The Archaeological Museum of Ios, is housed in the Amiradakio Hall (a neoclassic building which is in a central spot of Chora). The museum comprises of antiquities from surveys, excavations and surface coatings, carried out by the Archaeological Service (21st Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities) from 1980 and onwards, from the Old Archaeological Collection,that was founded in 1904 with actions of the ancient civilization admirer, mayor Frangoulis Kortesis, from deliveries and donations.
In the four exhibition rooms of the museum is displayed an equal number of themes:
In the 1st room, in the niche to the right of the ticket office, are given information about the natural environment and the history of archaeological research in Ios with the help of photographic material. The rest of the 1st room is dedicated to the strong presence of the island during the Early Cycladic era. Most of the exhibits come from the excavation of the highly conserved Early Cycladic II settlement at the Skarkos position and are pottery and small items, stone utensils, idols, bone as well as bronze objects and organic materials (carbonized seeds, animal bones and shells of shells).
In room 2 are projected developments during the Middle and Late Bronze Age. The exhibits are mainly findings from graves in the cemetery of the late Middle and early Late Bronze Age excavated in Skarkos and covers the Early Cycladic settlement.
In the rooms 3 and 4 you can see the course of Ios during the historical times. The exhibits, which come mostly from the Ancient City of Ios (Chora), include an interesting collection of inscriptions in Classical, Hellenistic and Roman times, some sculptures, in which among them two Late Archaic gravestones with excellent quality work and pottery that reaches chronologically as the 7th century AD.
The report, concerning the prehistoric times, clarifies through the rich material from the excavation of Skarkos, the economic and social structures of the Communities that developed the Cycladic "culture" in the 3rd millennium BC, at the Aegean and the factors that led then to join the palatial states of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece. From the same spirit is pervaded the report of the historical times. The combination of rich epigraphic material from recent archaeological evidence allows, among other things, and the emergence of areas such as those of government, institutions, economic and Social development.
The three museum rooms activities are those of periodic reports, audiovisual media and documentation, computerization and study.
The Museum of Ios with its permanent exhibitions and events, that take place at the activities halls, aspires to operate despite its small scale as a living organism, enabling scientists to study and, at the same time,touch the wider public.
Source: ios.gr