麻豆APP

Archaeology Museum. Izmir Turkey. Izmir Archaeological Museum, Izmir, Turkey photo by
Maarten Sepp-

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Izmir Archaeological Museum

Archaeological excavations led to the discovery of Izmir’s initial settlement area. The city is believed to have been formed in Ye艧ilova, which is located in Bornova, around 8-9 thousand years ago during the Neolithic period of history.

The original inhabitants of Izmir lived in this geography for roughly 1500 years, that is, until the end of the Chalcolithic period. 

The Izmir Archaeological Museum is unquestionably one of the top ten places to see in Izmir, with a wealth of things such as utensils and statues from various periods! Artefacts from all across Izmir can also be found here.

This history museum houses a collection of folkloric relics, including a notable collection of Bergama and Gordes carpets, traditional costumes, and camel bridles.

This museum contains numerous outstanding sculptures and artefacts discovered in Izmir and other ancient cities nearby. Here are the top 10 interesting facts about the museum.

1. Izmir Archaeological Museum was established in 1924

Izmir archaeological museum, hall photo by me, Sailko –

The Izmir Archeology Museum is a prehistoric studies exhibition hall in Izmir, Turkey, containing ancient relics from around the Gulf of Izmir.

Many of the ancient rarities, which incorporate busts, statues, statuettes, apparatuses, and different eating and cooking utensils, originate from the Bronze Age or the Greek and Roman periods. The historical centre was built in 1924. 

2. Izmir Archaeological Museum opened to the general population in 1927

It was opened for a public visit in 1927 after the rigorous collective work of around three years. Many of the museum鈥檚 rich and varied artefacts derive from different ages.

3. It was built on the site of an abandoned church

The first archaeological museum was founded in 1924, in Basmane Kap谋lar District. Later, in 1927 it was opened to visitors at a church called Saint Voukolos Church.

Saint Voukolos Church, which started to be built in 1886 by the Armenians of the Greek Orthodox faith, was opened to worship in 1887.

It was the only structure of Armenians that was not damaged by the great fire of Smyrna in 1922. As a result of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the church community left 陌zmir in the following year.

In February 1924, at the request of Mustafa Kemal Atat眉rk, the church building started to host the 陌zmir Archaeological Museum. During this period, the frescoes in the church were covered.

4. The museum is one of the first built in Western Anatolia

A picture of the Izmir Archeology Museum (陌zmir Arkeoloji M眉zesi) from the front. photo by User: Quintucket –

One of Western Anatolia’s first museums, the Izmir Archaeology Museum houses a collection of Aegean-related antiquities.

Due to the significance of the museum’s collection, it has been designated as a regional museum rather than a local one.

5. It was moved to its present location in Konak in 1984

Since 1927, different components of this museum have been accessible to the public in Izmir, and the collaborative museum opened its doors in 1984. The museum was relocated to its current home in Konak in 1984.

Konak is conveniently located in the centre of the city of Izmir. The museum features two exhibition floors, an outdoor display space, laboratories, a storage room, repair shops, a conference room, and offices. It is a three-story building.

6. Izmir Archaeological Museum has approximately 5000 artefacts on display

Izmir Archaeological Museum Bronze Age artefact photo by Dosseman –

A large number of artefacts from the ancient cities surrounding Izmir necessitated the construction of a new museum, which opened to the public on February 11, 1984, at Konak, within Bahribaba Park.

The new and modern museum building was constructed on 5000 m2 of the area within Konak’s Bahribaba Park.

The museum’s exhibition spaces, which include laboratories, warehouses, photography, a library, and a conference hall, have been intended to accommodate a wide range of requirements. The number of works of art in the museum and garden exceeds 5000.

The three-story museum structure was built in stages.

7. It displays many artworks from Prehistoric times to Byzantine Period

Izmir Archaeological Museum Bronze Age artefact photo by Dosseman –

On the upper floor, there is Ord. Prof. Ekrem Akurgal Ceramic Works Hall designed chronologically. In this hall, many artworks from Prehistoric times to Byzantine Period that was unearthed in various excavations are exhibited.

鈥淭he Statue of Bronze Running Athlete鈥� and 鈥淭he Bronze Statue of Demeter鈥� coming out from shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea are some of the most remarkable artworks in the museum

8. The museum exhibits an impressive collection of pre-Roman and Roman artefacts

The Archaeological Museum of Izmir houses a large collection of pre-Roman and Roman artefacts discovered during excavations in the area, including Bergama, Iasos, Bayrakli, and Izmir’s Agora.

The museum grounds are filled with large amphora from the Hellenistic period, as well as columns and capitals scattered throughout the gardens.

This is the place to go if you want to get a taste of Izmir’s archaeological riches. The upper floor houses a chronological display of pottery, ceramics, glass, funerary artefacts, and the recreation of a 4000-year-old tomb, while the bottom floor houses larger stone and marble statues.

A useful map of Turkey in the lobby shows which regions belonged to different kings in the ancient world.

9. The museum features various exhibition halls arranged across different floors

Izmir archaeological museum, hall photo by me, Sailko –

This vast archaeological museum features various exhibition halls arranged across different floors, including laboratories, libraries, and conference halls, Exhibition halls, laboratories, warehouses, photography rooms, libraries, and conference halls with numerous artefacts on display.

The exhibition is organized on different floors and halls containing findings from the ancient city of Smyrna as well as from surrounding ancient sites.

The sites include;  Iassos, Pitane (Candarli), Pergamon, Myrina and Kyme (Aliaga), Ephesus, Larissa and Gryneion (Menemen), Kolophon, Teos (Seferihisar), Klazomenai (Urla), Foca, Metropolis, and Lebedos.

10. The museum has a 2,700-year-old Ushabtis on display for 1st time

Ancient Egypt Ushabtis photo by Gary Todd –

The Izmir Archaeology Museum brings the breezes of the Nile to the Aegean Izmir province for one month every year as part of its “You Will See What You Can’t See” project, which introduces a new, rare artefact to visitors every month.

Ushabti statuettes from 2,700 years ago that were used in Egyptian funeral rites are the museum’s September visitors.

The three clay figurines were discovered during excavations at the Bayrakl, Fo莽a, and Erythrai archaeological sites near Izmir. At the start of the 20th century, they were moved to the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

The Ushabtis were moved from the Istanbul Archaeology Museum to Izmir after the city’s archaeology museum was founded in the 1930s. They were kept in the Izmir museum’s warehouses for about 80 years.

Small statuettes called ushabtis, constructed of stone, faience, or wood, are frequently discovered in great numbers in ancient Egyptian tombs. These statuettes are thought to have been buried in Egyptian tombs to serve their owners as slaves in the afterlife.

The three Ushabtis in the Izmir Archaeology Museum serve as a reminder of the extensive cultural and commercial ties that existed between Egypt and Anatolia.

The figurines, which have hieroglyphic writing on them that reads “ready for calls of duty of gods,” will be on display in the museum’s treasury hall until the end of the month.