Twenty-nine Greek antiquities, products of looting and smuggling from Macedonia, Epirus, Central Greece, the Cyclades and Crete, were handed over by the Manhattan Prosecutor’s office in USA to Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni. The antiquities ended up in the USA, through the criminal networks of illegal trafficking of cultural goods. …
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The impressive portable, ancient sundial in Philippi Museum
The impressive portable ancient sundial is being presented at the Archaeological Museum of Philippi in Kavala, northern Greece. The horological device is dated 250-350 AD and it is highlighted by the Culture Ministry as “the exhibit of the week.” The sundial is the earliest type of timekeeping device, which indicates …
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UK PM Sunak rules out law change for return of Parthenon marbles
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ruled out changing a law which prohibits the British Museum handing the Parthenon marbles permanently back to Greece. Sunak said there are no plans to amend the legislation, which states the museum can only dispose of objects within its collection in limited circumstances. However, the …
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Halkidiki: Large ancient cemetery with over 1,000 graves unearthed
The ancient and modern history of Halkidiki, buried in the earth came to light and revealed over 1,000 of ancient graves on the peninsula of Kassandra and Sithonia. The touristic development can overshadow its archaeological wealth, but thanks to it, one of the largest cemeteries of the northern Greek area …
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Vatican hands over three Parthenon fragments to Greece
Τhree marble fragments of the Parthenon temple kept at the Vatican Museums were presented to Greece as a gift for the Acropolis Museum at a ceremony in the Holy See on Tuesday. The gift is a personal decision by Pope Francis to Archbishop Hieronymos of Athens and All Greece. Τhe …
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Parthenon marbles could be seen both in London and Athens, says British Museum
The UK is working on a new arrangement with Greece through which the Parthenon Sculptures could be seen both in London and in Athens, British Museum chair George Osborne said on Thursday, describing it as a win-win situation. Osborne, a former finance minister, reiterated that the museum was having constructive …
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Sweden returns 4,000-year-old seal to Greece
A seal of the Greek antique manufactured in Argolida, Peloponnese, 4,000 years ago returned home.The Swedish embassy in Athens handed over the seal to the Culture Minister in a ceremony on Wednesday. In 1922 Half of the seal ended up in >half stayed in Greece, the Swedish embassy noted in …
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Archaeologists shut down 5 biggest museums in Greece protesting the status change
Five of largest public museums in Greece are closed on Monday, February 13, due to the 24-hour strike by the Association of Greek Archaeologists. Closed are the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, the Byzantine and Christian Museum, the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Byzantine Culture of Thessaloniki and the …
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Ancient artifacts, products of illegal trafficking, return to Greece from Switzerland
Fifteen ancient objects dating from the prehistoric to the Roman period are being repatriated to Greece from Switzerland the Greek culture Ministry has announced. The ancient items are being repatriated by decision of a Geneva court in July last year following proceedings against an antiquities dealer. The items include figurines, …
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Parthenon Sculptures belong in UK, says Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan
The Parthenon Sculptures “belong here in the UK” and should not be returned to Greece, the Culture secretary Michelle Donelan has insisted late on Wednesday. The ancient artworks, better known in the UK as the Elgin Marbles, are currently in the British Museum. Reports have suggested the museum’s chairman, George …
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Culture Ministry announces winner for new National Archaeological Museum
The winning entry for the New National Archaeological Museum is by the architectural offices of David Chipperfield Architects and Alexandros N. Tombazis & Associates SA, selected by an international committee convened by Culture & Sports Minister Lina Mendoni, the ministry announced on Monday. The committee was set up in …
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Greece: “British Museum has no legal right to Parthenon Sculptures, a product of theft”
With several days delay, the Greek Culture Ministry officially reacted to reports there was a secret deal with the British Museum for the temporary loan of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece. Greece does not recognize that the British Museum has any legal ownership rights to the Parthenon Sculptures, as they …
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Secret deal for timely limited return of Parthenon Sculptures raises furore
A plethora of publications in major international media, mainly British, but also in Bloomberg, have reported of an imminent agreement between the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum for the partial and timely limited return of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece. The “deal” is in fact no return of the …
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Deal between Greece & British Museum on Parthenon Marbles?
Greece’s Culture Ministry declined to confirm a report on Tuesday that the British Museum and the Acropolis Museum are nearing an agreement on the gradual return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece. According to Bloomberg news agency, such an agreement would foresee that a part of the Parthenon Sculptures would …
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Pope Francis “donates” Parthenon fragments to Archbishop Ieronymus
Pope Francis will return three fragments of the Parthenon sculptures which have been held in the Vatican museums, in the form of a “donation” to the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos II. The three fragments consist of the heads of a boy, …
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British Museum in talks on Parthenon Sculptures?
The British Museum has pledged not to dismantle its collection, following a report that the institution’s chairman has held secret talks with Greece’s prime minister over the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles. The report by the Greek newspaper Ta Nea is the latest twist …
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Rare Roman mosaics of “Europa” and “Orpheus” in Sparta Museum
The museum of two rare Roman floor mosaics in Sparta was inaugurated on Monday a year after the modern buildings housing the mosaics opened to the public. “The Rape of Europa” (2.06 x 2.00 meters) and “Orpheus Charming the Animals” (1.40 x 1.13 meters), dated between the end of the …
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Building remains point to Poseidon lost temple in Peloponnese
The remains of a temple-shaped building that could be a lost sanctuary of ancient god Poseidon have been discovered in Kleidi at the foothills of the acropolis of Samiko, western Peloponnese, the Culture Ministry announced on Wednesday. The excavations completed at the end of September revealed part of the foundation …
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Late Roman antiquities, mosaic floor unearthed in downtown Athens
Salvage excavations at the Theater Square – Plateia Theatrou- in downtown Athens have revealed Late Roman antiquities, the Greek Ministry of Culture said on Thursday. Salvage work in the area started on October 7, 2022. In works ahead of the area’s makeover, which lies southwest of the Athens City Hall, …
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Cycladic Art Figurines from controversial Stern Collection in Athens exhibition from Nov 3
Ten Early Cycladic figurines of the Leonard Stern Collection will be shown at the Museum of Cycladic Art from November 3, 2022 to October 31, 2023, as part of an agreement by the Greek Ministry of Culture, the Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The …
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