Today marks the grand opening of Thessaloniki’s Metro in Greece – a moment that seamlessly blends cutting-edge engineering with the rich tapestry of the city’s history.

Eight years ago, our research publication (https://lnkd.in/d-C_VxMC) dared to propose, on the basis of a multi-disciplinary cost-benefit analysis, what seemed impossible at the time: that the Byzantine antiquities at Venizelou Station could be indeed preserved while accelerating construction efforts. That publication aimed to contribute with pure scientific facts in the fierce, at that time, public debate towards innovative solutions for this highly complex project.

The journey has been long and filled with challenges, as many ideas were explored, refined, and implemented with and without temporary detachment of the antiquities. Some of them, such as the preservation of the antiquities in situ excavating directly below the level that they were discovered, may have been, in fairness, more rigorous from an archaeological viewpoint. Equally, this approach, though technically feasible, seemed to be way more complex to deliver. History will show which one of the two construction approaches would have been the optimum one. The reality is, however, that today this city named by the sister of Alexander the Great, with 2,350 years of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek history, steps into a new era of mobility exactly below the pathway that was used for centuries.

Hey “μετρό”, you are very welcome!

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Photo credit: https://lnkd.in/dES57tGC