Figurine of a Greek lady
The museum of Pella used to be a small building, across the street from the excavations. Recently, however, the collection has been transferred to a spacious new building in a completely different part of the ancient capital of Macedonia. It has two floors, but the upper floor is still empty, waiting for new finds.
There are several large rooms. A long corridor with a large map of the conquests of Alexander leads to a bust of the great conqueror, which is where the museum really opens itself to its visitors. The first room contains no finds (except for two roof tiles), but offers a small model of ancient Pella, together with maps that explain the history of Macedonia. After this, there’s another corridor – here is the statue of Alexander as Pan – and you will reach the main hall. Here you will find the famous mosaics of the lion hunt and the Dionysus seated on a panther. Photography is permitted. However, the friendly guards are anxious to prevent you from taking photos in the other rooms, where you will find many objects from Pella’s daily life.
The site of the excavation has been expanded to the south. The site used to consist of the agora and a couple of houses, but now, you can recognize several blocks of houses and several streets. The fact that the new museum is close to the citadel suggests that there are also plans to finally open it for the public.
I enjoyed my visit to this museum, which was opened only a month ago, but I just don’t understand why we weren’t allowed to take photos in parts of the museum. The objects are there for study, and because we cannot visit Pella every day, we must be able to take photos. Museums that prevent study, have something to explain.
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