The Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa has been open since 2009 in a purpose-built edifice at the town’s northern entrance, by the old National Road Igoumenitsa - Ioannina, opposite to Epirus Institute of Technology and the Municipal Stadium. In terms of administration, it is not an autonomous organization, but operates under the auspices of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thesprotia.
The construction of the Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa was first decided in 1989, with a ministerial decree signed by the then Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri. The location that was initially chosen was on the wooded hill of the town (hill of the Prefectural Hall), where there are standing remains of a medieval castle. Seven more years have elapsed until the construction of the museum on its current location was decided, on a building plot conceded for that purpose by the Municipality of Igoumenitsa.
Its construction began in 1999 and was co-financed by European funds within the context of the 2nd and 3rd Community Support Frameworks.
While foundation works were in progress, part of an ancient cemetery was unearthed, which belonged to the Roman~early Christian settlement of Ladochori, Igoumenitsa. Τhe archaeological excavation that followed brought tο light 28 graves dating between the 1st and 4th cent. AD. The burial structures were then removed from the site, while part of the finds has been included in the exhibition unit pertaining to the burial customs.
The building construction developed in parallel with the museological and museographic planning and organisation of the permanent exhibition. The project entitled “Exhibition of the Igoumenitsa Archaeological Museum, Thesprotia” was included in the 3rd Community Support Framework. It began on 03.10.2003 and was completed on 30.06.2009.
The permanent exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa, under the title “Thesprotian Land”, covers the period from the Middle Palaeolithic (100.000 years before present) until the period of the Ottoman rule (19th cent. AD), through selected finds and additional informative material that allow the visitor to follow the most important historical stopovers and the multiplicity of the archaeological past of Thesprotia. Special interest is focused on the Hellenistic period, a very prosperous one and representative for the whole region of Epirus. The exhibits derive from rescue and systematic excavations in the entire prefecture of Thesprotia and are material witnesses of the multiple facets of human life in various historical periods.
The completion of the exhibition, a result of assiduous endeavour and co-operation among personnel of different specialities, was given substance in December 2009, when the Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa became open to the public. Fragments of a centuries-long past, small treasures brought to light through the archaeological research over the last decades and which, until previously, were scattered in the Archaeological Museums of Ioannina and Corfu, as well as in storerooms, finally found the place they deserve, fulfilling at the same time a constant demand of the local population.
The Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa is a vivid cultural cell, fully integrated in the social life of the area, with all necessary infrastructures for the public. Apart from the halls of the permanent exhibition there is also a multipurpose hall (“Hall Sotiris Dakaris”), a screening room, a small outdoor amphitheatre and an open terrace, for the organisation and hosting of temporary exhibitions, various cultural events, film projections, conferences, educational programmes et al., throughout the year; in this way, a deeper relationship is developed between the museum and its public and alternative means of education and entertainment are offered.
At the same time the museum serves as an information centre providing the visitors with additional information for the organized archaeological sites of Thesprotia, from which comes the majority of the exhibits.
Within the museum, there are offices accommodating the administrative and scientific staff, a fully organized laboratory for the conservation and recording of the archaeological finds, an osteoarchaeology laboratory equipped with the grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, a photographic archive, as well as a library which will soon be accessible to the public as a lending library.
Current opening times
Tuesday to Sunday: 8.00-15.00, Monday: closed
Tickets
General admission fee: 2 EuroR
educed admission fee: 1 Euro
Source and for information about the Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa at www.igoumenitsamuseum.gr
