Archaeologists in Greece’s second-largest city have uncovered a 70-metre section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was the city’s main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago.
The ancient road, and side roads perpendicular to it, appear to closely follow modern roads in the city today
The marble-paved road was unearthed during excavations for Thessaloniki’s new underground system, which is due to be completed in four years.
The road in the northern port city will be raised to be put on permanent display when the metro opens in 2016.
The excavation site was shown to the public on Monday, when details of the permanent display project were also announced.
Several of the large marble paving stones were etched with children’s board games, while others were marked by horse-drawn cart wheels.
Also discovered at the site were remains of tools and lamps, as well as the bases of marble columns.
Viki Tzanakouli, an archaeologist working on the project, said the Roman road was about 1,800 years old, while remains of an older road built by the ancient Greeks 500 years earlier were found underneath it.
“We have discovered roads on top of each other, revealing the city’s history over the centuries,” Mr Tzanakouli said.
“The ancient road, and side roads perpendicular to it, appear to closely follow modern roads in the city today.”
About seven metres below ground in the centre of the city, the ancient road follows in roughly the same direction as the city’s modern Egnatia Avenue.
The underground works, started in 2006, present a rare opportunity for archaeologists to explore under the densely populated city – but have also caused years of delays for the project.
In 2008, workers on the Thessaloniki metro discovered more than 1,000 graves, some filled with treasure. The graves were of different shapes and sizes, and some contained jewellery, coins or other pieces of art.
A massive excavation project also took place during the 1990s in the capital, Athens, before the city’s new metro system opened in 2000.
Thessaloniki’s new underground system is already four years behind schedule, due to the excavation work as well as Greece’s financial crisis. Thirteen stations will operate initially, before a 10-station extension is added later.
Road facts
• Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.
• The roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate.
• The highway system spanned more than 400,000 kilometres of roads, including over 80,500 km of paved areas.
• At one point, the Roman Empire was divided into 113 provinces linked by by 372 great roads.
• The Romans became adept at building roads, which they called viae. They were intended for carrying material from one location to another. It was permitted to walk or pass and drive cattle, vehicles, or traffic of any description along the path.
• They used broken stones mixed with cement and sand or cement mixed with broken tiles, curving the stones so that the water could drain, and on top they used tightly-packed paving stones.