Athens – Egaleo Metro Station

There seems to be heritage everywhere in Athens and I didn’t expect to find this mini museum at the exit to Egaleo metro station. The station opened in 2007 and the items on display were found between 1997 and 2004.

The opening of the underground line marked a similar route to what was known as the Hiera Hodos, or the Sacred Way, from the Agora in central Athens to where the route ended at Eleusis, around 18 kilometres to the north west of Athens. There might be more heard of Eleusis in the next few years, as it’s the European Capital of Culture in 2021.

The information panel notes about how the skeleton of a horse was found, and how important the animals were to the people of Athens. They were one of the most common domesticated animals in the city and they were also used in the ancient Olympic Games.

Some items which were found during the excavations, all neatly displayed. Perhaps it should be a rule that every underground station has to have at least one display cases of finds from when it was dug, as I can’t imagine there are many places where absolutely nothing is discovered.