Decision made to bury ruins of ancient temple in Thessaloniki

The Culture Ministry’s antiquities department said Thursday it will seek the reburial of the ruins of an ancient temple to Aphrodite that were unearthed between two apartment buildings in the northern port city of Thessaloniki in 2010 due to the high cost of preservation.

According to the department’s head, Stavros Lioutas, many of the statues and temple columns found during excavations at the site are already on display at the city’s archaeological museum.

“Burial is the best way to protect the temple,” he said, adding that visual material, plaques and information about the buried temple will be available on the site.

The head of the city’s municipal antiquities department, Giorgos Skiadaresis, said the burial is a temporary measure.