Ancient aqueduct, thousands of Hellenistic artifacts uncovered in Greece
Greek archeologists unearthed an ancient aqueduct and thousands of objects and artifacts dating from Hellenistic and Roman times during the excavations for the expansion of the Athens metro line to Pireaus.
Some of the artifacts will frame the permanent exhibition that will be set up in the metro station “Municipal Theater” in Pireaus which is currently under construction, greece.greekreporter.com reported.
The exhibition will include, in addition to ancient objects, representations of ancient tanks and wells, a model copy of the aqueduct, as well as an authentic pebble floor from a house room of the classical/ Hellenistic era that was found during the excavations.
“There is a large volume of ancient material, precisely because the excavation was the largest ever conducted in Piraeus,” archeologist George Peppas told Athensmacedonia News Agency (AMNA).
He said that the largest excavation was at the Municipal Theater station, where parts of ancient buildings were uncovered as well as a water supply system. “The uncovering of the aqueduct is very important, Peppas said.
“By excavating 55 meters of its central tunnel at the ‘Municipal Theater’ station, we were able to make a timeline of its operation, that is, from its construction, which must have taken place in the years of Hadrian, to its abandonment during the Gothic invasions. We believe that the water came from Athens through the Long Walls and specifically from the hill of Ardittos,” he added.
Thousands of other ancient artifacts and objects were also uncovered during the excavations. “We now have the largest collection in Greece of wooden objects that come from houses, ie items of household appliances, furniture, utensils, tools, but also organic materiel, such as fruits, wood and tree branches,” said Peppas.
But one artifacts stands above all other: A headless wooden statue of Hermes from the Hellenistic period, which was discovered at the bottom of an ancient well.