Venizelou metro station

What I can see

On the occasion of the Thessaloniki metro construction, one of the largest excavations in the country was carried out, which brought to light over 300,000 findings related to the urban development of the city and the life of its inhabitants over the centuries. More specifically, at this station, the crossroads of two central streets from the Hellenistic era and their use in the centuries that followed were discovered. This crossroads had almost the same layout as the current crossroad of Venizelou and Egnatia Streets. On either side of these ancient streets, we see Thessaloniki when  founded by Cassander (316/315 BC), as well as the subsequent phases of history. As can be seen from the findings, the city was planned according to the Hippodamian system (see Roads and Houses of Ancient Piraeus) and this area included public spaces and buildings. An impressive bath system from 100 BC was decorated with mosaics of rare beauty during the Roman period. During the early Byzantine period (300-400 AD), the streets (decumanus maximus and cardo) were paved with marble and surrounded by colonnades. A century later, a marble-paved square was formed and a monumental tetrapylon (four gates) was erected at the crossroad. Since 700 AD, many silversmith workshops and shops had emerged in the square and the arcades, and the city’s Byzantine market was located here. The commercial use of the streets was maintained for centuries, until the fire of 1917. The antiquities of the station were not preserved in-situ, but were detached and re-installed during the construction work of the station. The antiquities of the first and second phases of excavation were repositioned as a cohesive whole, while the findings of the subsequent excavation phases will be exhibited in a special museum space. Despite the impressive volume of the findings that are mainly highlighted in the central archaeological hall, there are serious museological failures. Visitors cannot have a perimeter view of the central hall and the projections on the empty walls are often difficult to distinguish due to the great distance. Moreover, in another space of ​​the station, a section of a 6th century AD street is exhibited and is surrounded by an aerial projection of landmarks of Thessaloniki, as a result of which the projection does not highlight the monument, but the monument is used to highlight the projection. Other than that, the station architecturally follows the same logic as the rest of the network.

What I can't see

When the antiquities were discovered, their removal and display in a future museum space had been proposed, but later the removal and re-installation was preferred. The then mayor of the city, Giannis Boutaris, in collaboration with the Association of Greek Archaeologists (AGA), strongly resisted and managed to secure the construction of the station with the in-situ conservation of the monuments, thus ensuring their authenticity, even if this specific station had to be delivered after the operation of the metro network. A few years later, the Ministry of Culture accused the previous government of not having carried out any study for the in-situ conservation of the monuments. Also, minister Lina Mendoni described the final construction study with the in-situ preservation of monuments by the Technical Studies Group (OTM ATE), as “an exposé of ideas or simple sketches”, as well as other technical reports and consultations by professors of renowned prestige from three universities in the country (NTUA, AUTH, Democritus), which, in fact, were submitted to the Council of State (CoS) following an appeal by 7 entities for the suspension of the removal. The AGA accused the minister of submitting false information to the CoS and of falsely claiming that if the project was not completed by the end of 2023, Greece would have to return European Union (ESRF) funds, which did not happen, since the project was ultimately delivered at the end of 2024, without any refund. The subsequent mayor, Konstantinos Zervas, also agreed with the idea of ​​the removal and re-installation, arguing that it would speed up the construction of the metro. Not only did this not happen, but on the contrary, the project was delayed, cost more, and was hastily delivered before the completion of the 18-month trial operation, required by safety protocols. The in-situ conservation of monuments has been applied elsewhere (e.g. Italy, Sofia, Istanbul, Athens) and this method, in the case of Thessaloniki, was advocated by leading scientists and entities from all over the world, such as Jean-Michel Spiecer (University of Fribourg, Switzerland), Maria Maroudi (University of Berkeley), Jean-Pierre Sodini (Paris I, Sorbonne and Académie des Inscription et Belles Lettres), Young Richard Kim (Illinois Chicago University), Dimiter Angelov (Harvard University), the general assembly of ICOMOS and the council of Europa Nostra (The Hague), emphasizing the importance of the monument for Europe. The removal of the monuments also means a simultaneous loss of authenticity and they automatically miss the opportunity to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, according to which in-situ conservation is a prerequisite, with only few exceptions (e.g. wars, natural disasters). The Council of State finally approved the removal, following a new consultation from the Central Archaeological Council (CAC). The AGA had serious objections regarding some members of the CAC, claiming that they have an indirect financial interest and accused the minister of starting the discussion on the removal study, before the Council of State’s final decision. The positive side of the removal, however, is that this gave the opportunity for excavations in deeper layers of history. In any case, the “Venizelou” metro station not only highlights the historical and urban past of the city, but also the contemporary political and social reality, how and if we utilize scientific knowledge and how we perceive the value of cultural heritage.

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