Archaeological findings from the Roman era brought to light excavations being carried out in the center of Alexandroupoli, on the occasion of natural gas operations. Five tile-roofed tombs with rich offerings were discovered on the city’s southern seafrontwithin the building fabric, adding another piece to the story puzzle.

The announcement of the new findings was made by the archaeologist of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Evros Filoxeni Aitatoglou at the 36th Annual Archaeological Meeting for the Archaeological Project in Macedonia and Thrace, held in Thessaloniki.

“Fortunately, the burials that were identified were not significantly affected. Of course, there was a disturbance, as all the projects that have been done in the city, such as drainage, water supply, telecommunications, passed through there. However, they were saved, both externally and internally,” said Mrs. Aitatoglou to the Athens/Macedonian News Agency.

The findings came to light from the work carried out under difficult conditions, within limited time limits and with a large dose of …luck. “Essentially we dig at the edges of the roads, where the pipeline passes, in a width of only 50 cm! So we come into contact with everything found in there”, explained the archaeologist. “The difficult thing is that when something is detected, because we are talking about the center of Alexandroupolis, the streets and pedestrian streets where there is entertainment, a stop sign should be issued in the municipality and traffic regulations should follow from the Traffic, which creates a problem in the city , but also to us, who, for example, when the weather is not good, we are delayed and the rest are delayed as well”, he adds.

However, as he points out, these are findings that archaeologists were sure they would discover, while certainty is equivalent that there are other burials in the area. This knowledge results from previous excavations carried out on the occasion of water supply and drainage projects during the decades 1970-1990, the findings of which were also presented by Mrs. Aitatoglou at the Conference.

“The important thing for us is that the finds are from the Roman era and we consider them to be in place that is a roman city. We found the cemetery which is extensive and has several, rich and special finds, but what we are looking for now, is let’s see where this city was exactlyor”, concluded Ms. Aitatoglou. On the plus side, work will continue further north in 2024, so archaeologists hope to find new evidence that will help better connect this piece of history.