BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

The Golden Wreaths of the Thessaloniki Metro Excavations

Bible and archaeology news

Last week, excavations for the construction of a new subway system in Thessaloniki uncovered a 2300-year-old golden olive branch wreath in a Macedonian cist tomb. Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, was founded in 315 B.C.E. by King Cassander of Macedon and named after his wife (the half-sister of Alexander the Great) Thessalonike. Thessaloniki developed an early Christian center, which later became the second wealthiest city in the Byzantine Empire. Excavations of the Thessalonian metro uncovered eight other Hellenistic golden wreaths in a unique female burial in 2008. As the city progresses forward with its new transportation system, its earliest antiquities are coming back to light.

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Greek cityscapes are full of reflections of the past. Read the Bible History Daily feature Stoa Poikile Excavations in the Athenian Agora to learn about the excavation of one of the most important buildings in Classical Greece.