The beautiful Greek port city Thessaloniki was an important metropolis during the Roman period and the second largest and wealthiest city of the Byzantine Empire.

“No man will be without a homeland, as long as Salonica exists,” wrote Nikephoros Choumnos, the Byzantine scholar and statesman (Grand Logothete) of Thessaloniki, as early as the 14th century A.D.

Credit: Attiko Metro SA

Choumnos did not know he was predicting the future. Thessaloniki has been a haven for the poor and persecuted and is one of the few cities in Europe with an uninterrupted urban population for the last 2,500 years.

Founded in 315 B.C. by Cassander, the King of Macedonia Thessaloniki was named after his wife, the sister of Alexander the Great and daughter of King Philip II. In this magnificent city, Cassander erected extraordinary palaces and public edifices. Ruins of these long-gone ancient buildings are now emerging from beneath the ground thanks to archaeologists carrying out excavations approved by the Greek Ministry of Culture.

A series of amazing photos released by Attiko Metro SA offers a unique glimpse of the ancient city of Thessaloniki.  The largest archaeological excavation ever carried out in Northern Greece is taking place in Thessaloniki, covering an area of 20,000 sq.m and the findings are extraordinary and of great historical value.

Credit: Attiko Metro SA

Credit: Attiko Metro SA

According to Attiko Metro SA, the most important archaeological excavations during the project’s first construction phase were carried out in four stations of the Historical Center: Syntagma, Kerameikos, Monastiraki, and Acropolis.

In total, more than twenty archaeological excavations were carried out in stations and ventilation shafts. The depth of the archaeological layers ranged from 0.5 to 7.0 meters, but some hydraulic structures, wells, conduits, reservoirs, and aqueducts were uncovered at great depths. The antiquities were recorded in detail and recorded with modern technical methods under the scientific supervision of the competent services of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The route of the Metro lines, which crosses the city center, follows the axis of the ancient city’s main street, flanked by colonnades and arcades, and had a 16-meter wide road surface. Credit: Attiko Metro SA

The excavation research at the Acropolis station in an area of 2,500 sq.m. proved the use of the area from the end of the 3rd millennium BC. until the Byzantine years.

“Important antiquities, and in fact representative of many periods of the city’s life, are being excavated for the first time after centuries in order to complete the construction of the two other Metro stations located within the limits of the historic city centre. The archaeological works, with a total budget of 132.6 million euros, have brought to light 130,000 archaeological findings,” the Greek City Times reports.

This large archaeological project has led to the discovery of tombs from the Middle Helladic and Late Helladic eras, houses, workshops, roads, baths and precious ancient artifacts.