Description of the attraction
On the coast of the Aegean Sea at the foot of Mount Pelion in the historical region of Thessaly, there is one of the largest sea nodes in Greece - Volos. This is a fairly young city, which was founded only in the 19th century. Nevertheless, the region itself has been inhabited since ancient times and is of great interest to archaeologists and historians.
One of the most popular attractions in Volos is undoubtedly the Archaeological Museum. The beautiful neoclassical building that houses the museum was built in 1909 with funds donated by Alexis Athanasakis of the Portaria settlement in Pilon. The collection presented in the museum covers a huge period of time, starting from the Paleolithic era, and perfectly illustrates the development of the ancient culture of the entire region of Thessaly.
The exposition of the Archaeological Museum is interesting and varied. Here you can see magnificent jewelry, a variety of ceramics and bronzes, sculptures, figurines, a collection of ancient coins, clay models of houses, various funerary artifacts and tombstones from different eras, and much more.
The Neolithic era is especially vividly represented in the museum. Many unique relics reflect the development of prehistoric Greece very clearly. Among the most valuable artifacts of this period are jewelry, household utensils and agricultural tools from the settlements of Dimini and Sesklo (the oldest Neolithic settlements in Europe).
Also interesting are such exhibits as a model of a Mycenaean chariot (13th century BC), a gold necklace (3000-2000 BC), an amphora from Soros (4th century BC), etc. etc. Painted funerary steles of the Hellenistic period from the ancient settlement of Demetriada (Demetrias) also occupy a special place in the collection. The museum also displays reliefs from the early Christian and Byzantine periods.
Today the Archaeological Museum of Volos is recognized as one of the best museums in Greece. The magnificent collection of ancient artifacts, which is regularly updated with new interesting archaeological finds, attracts a huge number of antiquity lovers. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions, and an interesting educational program “Neolithic culture: Dimini and Sesklo” is available for elementary school students.
