Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum

Thessaloniki's Archaeological Museum host some of the most impressive ancient Macedonian and Roman treasures of the area.

Designed by the Patroklos Karantinos, the Archaeological Museum was thrown open on the 27th of October 1962, a year after its construction began (January 1961). The inauguration of the museum coincided with the golden jubilee celebrations of the freedom of Thessaloniki. By 1971, all displays were in place and among the exhibits were miniature art belonging to the Classical and Archaic times, a collection from the prehistoric period and various sculptures. On the inaugural day the Museum also presented to the public their treasures unearthed from the tombs at Derveni. In 1978, some startling discoveries were unearthed at Vergina and the entire arrangement of the museum was changed in order to exhibit these. The treasures from the royal tombs were presented in an exhibition entitled 'Treasures of Ancient Macedonia', in the chambers housing the miniature art collection and the prehistoric exhibits.

As more archaeological discoveries presented themselves, it became necessary to build additional capacity to store and exhibit them. Consequently, in the month of July 1980, a new wing was inaugurated with an exhibition on Alexander the Great. A few months later, a cemetery at Sindos was excavated, which had a significant amount of gold. The exhibits from these were displayed to the public through the Sindos exhibition held in October 1982.