A Special Day Out

During the winter months there isn’t much to do here in Crete as most  Museums and  tourist shops are closed. Now spring is here everything comes to life and tourists begin to arrive. So John and I decided to go to the Archaeological Museum of Siteia where there is a renewed Exhibition. We were especially interested as John and I had helped with conservation of some of the vessels displayed in the museum, while at the Institute for Aegean Prehistory Study Center for East Crete.

The Archaeological Museum of Siteia, like all the local museums of Greece constructed in the 1980’s employed an object-orientated display program. Over the years, the need for re-evaluating the exhibition was expressed. The idea matured into a necessity to upgrade the existing objectives of the exhibition, and to bring them into accordance with modern museological data. Thus, it became imperative to restructure and enrich the exhibition in order to a) highlight the many significant finds that have emerged from recent excavations in the areas of Siteia, and b) provide comprehensive to the visitor, creating both a pleasant museum experience, and setting the foundation for educational programs and other activities.

A combined approach was adopted for the purposes of the ” re-exhibition ”  A concept- orientated model organizing the archaeological material was blended with the tradition object-orientated approach, which organically connects the thematic and chronological sections , and at the same time encourages the development of notional correlations attractive to the museum visitor.  In brief, the underlying concept of the re-exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Siteia  can be expressed as, Siteia from  Prehistoric to Roman times through the excavated remains”.

Each display section follows the chronological and developmental progress of the civilization in the area of Siteia and the wider region, integrated and presented within time periods in individual thematic sections and subsections. The Prehistoric sections utilize the dating system developed by Nikolaos Platon in 1966 and published in Archaeologia Mundi. His chronology is based on the development of architechtural complexes frequently called palaces in Aegean Bronze Age periods (such as the Prepalatial period. the Protopalatial period etc.)This gave us the opportunity to display the changes and evolution of the urban environment throughout the specific phases.

The opportunity to realize a renewal of the Siteia Museum exhibit was due, in part, to the large project of expansion and re-exhibition taking place in the Archaeological Museum of Hagios Nikolaos. The old display cases from the Hagios Nikolaos Museum were transported to the Siteia Museum and were adapted to fit the needs of the new museological and museographical study of the museum.

The process of renewing the exhibition in the Archaeological Museum of Siteia is not yet complete. The creation of informational signs and the labeling of objects are in progress and should be finished in  the coming months.

Even though the new exhibition was not yet complete John and I found the new Siteia Museum delightfully light and the displays well set out with plenty of room to walk around each of the many artifacts and display cabinets. We look forward to visiting the Siteia Museum again. No doubt our colleagues at the Instap Study Center will let us know when all is complete.

Below are a few of the Photo’s

Minoan Bathtubs and Storage Jars.

Vessels from a Shipwreck from the Island of Pseira Crete

These small figures are connected with worship.

 

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