“Thirty years later, this dream is coming true,” said Lina Mendoni, among others
The Archaeological Museum of Kythnos was inaugurated by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni, a vision for the inhabitants of the island that had been waiting for thirty whole years to come true. The Museum is housed in the old, one-story, Primary School of Chora, in buildings that were constructed according to the first state school construction program (Royal Decree of 1894), according to plans by civil engineer Dimitris Kallias, which were granted by the Municipality of Kythnos to the Ministry of Education. The creation of the museum was implemented with funding from the NSRF Regional Program 2014-2021 of the South Aegean Region and a budget of 1,600,000 euros.
As Lina Mendoni stated, “In 1994, together with Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian, we organized a conference on Kea and Kythnos. In the text of the conclusions, all the delegates came to the conclusion of what the islanders wanted: To create an archaeological museum on their island. Thirty years later, this dream is coming true thanks to the will of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the hard work of my colleagues at the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, the Archaeological Service, the South Aegean Region and the Regional Governor Giorgos Hatzimarkos, who in 2016 embraced the wish of residents of Kythnos and started the process for its inclusion in the NSRF 2014-2021. Today, we inaugurate the 16th museum of the first four years of Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government.
With great joy, today, the YPPOA assigns to Kythnos its first archaeological museum. Attributing a museum to local communities is very important, because you attribute part of their identity. For the YPPOA and the Archaeological Service, the performance of a cultural infrastructure in a place, to the citizens, to the residents, whether it is a museum or an archaeological site that is highlighted and organized, is a special day, a day of joy. Essentially, the State, through its competent body, gives back to the local community what belongs to it. Our islands have two huge comparative advantages. Their unique cultural reserve and a particularly beautiful natural environment. These two must be kept intact, because the sustainable future of the island societies depends on them. From the exhibits of the Archaeological Museum of the island, the very important, pivotal, in some historical periods, relationship of Kythnos with the wider history of the archipelago can be seen , but also with the high level of culture, which is produced on this island, as in all the Cyclades, over the long historical period”.
The archaeological material of the exhibition comes from the excavations so far in important sites of Kythnos, such as the ancient city and the early settlement of Maroulas, which have been carried out since the 90s by Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian. More specifically, the exhibits come from the systematic surface research and excavations in the ancient city (Vryokastro), from collections and rescue operations, in the countryside (farmhouse in Maistralia, out-of-town sanctuary in Agia Marina), from collections of scattered finds – mainly architectural members of all periods from various locations on the island, and from the excavation of the Mesolithic settlement of Maroulas.
The opening ceremony of the Archaeological Museum of Kythnos was attended by the Regional Governor of South Aegean Giorgos Hazimarkos, the Deputy Regional Governor of Cyclades Giorgos Leontaritis, the Mayor of Kythnos Stamatis Garderis and the head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades Dimitris Athanasoulis.
Source: Skai
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