The Acropolis Museum next to the Parthenon will close today so that preparations can get under way for the transfer of some 300 ancient artifacts to the new museum that is being built just 400 meters away, the Culture Ministry said on Saturday.

Three giant lifting cranes will be used to help move 5th century BC antiquities from the Parthenon to the New Acropolis Museum at the foot of the hill.

It is expected that all the exhibits, including sections of the Parthenon frieze, will be transferred by the end of the year so the new museum can open to the public early next year.

The antiquities will be wrapped in protective packaging and put into crates. They are to be transferred in three stages. The cranes will be placed some 100 meters apart and the crates will be relayed between them.