Within a short distance from the center of Drama, an excavation was launched in 1991 in the prehistoric toumba of Arkadikos. Architectural remains of the oldest Neolithic settlement of Drama have come to light. The research was carried out in collaboration with the Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Kavala and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The settlement has a lifetime from the late Neolithic to the Early Iron Age.

The Neolithic community of Arkadikos preferred the single rectangular residence, made of bricks, mud, branches and reeds. The floor of the dwellings was simple, made of pressed clay, while the roof was rather tilted, with a frame of beams, branches and reeds. Inside and outside the houses clay constructions were discovered for the preparation and production of food, such as ovens and hearths. The latter also covered lighting and heating needs. Next to these structures the excavation identified tools and cookware with cereal and legume seeds. Several grinders, mortars and other stone tools were found, polished and chipped, which have been involved in the preparation of food and were also found in cottages, involved in the leather processing and the construction of clay pots. The study of archaeozoological material illustrated that the stock-breeding of the community was based on cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, while species of hunting and fishing were also present.