Afyonkarahisar Archaeological Museum

Afyonkarahisar Archaeological Museum

Afyonkarahisar Arkeoloji Müzesi
Entrance to the Afyonkarahisar Archaeological Museum
Location of Afyonkarahisar Archaeological Museum in Turkey
Established	1933 (1933)
Location	Kurtuluş Cad. 96, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
Coordinates	38°44′52″N 30°33′02″E / 38.74773°N 30.55064°E / 38.74773; 30.55064
Type	Archeology
Collections	Copper Age Bronze Age Hittites Phrygians Ancient Greece Byzantine Empire Seljuk Empire Ottoman Empire
Collection size	13,276 archaeological 4,484 ethnographical 26,564 coins 26 archive documents 33 hand-written books 44,383 Total

The Afyonkarahisar Archaeological Museum (Turkish: Afyonkarahisar Arkeoloji Müzesi), also known as the Afyon Museum, is an archaeological museum in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. It exhibits a wide variety of artifacts from the Copper Age, Bronze Age and the civilizations of Hittites, Phrygians, Ancient Greece and Byzantine Empire.^[1][2]

Background

Museum's backyard

The initiative to establish a museum in Afyonkarahisar and to record the province's chronicle goes back to 1928 when in the early years of the Republic studies were carried out initially by the "Lovers of Artifacts Society" (Ottoman Turkish: Âsar-ı Atika Muhibleri Cemiyeti‎) and later by the "Community Center" (Turkish: Halkevi). Following the efforts led by the society's president Süleyman Hilmi (Gönçer), a teacher, and his colleague Oğuz (Günel), artifacts collected from various archaeological sites were stored up in the vacant Gedik Ahmed Pasha Madrasa, (Taş Medrese, "Stone Madrasa").^[2][3][4]

As the number of objects grew up, the idea emerged for the establishment of a museum. In 1931, the museum was founded in the form of an office, and Süleyman Hilmi (Gönçer) was appointed as its supervisor. In 1933, the museum was opened, and he became its first director.^[3] Under his leadership, it then rose up to the status of a regional museum. With the support of the Community Center, he collected archaeological artifacts from the provinces Uşak, Burdur, Isparta and Aydın, as well as ethnographical items from the provinces of Aydın and Kütahya for the museum.^[2]

In 1935, the museum made a name with archaeological excavations and finds at the Kusura, Sandıklı Tumulus. The importance of the museum rose further with the great number of artifacts collected, their big dimensions and also their property of being unique or in groups. When archaeologist Hasan Tahsin Uçankuş came to the city in 1964, he started to apply methods of contemporary and scientific archaeology as well as of museumology. Consequently, the need of a new museum with archaeological emphasis emerged, and the museum was moved to its current place in 1971 as a regional museum or the Museum of Phrygia losing its mixed type.^[2][3]

In the early years, only Bursa and Konya owned such museums in the near region. The status of the Afyonkarahisar Museum fell from regional to provincial after museums were opened in the neighboring cities. However, it is still one of the biggest museums in the country, and maintains its attraction at international level.^[2]

The museum is housed today in a one-story building, which consists of nine interconnected exhibition halls, five office rooms, a library and a conference hall. In addition, five depots, a photography workshop and a laboratory are situated in the basement.^[2]

Exhibits

Ancient Roman (2nd century AD) sarcophagus of Apamea (Phrygia), today Dinar.

