Excavations at the Acropolis Museum (Athens)
The remains of a neighborhood of ancient Athens are preserved in situ at the base of the Acropolis Museum. These include streets, houses, baths and workshops dating from the 5th century B.C. to the 9th century AD. Today, buildings from late antiquity and the early Byzantine period mainly survive while earlier remains are occasionally interspersed among them.
The presentation of the excavation and the establishment of an exhibition area dedicated to its own finds are expected to be completed in 2010. For the time being, visitors can get a glimpse of the excavation site through the openings and glass floor panels at ground level.
Through the wide opening of the roofed entrance, visitors can have a view of a section of a large building dated from the 7th century A.D, featuring a circular hall-tower (1), a dining area with three niches (2), a reception hall (3), a private bath (4), wells, cisterns (5) and other utility or service areas. Slightly further north, we can make out the remains of a small bath dating to the 2nd - 3rd century A.D (6).
Along the north side of the Museum (7), as well as under the glass floor panels at ground level (8), we can see the other halls of the Byzantine building and some of the areas of earlier dwellings.
A house of the 5th century B.C. is visible through the glass floor of the interior antechamber to the Museum. One of the rooms featuring a mosaic floor is the "andron", set aside for symposia (9).
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Sources
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Resources
Athens Album (Byzantine Legacy Flickr)