queue before Papafeo Foundationearly Sunday morning, was endless. The Thessalonians patiently waited for their first descent into the bowels of the subway from its seventh stop, not as passengers, of course, but as visitors.

“Thirty-five years I endured, two hours is nothing. Who knows, maybe I will never survive,” said the elderly gentleman before descending into his underground facility. At the same time to Hagia Sophia Metro Station descended not visitors, but antiquities. An operation was begun to recapture the Krinae of late antiquity. Two large cranes were lifting two massive sections of masonry to return them to the position they were found in about three years ago. The impressive, almost cinematic transfer of the found property from Kalochori to the center of Thessaloniki on Sunday, when the market was open, was a sight to behold. Another queue of curious passers-by lined up around the blocked area to capture the unique spectacle on their mobile phones.

Green light for his return Krineu gave last Tuesday the Central Archaeological Council, which gave an opinion in favor of the study for the formation of archaeological excavations in Makedonomachon Square, where the work of the subway revealed important finds from the timeless city. The centerpiece of this is the Crineum / Nymphaeum of monumental proportions from late antiquity, the most imposing and opulent architecture of its kind, in terms of its size and state of conservation, which has appeared until today in Thessaloniki.

The monument was discovered in March 2016 to the northwest of the Agia Sophia station, at the junction of decumanus maximus and cardo streets – the eternal intersection of Egnatia and Hagia Sophia streets – where, during excavations, building complexes with mosaic floors and marble trim were discovered and plaster. .

Krinaeo/Nymphaeum was separated in order to return to its place after the completion of technical work at the Agia Sophia station and be allocated throughout the country along with the identified shops and workshops of the early Byzantine market. to the north-west of the area by the continuation of the excavation. The new study envisions a canopy at two different levels that will cover and protect both the finds and the entrance to the metro station. It spans almost a building block in length, while excavations will be visible, as well as the Byzantine temple of Achiropoita, one of the most important monuments of the UNESCO world cultural heritage.

The operation to recapture Crinios will be carried out in phases and will be completed within three weekends. Last Sunday, two large parts of it were moved about five meters below the surface of today’s Egnatia Street. They form the back of the Krinei. The building is U-shaped and is 15.45 m long, 1.85 m wide and 2.85 m high. It has niches with semi-circular walls, and the lead pipes interpret the hydraulic infrastructure of the original reservoir. The eastern side of the pyoid nymphaeum has not been preserved.

After conservation and selection of all the finds, Krinaeo will be visible from the sidewalk of Egnatia Street.

“Its construction dates back to the years of the successors of Constantine the Great in the second half of the 4th century, simultaneously with the construction of the Decuman road paved with marble,” the archaeological research team of Polyxenes Adama-Beleni, the head of the General Directorate, explained to us during its discovery by S. Vasiliado, S. Tsevreni , Z. Al-Saya from the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki. Crinaeo, according to the study, was reconstructed in the middle of the 5th century and was used until the end of the 6th century, when, to the north of the ancient road, a monumental sigmoid square sealed the ruins of the older buildings of the urban fabric.

imposing building

Although partially salvaged, the Crinaeo/Nymphaeum is the most imposing and luxurious building of its kind in terms of its size and state of conservation. “Monumental fountains/nymphaeums with niches, columns, statues, and colorful marble décor—donations from wealthy citizens—decorated key points in the cities of the Greco-Roman world. Their use had a functional purpose, that is, to serve the daily needs of the townspeople,” the archaeologists explain. This is the fifth known Crinaeo in Thessaloniki. In addition to the Fountain preserved outside Bay Hammam, three other smaller ones were discovered in the city center: the Nymphaeum on the plot of land at 91 Philipou Street, in the consecration of Agios Ioannis, and the original form of the fountain. a later Byzantine fountain of consecration in his crypt of the Basilica of Saint Demetrius.

“The model of the Nymphaeum of the Agia Sophia station belongs to the type with a theatrical façade. Its size, due to its volume and height, would make it visible from everywhere. Today it is the most monumental Nymphaeum of the city and one of the most impressive in the Roman world,” the archaeologists say. “It meets the standards of Roman antiquity, such as the sumptuous Nymphaeum of Miletus, the Nymphaeum of Trajan at Ephesus, or the three-storied Nymphaeum of Hesperus, which are the closest parallels to the Nymphaeum of Thessaloniki. The restoration of another fountain just three blocks east of the fountain in front of the bay hammam, built at the same time, shows that in the second half of the 4th century a program of urban reorganization and beautification was carried out in accordance with the standards of antiquity. in Thessaloniki. Unfortunately, the sponsor’s name has not been preserved.”

After the conservation and selection of all the finds from the Krinaeo square, it will be visible from the sidewalk of Egnatia, as well as from the corridors leading to the entrance to the station. The opening of the metro will also mean the opening to the public of a new archaeological site in the very center of Thessaloniki.

It remains to rearrange the antiques (92%) at the Venizelou station to the same place and level, which is planned by the metro administration in April 2023. The operation, which will close the open wound that separated Thessaloniki and the scientific community, will take many months. At the Venizelos station, a monumental town-planning complex has been identified that has preserved a whole section of the central street of the late Roman / early Byzantine Thessaloniki for the entire width (decumanus maximus), its intersection with a vertical street (cardo), a quadrangle at the intersection of streets, public buildings, a marble-paved square, and later than the shops of the city Byzantine market.