In Greece, everyday treasures, discovered around the Acropolis, exhibited this summer

Greece on Wednesday opened to the public an exhibition of more than 1,100 objects, ranging from statues to board games to children’s toys, that were discovered in an ancient neighborhood of Athens during excavations in the area of ​​the modern Acropolis Museum.

The objects, unearthed at the foot of the Acropolis hill which houses the Parthenon temple, have been restored and are part of a site that Greece calls “the museum under the museum.” It will be accessible to visitors from July 26. Everyday objects, whether storage containers, cooking pots, weaving tools or needles, bear witness to the daily lives of locals for 4,500 years, the Culture Ministry said.

The remains of the district in which the Acropolis Museum was built reveal a set of streets, houses with spacious rooms and courtyards, baths and workshops. They have been accessible to visitors since 2019. “Placed on the southern outskirts of the archaeological site, (the exhibition) fits harmoniously into the visitor’s journey, contributing to the understanding of people’s daily lives”declared the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni.

Negotiation with the British Museum

More than 1.5 million people visit the Acropolis Museum each year, which covers 14,000 square metres and aims to provide a visual link with the Parthenon and the other temples on the Acropolis Hill. About half of the 160-metre Parthenon Temple frieze is in the British Museum, while fifty metres of engravings are in the Athens Museum.

Greece has repeatedly asked the British Museum to permanently return the 2,500-year-old sculptures that British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the temple in 1806, when Greece was under the rule of the Ottoman Turks. Lina Mendoni said the new museum was the ideal place to house the Parthenon in its entirety. “This museum constitutes the optimal physical and conceptual framework for showcasing, interpreting and understanding its masterpieces”she said.