone of Ierissos and was used from archaic times (7th and 6th centuries BC) to modern era (17th century). It numbers about 9,000 tombs.