Archaeological Museum of Chora

About

The Archaeological Museum of Chora is a museum in Chora, Messenia, in southern Greece, whose collections focus on the Mycenaean civilization, particularly from the excavations at the Palace of Nestor and other regions of Messenia. The museum was founded in 1969 by the Greek Archaeological Service under the auspices of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Olympia. At the time, the latter included in its jurisdiction the larger part of Messenia.

The museum building: The museum was built to shelter and exhibit finds from the excavations of Carl Blegen at the Palace of Nestor in Epano Englianos, as well as those of Spyridon Marinatos in the regions of Pylia and Trifylia. Because of their contributions to the museum, the busts of both archaeologists are positioned at the staircase leading to the museum's entrance. On either side of the entrance stand large burial pithoi of the Middle Helladic period, from the tumuli of Kokorakou, Peristeria, and Agios Ioannis, Papoulia. The building has two stories: the exhibition space is on the elevated ground floor, and the basins are used as storage for the archaeological material and as a study area. The exhibition space is divided into three consecutive...