Distomo Archaeological Collection

The Distomo Archaeological Collection is a museum in Distomo, in Boeotia, Central Greece. The museum, noted for its pottery collection, was established in 1994 and is supervised by the Tenth Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.

History

The idea of a museum began in 1987 when the local council donated an old stone primary school erected in 1903 to the Greek Ministry of Culture, which began renovating and restoring the building. ^[1] The Archaeological Collection of Distomo then opened formally in 1994 by Evangellos Pentazos^[1] to showcase finds from the ancient Phocean city of Ambrossos, which was located on the site of modern Distomo.^[2]

Collection

The artifacts, which date from the Mycenaean to the Early Christian period, derive primarily from excavations of the Tenth Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.^[2] The permanent collection of the museum occupies two rooms and the entrance hall on the ground floor and one of the basement rooms is used as a conservation laboratory for mosaics, while another houses an exhibition of World War II photographs related to the Distomo massacre in 1944 by Nazi troops.^[2]

The museums contain a notable pottery collection from Medeon and Antikyra. It has a number of vases unearthed in the cemetery of ancient Medeon, spanning over 1600 years from the Mycenaean to the Roman era (14th century BC - 2nd century AD).^[3] The vases from Antikyra date between the 8th and 2nd centuries BC. One of the notable artifacts is a clay sima, which preserves the outlet for the rain water in the form of a lion's head. It was discovered in a building in Antikyra and is dated to the 4th century BC.^[3]

References

External links

• Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism
• Greek travel directory