Archaeological Museum of Tegea

Archaeological Museum of Tegea
Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Αλέας Τεγέας
Established	1908
Location	Tegea; Arcadia, Greece
Coordinates	37°27′15″N 22°25′14″E / 37.454095°N 22.420655°E
Type	Archaeological Museum
Owner	Ephorate Antiquities of Arcadia, Ministry of Culture and Sports
Website	tegeamuseum.gr

The Archaeological Museum of Tegea is a museum in Tegea, Arcadia, Greece.

History

1906 - 1907: Bishop Neilos (Smyrniotopoulos) donates a plot of land at Piali (modern day Alea) to the Archaeological Society at Athens for the construction of the Archaeological Museum of Tegea. The Society accepts the donation and proceeds to the approval of the construction cost of the building.

1909: Konstantinos Romaios, with the support of the Athens Archaeological Society, proceeds to the completion of the museum building and the creation of the exhibition.

1935 - 36: The roof of the museum collapses. Antiquities are damaged. Markelos Mitsos, the curator of the antiquities at the time, undertakes and carries out the difficult task of the repair works and the reorganization of the exhibition. At that time gallery no.4 is built.

1941: Apokrypsis: The exhibits are buried in the museum floor (03/04/1941). The German invasion of Greece is imminent.

1967 - 1968: Extensive repair works at the Archaeological Museum of Tegea begin, under the supervision of Angelos Delivorias, curator of antiquities at the time, and the architect of the Department of Antiquities and Restoration of the Ministry of the Presidency of the Government, Dionysios Triantafyllidis.

1990: Attempted burglary at the Archaeological Museum of Tegea.

1992: A burglary occurs at the Archaeological Museum of Tegea. Among the antiquities stolen is the famous head of Telephus, a Scopas’ original masterpiece.

1994: Eight of the stolen exhibits are recovered and returned to the museum.

1998: The marble head of Asclepius and the relief that depicting Dionysus, Artemis and Heracles are recovered and returned to the museum.

2005: The Archaeological Museum of Tegea is integrated in the Operational Program "Culture" of the 3rd Community Support Framework (CSF). Building upgrade project starts.

2011 - 2013: The re-exhibition project of the Archaeological Museum of Tegea is integrated in the Operational Program "Western Greece - Ionian Islands" of the Greece National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF).^[1]

Exhibits

The exhibits follow the development of Tegea – once the most important powerful city of Arcadia – and the sanctuaries associated with it. The most important sanctuary is that of Athena Alea, whose site can be visited 200 meters distant from the museum.

The museum houses collections from various sites, including Neolithic and Early Bronze Age items from Agiorgitika and Asea, objects from various sites at Tegea, including the temple of Alea Athena, and Early Christian and Byzantine objects from the Episkopi Tegeas.^[2]

The exhibits are structured into four inside galleries: 1. Neolithic to Early Bronze Age Archaic period, development of the Polis; 2. Arcadian Herms, private donations to sanctuaries discovered only in the region of Tegea; 3. Evolution of the polis from the Greek classical period to the Roman period; 4. The development of the sanctuary of Athena Alea. In addition, an outdoor exhibit, centered around “Public Life” and “The Hereafter” can be visited.^[3]