Construction projects in cities that have been inhabited for thousands of years often run into special challenges as work crews come upon ancient artifacts, and suddenly, what was a construction site becomes an archaeological dig. Officials in Rome have been at work for two long decades on a new subway line for just that reason, as workers excavating stations on the new Line C, which will link the city center with distant southern suburbs, have turned up more than 500,000 artifacts. 

The city’s solution? Turn the subway stations themselves into little museums, so that ancient artifacts exist side-by-side with modern transit technology. 

Along just under two miles of line, Rome now has two new 100-foot-deep stops, Colosseo/Fori Imperiali and Porta Metronia, that serve to showcase the artifacts unearthed during the excavations that created the stations. 

The Colosseo/Fori Imperiali station, located between the Colosseum and the Basilica of Maxentius—the largest building in the Forum when it was built—contains a display of artifacts curated and funded by the Colosseum Archaeological Park and developed with the department of architecture and design at Rome’s Sapienza University. Commuters will encounter historical artifact...