Eskişehir Arkeoloji Müzesi

The Eskişehir Archaeology Museum is the city's archaeology museum on Atatürk Bulvarı in Odunpazarı, run by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Its official name is the Eskişehir ETİ Archaeology Museum; the addition in the name comes from the sponsoring group that undertook the construction of the new building. The museum displays finds from excavations across the province of Eskişehir in a sequence that runs from the Neolithic to the Ottoman period. It is the right place in the city to see local Phrygian, Roman and Byzantine finds side by side. From storeroom to museum The museum's roots go back to 1945, when movable artefacts collected from the province and its districts were brought together in a storeroom museum set up in the Alaaddin Mosque. In 1966 the Eskişehir Museum Directorate was formally founded in the Kurşunlu Complex in Odunpazarı, and the artefacts went on display for the first time. According to English Wikipedia, that first exhibition site lies about one kilometre east of today's museum. In 1974 the museum moved into its own building on Atatürk Bulvarı in the Akarbaşı neighbourhood. Over time the building proved inadequate, and in 2001 the museum closed to visitors and to research. Under a protocol signed on 28 February 2007 between the ministry and a group of companies, the construction of the new museum was taken on as a sponsorship. The ministry describes it as the first museum in Turkey realised by the private sector, from its design to its displays. The administrative building was completed in 2010, and the new museum opened to visitors on 28 May 2011. The title deed of the building belongs to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. How the building is laid out The museum stands on a plot of about 1,300 square metres and offers a total usable area of 4,000 square metres in three blocks. One of the blocks houses the laboratory, the photography studio, the library and the administration. The first floors of the other two blocks are given over entirely to the archaeological galleries. One of the ground floors of these two blocks is used for semi-open displays and temporary exhibitions, the other as a multipurpose hall for conferences and events. Immovable cultural assets are displayed in the open air in the museum garden. According to the ministry's page, about 2,000 works are shown in roughly 1,800 square metres of indoor space, while the rest are kept in storerooms of 900 square metres. The total number of artefacts varies between sources; the provincial directorate reports more than 20,000, while the ministry's museum page gives about 22,500 movable cultural assets. Which excavations The backbone of the display is made up of finds from scientific excavations in Eskişehir, and the works are arranged chronologically. Şarhöyük, accepted as the site of Dorylaion, the city's ancient forerunner, is one of the main sources of these finds. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam writes that Dorylaion is thought to have been founded as a Phrygian city about three kilometres from today's city centre. Pessinus in Sivrihisar, the underground settlement in Han, and Küllüoba and Keçiçayırı in Seyitgazi are also represented in the cases. Demircihöyük, Karacahisar and the Old Hittite necropolis at Çavlum are also among the excavation sites on display. The exhibits include marble statues and statuettes, architectural fragments, stelae, idols, terracotta vessels for daily use, glass vessels, beads, metal vessels, weapons, jewellery and coins. Turkish Wikipedia mentions Roman floor mosaics from Şarhöyük and sarcophagi among the stone works. According to GoTürkiye, one of the most distinctive pieces in the museum is a seal made of meerschaum, regarded as evidence of trade between Anatolia and Mesopotamia about four thousand years ago. This small seal shows how long a history lies behind meerschaum, which is still a symbol of Eskişehir today. According to English Wikipedia, an elephant tusk is also displayed in the natural history section. Turkish Wikipedia records that the museum uses digital display techniques developed by Middle East Technical University with the support of TÜBİTAK. How to visit Because the works are arranged chronologically, the clearest way to visit is to start with the earliest periods and follow the cases in order. Seeing the Phrygian and Roman finds is good preparation before a trip to Yazılıkaya or Pessinus. The ministry's museum page also lists these two archaeological sites among the places to visit near the museum. Make sure to look at the stone works in the garden, either before you go in or on your way out. Visiting and getting there Admission is charged, and the Müzekart is valid for citizens of the Republic of Turkey. Check the current opening hours and ticket price on the ministry's museum page. The museum stands on the same boulevard as the Yılmaz Büyükerşen Wax Museum, and you can walk between the two. According to English Wikipedia, the street to the east of the museum is Müze Sokağı, named after the museum. From Adalar on the banks of the Porsuk the museum can be reached by a walk of about one kilometre to the south.