Thessaloniki’s new metro line, which became a large archaeological excavation during construction, has been inaugurated.
The 10km line, which has 13 stations, was built by Webuild in collaboration with Hitachi and Aktor. It will transport 315,000 passengers a day.
The metro tunnels in Greece’s second largest city were built using two TBMs and construction was accompanied by the city’s most extensive archaeological digs to date, spanning an area of 30,000m2.
Excavations uncovered treasures of immense historical value, such as numerous marble slabs from the famous Roman road known as the Decumanus Maximus. The commitment to preserving the finds meant that, in some cases, station locations were adjusted based on archaeological discoveries. The Demokratias station was shifted 10m to better accommodate the remains of a Byzantine-era wall uncovered during the digging. The line’s 13 stations have become “archaeo stations” where many of the artefacts are on display.
