Ancient meets modern as a new subway in Greece showcases archaeological treasures

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, is getting a brand new subway system that will showcase archaeological discoveries made during construction that held up the project for decades.

The 9.6-kilometer inaugural line will officially open on Nov. 30, using driverless trains and platform screen doors. Construction began in earnest in 2003 and unearthed a treasure trove of antiquities in a vast excavation beneath the densely populated city of a million residents.

“This project offers a remarkable blend of the ancient and modern, integrating archaeological heritage with metro infrastructure,” Christos Staikouras, the transport and infrastructure minister, told reporters Friday on a media tour of the subway.

Tunneling followed ancient commercial routes through the center of the port city that has been continuously inhabited since ancient times. It exposed a Roman-era thoroughfare, ancient Greek burial sites, water and drainage systems, mosaics and inscriptions and tens of thousands of artifacts spanning centuries, also through Byzantine and Ottoman rule.

The tunnels had to be bored at a greater depth than originally planned, adding cost and delays, to preserve the ancient discoveries.

Key pieces of what was found have been put on display along the underground network of 13 stations including a section of the marble-paved Roman thoroughfare at the central Venizelou Station.

“The project faced substantial delays and many challenges, including over 300,000 archaeological finds, many of which are now showcased at various stations along the main line,” Staikouras said.

The Thessaloniki metro was first conceived more than a century ago and its completion has been greeted with quiet amazement by residents who for years used the metro project as a punchline for bureaucratic delays and undelivered promises.

Government officials said the cost of the metro so far has reached 3 billion euros ($3.1 billion) for the completed first line of the subway system and most of a second line which is currently under construction and due to be delivered in a year.

The construction consortium was made up by Greece’s Aktor, Italy’s Webuild and Japan’s Hitachi Rail.

The newly built Agias Sofias metro station ahead of its Nov. 30 official opening, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 – part of the city's long-delayed subway system showcasing archaeological finds from decades of construction. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Reporters and officials use the metro during a media day ahead of its Nov. 30 official opening, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 – part of the city's long-delayed subway system showcasing archaeological finds from decades of construction. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

A member of the cleaning staff walks through the newly built Nea Elvetia metro station ahead of its Nov. 30 official opening, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 – part of the city's long-delayed subway system showcasing archaeological finds from decades of construction. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

A banner referring to the ancient antiquities on display at the newly built Agias Sofias metro station ahead of its Nov. 30 official opening, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 – part of the city's long-delayed subway system showcasing archaeological finds from decades of construction. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Ancient antiquities are displayed at the newly built Agias Sofias metro station ahead of its Nov. 30 official opening, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 – part of the city's long-delayed subway system showcasing archaeological finds from decades of construction. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

The newly built Agias Sofias metro station ahead of its Nov. 30 official opening, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 – part of the city's long-delayed subway system showcasing archaeological finds from decades of construction. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Metro wagons are parked at the newly built Pylaia depot ahead of its Nov. 30 official opening, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 – part of the city's long-delayed subway system showcasing archaeological finds from decades of construction. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Ancient antiquities are displayed at the newly built Agias Sofias metro station ahead of its Nov. 30 official opening, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 – part of the city's long-delayed subway system showcasing archaeological finds from decades of construction. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

The newly built New Railway Station metro station ahead of its Nov. 30 official opening, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 – part of the city's long-delayed subway system showcasing archaeological finds from decades of construction. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

An ancient site at the newly built Agias Sofias metro station ahead of its Nov. 30 official opening, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 – part of the city's long-delayed subway system showcasing archaeological finds from decades of construction. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

LONDON (AP) — A woman who claimed mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in a Dublin hotel penthouse was awarded nearly 250,000 Euros ($257,000) on Friday by a civil court jury in Ireland.

The woman said the Dec. 9, 2018, assault after a night of partying left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

McGregor shook his head as the jury of eight women and four men returned the verdict after deliberating for about six hours in the High Court in Dublin. He was mobbed by cameras as he left court but did not comment.

McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sex.

The woman's voice and hands trembled as she read a statement outside the courthouse, saying she would never forget what happened to her but would now be able to move on with her life. She thanked her family, partner, friends and all the supporters that had reached out to her online, but particularly her daughter.

“She has given me so much strength and courage over the last six years throughout this nightmare to keep on pushing forward for justice,” the woman said. “I want to show (her) and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.”

Her lawyer told jurors that McGregor was angry about a fight he had lost in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client.

“He’s not a man, he’s a coward,” attorney John Gordon said in his closing speech. “A devious coward and you should treat him for what he is.”

The woman had to take several breaks in her emotional testimony as she said McGregor threatened to kill her during the encounter.

A paramedic who examined the woman the next day, testified that she hadn’t seen someone with that intensity of bruising.

McGregor put her in a chokehold several times and later told her, “now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times,” referring to an Ultimate Fighting Championship when he had to admit defeat, she said.

She feared she would die and never see her daughter again.

“He let me go and I remember saying I was sorry, as I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” she said.

She said she then let him do what he wanted and he had sex with her.

Police investigated the woman’s complaint, but prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely.

McGregor said the two had sex that was athletic and vigorous, but not rough. He said “she never said ‘no’ or stopped” and testified that everything she said was a lie.

“It is a full blown lie among many lies,” he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. “How anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings.”

McGregor’s lawyer told jurors they had to set aside their animus toward the fighter.

“You may have an active dislike of him, some of you may even loathe him – there is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise,” attorney Remy Farrell said. “I’m not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.”

The defense said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They also showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kiss McGregor’s arm and hug him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked “happy, happy, happy.”

McGregor said that when he was first questioned by police, he read them a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-up questions.

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, right, and partner Dee Devlin outside the High Court in Dublin Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, where he is appearing for a personal injury case against him. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Nikita Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, center, speaks with the media outside the High Court in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, after a civil jury found that mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted her in a hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Nikita Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, leaves the High Court in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, after a civil jury found that mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted her in a hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Conor McGregor and partner Dee Devlin leave the High Court in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, after a civil jury found that mixed martial arts fighter sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor and partner Dee Devlin walk outside the High Court in Dublin, Ireland, where he is appearing for a personal injury case against him, on Friday Nov. 22, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, front, and his father Tony, right, outside the High Court in Dublin, Ireland, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor outside the High Court in Dublin, Ireland, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)