Newly refitted museums are planning to reopen this April
Work on the road and the site has made the Marathon archaeological site unrecognizable. The National Tourism Organization’s kiosk and the guard houses have been demolished and the road has been rerouted, connecting that part of the site with the monument. As for the museum, scheduled to be ready in June, work has begun on the walkways and planting is in progress. The Iroon, a later monument where wreaths were laid in memory of the victory, is about to be shifted. The 4-5-hectare expanse, which includes the tomb and the museum, will be a low-key archaeological site, Culture Ministry General Secretary Lina Medoni announced on February 10. A three-dimensional plaque will provide information, depicting the topography of the Battle of Marathon in relief and the archaeological site. The museum is undergoing refurbishment. It is also slated for extension, but not until after the Olympic Games. The window frames were installed two weeks ago. The Gate from the farm of Herod Atticus at Oinoi will be set up outside the museum, on display to the public for the first time. Meanwhile, a new roof is being constructed to cover all three tombs at Vrana. Excavation is continuing at Brexiza. Casts of the Egyptian statues have been made for the site, and the originals will be on display at the Marathon museum. A large part of the Marathon project has entailed expropriation, of which the cost, coupled with that of the Trophy, exceeds 3.5 million euros. The site where Manolis Korres’s copy of the Trophy is to be erected (the original is being restored) will be slightly reshaped. The site and another 0.7 hectares that have been expropriated will be ready in early April. Work on repairing and refurbishing the museum will be ready in a month, as will the PPC power utility station, where work is under way. The roofing over the atrium should be ready by the end of this month. The display cases are ready for the exhibits, but the pedestals for the statues are not expected to be ready until the end of April. The huge tomb sculpture of Pamphilis and Dimitria has been shifted to the museum and will be replaced by a copy. As of spring, visitors to Kerameikos will no longer see the immense German archaeological storehouse (which was next to the wall on Melidoni Street), but just a terrace and railings that match the rest. Wood factories situated nearby on Evoulon and Melidoni have been demolished to make a small park where marble architectural elements and sarcophagi will be placed. The Delphi Museum is to open in April, and the Treasury of the Athenians will be restored by summer.
