Opening of the Archaeological Museum of Kythnos
The Museum is housed in the old, one-room, Primary School of Chora, in buildings constructed according to the first state programme for the construction of schools (Royal Decree of 1894), according to the plans of the engineer Dimitris Kallias, which were granted by the Municipality of Kythnos to the Ministry of Culture and Education.
The archaeological material of the exhibition comes from the excavations carried out so far in important sites of Kythnos, such as the ancient city and the early settlement of Maroulas, which have been carried out since the 1990s by Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian.
“In 1994, together with Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian, we organised a conference on Kea and Kythnos. In the text of the conclusions, all the delegates came to what was the wish of the islanders: To create an archaeological museum on their island. Thirty years later, this dream is becoming a reality thanks to the will of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the diligence of my colleagues at the Ephorate of Cyclades Antiquities, the Archaeological Service, the South Aegean Region and the Regional Governor George Hadjimarkos, who in 2016 embraced the desire of the people of Kythnos and started the process for its inclusion in the NSRF 2014-2021.”
More specifically, the exhibits come from systematic surface research and excavations in the ancient city (Vryokastro), from collections and rescue interventions in the countryside (farmhouse in Maistralia, extra-urban sanctuary in Agia Marina), from collections of scattered finds – mainly architectural elements of all periods from various locations on the island, and from the excavation in the Mesolithic settlement of Maroulas.
