Archaeology in Greece, 1887–1888

Extract

The progress of archaeological work in Greece will be most conveniently noted under three heads.

1. New arrangements made for the building of museums and the general arrangement and exhibition of antiquities already known.

2. Excavations on the Acropolis and other discoveries at Athens itself.

3. Excavations carried on in the remainder of Greece and Asia Minor by the Greek government, the Archaeological Society, and the Archaeological Institutes of Germany, France, America. The work of the British School in Cyprus will be matter for separate publication, and need not be noted here.

The arrangement of antiquities is put first to avoid subsequent repetition. It is to be understood throughout that unless the contrary is expressly stated all antiquities found in the Acropolis have gone to the Acropolis Museum, all those found elsewhere in Greece to the Central Museum.

On the Acropolis the second museum is nearly complete. It is intended to contain vases, terra-cottas, and minor antiquities generally, and all such as are likely to be of interest to the ‘professional’ archaeologist, architect, and artist only. To this museum the general public will not be admitted. The Greek government acting through the general-director, Mr. Kabbadias, is most liberal in allowing all possible facilities for study to foreign archaeologists, and it is good news that there will now be space and seclusion in which it will be possible for them to avail themselves of such liberality. The disposition of the more notable antiquities in the first museum is nearly complete. It is unnecessary to describe in detail a collection well known and perhaps, in the department of archaic art, the finest in the world, but it may be noted that at last the beautiful slabs of the Parthenon frieze and those of the Nike balustrade are set up to full advantage. A catalogue of the museum is promised, but not as yet published.