THESSALONIKI Metro - 2008

Neos Sidirodromikos Stathmos. Excavation initially focused on the E part of the station boundaries (an area of 1,350m²) and specifically on the area of the entry shaft for the tunnel-boring machine. Ninety four tombs were revealed, bounded to the N by 4 distinct peribolos walls oriented NW-SE, which were revealed at a d. of 3−5.5m beneath the mod. surface. A rich variety of tomb types was revealed (funerary monuments, built-chamber tombs, cist and pit graves, tile graves, enchytrismoi and altar-like structures of unworked stones which mark graves), which mostly contain inhumations, with a few instances of cremation and secondary reburial. Fifty eight of these contained ceramic or glass vessels, bronze coins, gold and bronze jewellery, gold danakes, and bone and metal artefacts. This part of the W cemetery was in use from the Hel− LRom period.

Excavation in this area is now complete. A further area of ca. 2,500m² has been opened in the W part of the station area, at the front of the station forecourt. At a d. of 2−2.8m, 4 potters’ kilns were found, with a dump area for broken tiles, wasters and discarded clay. This area, outside the W city wall, was known as the Potters’ Field due to the presence of many ceramic workshops. (Further details are noted in Eleftherotypia [22/08/2008], without attribution to source: the largest kiln, 5m l. and 3.5m w., is dated to the ECh period and described as used for the production of tiles and bricks; a smaller kiln nearby is dated to the 4th Ct AD.)