Exposing the Hellenistic past of Piraeus

Construction works often expose much of our hidden past, and the extension of Athens’ metro line to Piraeus is no exception.

What makes these digs particularly interesting is the fact that they go to deeper levels. In the present case, archaeologists have unearthed a huge amount of wooden artifacts from Hellenistic times. They were mostly thrown into the wells after the Romans invaded Athens in 86 BC. The search revealed wooden vessels, tools, parts of furniture, and even wooden construction elements. Extremely rare is the headless wooden statue of Hermes recovered from a well.

These wells and cisterns also yielded many more bits and pieces, and so far, 4,000 pieces have undergone restoration, together with 1,400 restored vessels and a collection of 1,300 wooden artifacts.

Of interest also is the excavation of the 55-meter-long central tunnel of the old aqueduct, which apparently was built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. It kept on functioning until it was destroyed by the invading Goths.

For the pleasure of today's Athenians and other visitors, the metro construction company has arranged an exhibition called Stin Epifania, meaning Brought to Light, or to the Surface, and housed in the Xylapothiki building. During the weekends, people are welcome to watch the excavation works from above.

At one of the metro stops, the Municipal Theater, an original salvaged mosaic floor will be exhibited under glass once the station is completed.

The volume of salvaged material from the eight separate excavation sites is vast, and it proves that the construction works can go hand in hand with archaeological excavations.

[Wooden statue, most likely of the ancient Greek god Hermes and an ancient Roman water tunnel from Piraeus, Greece.  EPA-EFE/GREEK MINISTRY OF CULTURE]