Aiani Archaeological Museum, Archaeological museum in Aiani, Greece.
The Aiani Archaeological Museum is a two-storey building in Aiani, West Macedonia, Greece, with eight exhibition halls, of which two are open to visitors, plus storage rooms, offices, a library, a drawing studio, a multi-purpose hall and a conservation laboratory for metal and terracotta objects. Its displays trace ancient Aiani, capital of Elimiotis, from the Late Bronze Age (1500–1200 BC) through the Archaic and Classical periods (600–500 BC).
The museum opened in 1970 to house antiquities from ancient Aiani, capital of Elimiotis. Finds made from 1983 onward required a larger building, begun in 1992; work was delayed by the earthquake of 13 March 1995 and the structure was completed in 1997. Two exhibition rooms opened in October 2002.
The museum's name and collection tie it to ancient Aiani, called Aianes, Aiani or Aiana in Macedonian sources, capital of Elimiotis and seat of the Aianes or Elimiotai. Tradition names Aianos, son of Elimos, king of the Macedonian city of Tyrrhena, as its founder. Finds span the Late Bronze Age (1500–1200 BC) and the Archaic and Classical periods (600–500 BC).
The museum stands in a two-storey building in Aiani, about 22 km south of Kozani and near the Aliakmon river; the ancient city site lies roughly 1.5 km from the modern town. Eight exhibition rooms exist, but only two are open to visitors, alongside storage rooms, offices, a library, a drawing studio, a multi-purpose hall and a conservation laboratory for metal and terracotta finds.
The museum holds eight exhibition halls, but only two are open to visitors; the rest serve as storage, offices, a library, a drawing studio, a multi-purpose hall and a conservation laboratory for metal and terracotta objects. From 1995 to October 2002 the multi-purpose hall also housed a collection of icons, texts, maps and copies of antiquities.
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