Peloponnese: Argos Archaeological Museum Ready to Reopen

Photorealistic depiction of the revamped Argos Archaeological Museum. Photo source: Ministry of Culture.

The revamped archaeological museum of Argos in the Peloponnese and its upgraded display collection will soon reopen to the public, according to a recent Culture Ministry announcement.

The museum’s renovation plan will see one of its two buildings, the historic residence of General Dimitrios Kallergis, hosting administrative services while the adjacent more contemporary structure will house an updated display of its collections on all of its three levels, which will be fully accessible to all.

Furthermore, new digital technologies like audio descriptions, interactive applications and floor and wall projections will create an exhibition narrative where artefacts will be protected yet visually fully exposed by transparent materials, and categorized in thematic units.

“The revamped Argos archaeological museum will allow visitors to embark on a journey that will help them understand the complex and rich political and social history of the ancient city,” said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.

Since the 1960s, the museum has been housed in a building complex comprised of two distinctively different architectural structures: the neoclassical Kallergis residence built in 1830 and converted into a museum during 1956-1957 and the adjacent modernist wave 1959 building designed by Russian architect Youri Fomine.

The modernist wave building of the Argos Archaeological Museum. Photo source: Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolis.

The two structures will now be linked and both lead to the museum’s courtyard, which used to house inlaid mosaic tiles from 6th century AD Argos with depictions of the twelve months and scenes of hunting and Dionysian revels.

The old exhibition in the museum included finds, mostly pieces of pottery and sculpture, from the excavations of the current Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolis and the French Archaeological School at the prehistoric settlement of Aspida, the Mycenaean necropolis at Deirada, the ancient agora, the Argos theatre, the Roman baths, as well as the excavations of the American School of Classical Studies in Lerna.

Photorealistic depiction of the revamped Argos Archaeological Museum. Photo source: Ministry of Culture.

According to Mendoni, the revamped Archaeological Museum together with the local Byzantine Museum and Epigraphic Museum will create a unique cultural park worthy of Argos’ long history.

The museum had been closed since 2014, with renovation works jointly funded by Greece and the European Union.