The ancient city road and the metro beneath Vouliagmenis Avenue /

Distributed by University of Exeter Press.

This book presents the results of the excavations conducted by the Archaeological Service of the Ministry of Culture and carried out by archaeologists working just ahead of the construction teams building the new Metro. They uncovered a wealth of artefacts, and the foundations of homes and temples from ancient Athens, which had been hidden under the modern city.

Th e excavations followed Vouliagmenis Avenue and the underground Line 2 of the Metro whose seven stations serve the southern areas of Athens. Both the Metro line and Vouliagmenis Avenue follow the course of the ancient city road which connected the city of Athens with the demes (suburbs) west of Hymettus and continued to the Sanctuary at Sounion and the mines at Laurion.

Full of interesting detail and extensively illustrated, the book explores the history of one of the main arterial routes of Attica-- the historical region that encompasses the city of Athens--which was used from antiquity until the present day. The archaeological artefacts illustrated, both in drawings and with photographs, were recovered from excavations in both public and private sites.

Th is publication complements the 2000 exhibition catalogue The City beneath the City, published by the Greek Ministry of Culture and Museum of Cycladic Art.

Translated by British archaeologist Nicola Wardle. Foreword by Michalis A. Tiverios, Emeritus Professor of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki.