Re-excavating’ Findings in Storage: The Refurbishment of the Old Acropolis Museum in Athens

Abstract

Since 1874, the Old Acropolis Museum (OAM) in Athens has housed archaeological materials from the Acropolis Hill and its Slopes, dating from Antiquity to the modern period. This case study explores the undertaking, over the past three years, of the OAM Reopening Project by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Athens (EACA), attached to the Greek Ministry of Culture. The repackaging, re-documentation, and study of stored objects, as well as the study of archives and relevant literature, unearthed both the history of OAM and the management of Acropolis antiquities. The stored archaeological material represents a unique and fascinating case study relevant to a diverse range of important topics for the cultural heritage sector, such as socio-political contexts, science, technology and available resources, as well as biographical insights into important players in the history of the museum. ‘Re-excavating’ stored archaeological material might represent an important strategy in the evolution of preventive conservation, and is relevant to the emerging history of archaeological storage practices.

Keywords:

• museum storage
• preventive Conservation
• archaeological archives
• documentation
• Old Acropolis Museum
• case study

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr Eleni Banou, Director of EACA, for her guidance and inspired editing of this paper. We also wish to express our gratitude and appreciation to the dedicated and talented interdisciplinary team at the EACA over the entire course of the project.

Notes

1 Α large-scale purification programme involved the demolition of medieval, Byzantine and Ottoman buildings (Mazower 2008).

2 In 1982 Melina Mercouri, then-Minister of Culture in Greece, started an international campaign focusing on the return of the Parthenon sculptures housed in the British Museum, aiming at the reunification of the monument. Available at: https://melinamercourifoundation.com/en/commissions-abroad/ [Accessed 13 May 2021]; https://www.bringthemback.org/en [Accessed 13 May 2021].

3 Manuscript Pen Company website: https://manuscriptpen.com/about-us/our-history

4 https://www.capital.gr/epixeiriseis/236094/pallis-aulaia-meta-apo-137-xronia

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maria Papadopoulou

Maria Papadopoulou is a conservator for the aforementioned project at the EACA. She holds an M.A. in Cultural Management and is currently conducting doctoral research on public engagement in cultural heritage conservation at the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens.

Athina-Antonia Bouzaki

Athina-Antonia Bouzaki is an architectural engineer and museologist. She holds an MSc and M.A. degree from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and is currently working on the project that is the object of this case study.

Kyriaki Koupadi

Kyriaki Koupadi is a conservator of Archaeological Materials for the aforementioned project. She holds an MSc in Science for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the University of Bologna.

Elisavet Mantzana

Elisavet Mantzana is a conservator of antiquities and cultural heritage objects. Her doctoral research at the University of Peloponnese focuses on archaeometric analysis of inorganic materials.

Maria Pavlou

Maria Pavlou is Cultural Heritage Conservator at the EACA and Supervisory Conservator for the aforementioned project.

Maria Tsichli

Maria Tsichli is Head of the project ‘Reopening the Old Museum of Acropolis with New Uses’ and an archaeologist in charge of the Acropolis site. She holds two MSc degrees: one in Greek Classical Archaeology and another in Management of Cultural Units from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Sophia Papida

Sophia Papida, conservator and museologist, is Head of the Conservation Department at EACA. She holds an M.A. in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester, UK.