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Demokratias metro station

Part of a cemetery from the Hellenistic to the Early Byzantine period and ancient complexes of state warehouses and workshops were discovered at the "Demokratias" metro station.

  1. Modern and Contemporary era (1912 - )


    2006 Beginning of the metro construction.

    2024 Completion and operation.

  2. Ottoman era (1453- 1912)


  3. Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)


  4. Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)


  5. Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)


  6. Classical era (478-323 BC)


  7. Archaic era (800-479 BC)


  8. Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)


  9. Prehistory (-1100 BC)


What I can see

The metro tunnel has been constructed lower than the archaeological layers and this gave the opportunity to bring to light many important findings. At the tickets level, we can admire an inscribed sarcophagus (200-250 AD) and Gaza-type amphorae for storing and transporting wine, which were found stacked in the outdoor facilities of a Byzantine church complex. In addition, the station is decorated with images from the excavations carried out during its construction. Two axes of escalators in opposite directions connect this level with the central platform, which also has security doors.

What I can't see

More specifically, a section of a roadside western cemetery was discovered, which included various funerary structures from the Hellenistic to the Early Byzantine periods, marble sarcophagi, altars, many offerings, jewelry, figurines and luxurious clay and glass vases. On either side of the road that lead to the Golden Gate, large complexes of state warehouses and workshops of late antiquity were discovered, such as oil and wine warehouses and an olive press. After 450 AD, an ecclesiastical complex with a small single-aisled church was erected on top of them. Other craft and storage spaces operated until 900 AD, when they were destroyed by fire. Later, retaining walls were constructed for flood protection and sporadic burials took place until 1500.

Bibliography

Elliniko Metro Inc. (2023), Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στο Μετρό Θεσσαλονίκης, [Archaeological works in Thessaloniki Metro] in

https://www.emetro.gr/?page_id=20845

Last visit 14/1/2025

 

Thessaloniki metro information signs

 

Field observation by scientific editors