Three of the gates of Ancient Philippopolis are known so far: the North, the South and the East.

The East Gate is the most thoroughly researched gate. Nowadays its ruins can be seen at Tsar Ivan Shishman Str., to the Northeast of the Three Hills. The East Gate was very important to the Ancient town – the road to Byzantium passed through it. Yet another important road was passing through, connecting the town with the Danube limes.

At that particular place, a gate already existed in the 2nd century AD. Nearby, there was an arch, at about 18 meters northeast of the gate. In the 3rd century AD, after the invasions of the Goths, there were restoration works in the city. The old gate was abandoned and the layout of the defence wall was changed so that the new wall (curtain wall) included the 2nd century arch.

The East Gate has one central wider opening and two smaller side entrances. A street leading to the gate is uncovered. Its direction is unusual, as it does not follow the direction of the main street infrastructure of the town. The street was 13.20 meters wide and on both sides had a colonnade, richly decorated in the Roman Corinthian order. On both sides of the street are uncovered paved sidewalks, each of them 2.60 m. wide.

It is presumed that on both sides of the street there were barracks, which formed an entire complex with the East Gate. They were built in the 4th century directly on the ruins of the fortifications of the 3rd century, disregarding their plan.