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Places to visit on Crete - Museums of Crete

Archaeological museum of Heraklion

Archaeological museum of Heraklion Crete hosts the most important and representative finds of the Minoan civilization.

The foundation of the first museum (1904-1912) is owed to the efforts of two Cretan archaeologists, Joseph Chatzidakis and Stephanos Xanthoudides, Ephors of the Archaeological Service. It housed the valuable finds from Crete until 1937, when the construction of the modern, antiseismic building was begun. Thanks to the efforts of Prof. Nicolaos Platon, the treasures of the museum survived during World War II, although the building was seriously damaged.

The task of rearranging the exhibition was undertaken by Prof. N. Platon in 1951, and in 1952 the finds were again on display. In 1964 a new wing was added and the arrangement of the exhibits was completed by the Director, St. Alexiou. Thus the museum today has twenty rooms in all, containing artefacts from the palaces, houses, tombs and caves in Crete.

The exhibiton of the museum is organized in chronological order, ranging from the Neolithic period to the Roman era (4th century A.D.) and geographically, according to the provenance of the finds.

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There are, though, several groups of finds exhibited in separate rooms:

  • All the LM III sarcophagi are displayed in room XIII, the Minoan frescoes in rooms XIV-XVI and the sculptures (reliefs, statues and architectural parts) in rooms XIX-XX.
  • The St. Giamalakis collection which was bought by the Greek State in 1962 is now on display in room XVII.
  • A collection of inscriptions is exhibited in a fenced, sheltered open space opposite the museum.
  • The archaeological collection of Archanes.
  • The Glyptotheke of Gortyn, which is exhibited at the archaeological site of Gortyn.
    • Archaeological museum of Heraklion is definatly a place to visit during your Crete holidays.
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