The city of Kavala rises amphitheatrically up the side of a peninsula named after the Blessed Virgin Mary, south of Mount Symvolo. This shows signs of continuous habitation from antiquity to the present day, lying as it does at a strategic position between Thrace and Macedonia. In the 7^th century BC it was apparently chosen by settlers from the islands of Thasos and Paros, who founded a harbour town called Neapolis. The name was retained throughout the Roman and early Christian period, but in 746 Paris Codex 1557A refers to the city as Christoupolis. Kavala, the current name, first appears in 1470.

Kavala has been protected by a defensive wall since the 5th century BC, when the city’s mints were known for their silver staters depicting Gorgo. After the battle of Plataea the city became a member of the Athenian Alliance, and is referred to in tax records from 453/4 BC. Following conquest by Philip I of Macedonia it flourished as the seaport of Philippi.
During the Roman period, Kavala served as a base for the Republican fleet under Brutus and Cassius, in their clash with the city of Philippi. St. Paul the Apostle arrived in 49 AD, at the start of his mission to preach Christianity in Europe. The 5th century wall was added to and modified at various times, as is evidenced by inscriptions and surviving sections of the fortifications.

None of the religious monuments from Εarly Christian Neapolis have survived. Nevertheless, architectural members and sculptures incorporated into later buildings testify to the existence of Early Christian basilicas , the precise location of which is not known. A mid-Byzantine basilica recently unearthed in the Halil Bey Mosque offers important evidence of life in the city, as it is regarded as the cathedral of Byzantine Kavala. In addition, relief panels identified as reused in the Church of the Assumption are thought to have originated from the late Byzantine church of Panagia Kammytziotissa, at Pantocrator Monastery on Mount Athos.

Archaeological excavations have brought to light sections of buildings associated with installations in the town’s Byzantine harbor, as well as pit graves and other mid-Byzantine finds in the east side of the drainage ditch, outside the city walls.
One public work of particular importance for the city was the aqueduct, which still stands to this day. This brought water from Mana Nerou (“Spring”), 6 km to the north. Originally constructed in late Roman times, it was subject to extensive modification from very early on, culminating in a complete restoration by Ibrahim Pasha in the 19th century. It is a double arched structure 280 meters in length, resting on 18 pillars, to a maximum height of 25m. Water flowed into the city of Kavala along the top section, through a closed flagged conduit measuring 35cm wide by 48cm deep.