Acanthos was located on a coastal hill range, 600m SE of present Ierissos; it used to be the most important ancient city-port of NE Halkidiki. It was a colony of settlers from Andros founded in the mid 7th century BC, on the position of a prehistoric settlement. Sections of the city walls are still found in the area, among which part of the acropolis, and dispersed architectural members and buildings from the Classical and Hellenistic times. There is also a cemetery on the coastal zone of Ierissos, which was in use from antiquity (7th, 6th centuries BC) to modern times (17th century), with about 9,000 graves.