The Archaeological Museum of Mycenae is located within the archaeological site of Mycenae. It is structured in such a way as to preserve the material from the excavation of the citadel of Mycenae, its immediate area and the greater surrounding area, as well as to function as an exhibition space for informing the visitors, complementing to their tour.
Location of the Archaeological Museum of Mycenae
The museum is housed in a modern building, raised on the foot of Mycenae hill and directly neighboring to the citadel. It was built in a way that secures direct communication with the ancient ruins, segments of which are visible from its large windows, and the visitor will come along them on his course from the entrance to the archaeological site, where the ticket booth stands. It is built upon three layers and expands over a total area of 2000 sq.m. A large part of the museum is dedicated to the safekeeping of the archaeological material originating from the excavation and the research, conducted in the past and still ongoing.
Exhibits of the Archaeological Museum of Mycenae
The exhibition area covers roughly one quarter (1/4) of the museum extent. It was set up in the eastern wing of the building, on two layers and includes three halls. Its main entrance is located at its southwestern side. Before reaching the yard, where the entrance of the exhibition is located, the visitor meets the «vaulted Lion Tomb». The entrance leads to a long antechamber (165 sq.m.), at the center of which a scale model of the citadel has been placed, while paintings with text and visual material present the connected to Mycenae depictions of the area, by travelers of past centuries, as well as the timeline of the excavation. The tour starts at the hall that communicates with the antechamber on its right side. The other two halls are located at a lower level and communicate to the first one with a two-way inclined aisle. After that, the visitor returns to the antechamber from a different inclined aisle.
The exhibition extends to four independent units, mostly in large, perimetric, wall-mounted displays. The first two halls of the exhibition space are dedicated, the first to the life of Mycenaean people, and the second, found at a lower level, to their burial customs.
In the first hall, which is also the largest one (150 sq.m.), exhibits from the first use of the space are displayed, up until the end of the prehistoric times, according to the building complex where they were found. In the second hall (115 sq.m.) the material that comes from the tombs is displayed, starting from the Burial Circles A and B and moving on to the exhibits from the dotted cemeteries of the vaulted tombs in the greater area of Mycenae. The other two units are the themes of the third hall (115 sq.m.) of the exhibition. The first, has to do with the usage of the site in Mycenae during the historic times, while the second and last one, is dedicated to the activities of Mycenaean people, that are the cause of the uniqueness of the Mycenaean civilization.
In the spacious storage rooms of the museum, material transported from the Museum of Nafplio and the National Archaeological Museum is also housed. Specialized workshops of ceramic and metal objects allow for the on-scene maintenance of the material, while there are office areas and a library for the facilitation of the researchers that study them.