The time span of the museum exhibits reach around 5000 years from the Bronze Age until today.^[2] The artifacts are from the Chalcolithic Age, Bronze Age and the civilizations of Hittites, Phrygians, Ancient Greece and Byzantine Empire collected from excavations at around 40 tumuli and 20 ancient cities in the region. Various sculptures, architectural elements, large earthenware, steles, sarcophagi as well as gravestones from the Seljuk and Ottoman Era are also on display in the big backyard of the museum.^[1] Its coin collection, well-preserved statues of Ancient Greek deities and cutting and lethal tools enhances the importance of the museum. The archaeological items exhibited in the building are organized in chronological order. Many Turkish-Islamic items can not be displayed due to insufficient space in the museum building.^[2]

Currently, the museum owns a total of 44,383 objects, including 13,276 archaeological, 4,484 ethnographical, 26,252 coins, 26 archive documents and 33 hand-written books.^[3]

Access

The museum is located in downtown Afyonkarahisar, in the Kurtuluş Cad. 96. It is open between 8:30 and 17:30 local time, but closed on Mondays.^[1]

References

External links

Museums in Turkey
Aegean Region Afyonkarahisar Archaeological Museum Atatürk's House (Şuhut) Aydın Archaeological Museum Bergama Museum Bostanlı Open-air Archaeological Museum Çamlık Railway Museum Çeşme Museum Denizli Museum İnciraltı Sea Museum İzmir Archaeological Museum İzmir Art and Sculpture Museum Izmir Ethnography Museum İzmir Toy Museum Kütahya Archaeological Museum Manisa Archaeological Museum Muğla Museum Ödemiş Museum Uşak Museum of Archaeology Victory Museum
Black Sea Region Amasra Museum Amasya Museum Baksı Museum Bolu Museum Çorum Archaeological Museum Giresun Museum Hagia Sophia, Trabzon Karabük Kardemir Iron-Steel Museum Karadeniz Ereğli Museum Kastamonu Ethnography Museum Ordu Ethnographical Museum Sinop Fortress Prison Sinop Archaeological Museum Söğüt Ertuğrul Gazi Museum Rize Atatürk Museum Tokat Museum Trabzon Museum
Central Anatolia Region Akşehir Museum Anıtkabir Ankara Aviation Museum Atatürk Museum Mansion Çengelhan Rahmi M. Koç Museum Eskişehir Museum Ethnography Museum of Ankara Feza Gürsey Science Center Gökyay Association Chess Museum Karaman Museum Kayseri Archaeology Museum Kırıkkale MKE Weapons Industry Museum Kırşehir Museum Konya Archaeological Museum Konya Ereğli Museum Mehmet Akif Ersoy Literature Museum Library METU Science and Technology Museum Mevlana Museum Museum of Anatolian Civilizations Nevşehir Museum Niğde Archaeological Museum Pembe Köşk Republic Museum Roman Baths of Ankara Sivas Congress and Ethnography Museum State Art and Sculpture Museum TCDD Open Air Steam Locomotive Museum Ulucanlar Prison Museum War of Independence Museum
Eastern Anatolia Elazığ Archaeology and Ethnography Museum Ali Demirsoy Natural History Museum Kars Museum Malatya Museum
Marmara Region Museum of Nationist Forces in Balıkesir Bilecik Museum Bursa Archaeological Museum Bursa Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art Çanakkale Archaeological Museum Edirne Museum Kırklareli Museum Kocaeli Museum Namık Kemal House Museum Rákóczi Museum SEKA Paper Museum Tekirdağ Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography Tofaş Museum of Cars and Anatolian Carriages For museums in İstanbul see Museums in Istanbul
Mediterranean Region Adana Archaeology Museum Adana Cinema Museum Alanya Archaeological Museum Anamur Museum Atatürk Museum Adana Ethnography Museum Antalya Museum Atatürk's House Museum (Antalya) Burdur Archaeological Museum Hatay Archaeology Museum İskenderun Naval Museum Kahramanmaraş Archaeology Museum Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum Mersin Atatürk Museum Mersin Museum Mersin Naval Museum Mersin Water Museum Mersin Urban History Museum Misis Mosaic Museum Narlıkuyu Museum Osmaniye City Museum Silifke Museum Silifke Atatürk Museum Tarsus Museum Karatepe Arslantaş Museum
Southeastern Anatolia Region Adıyaman Archaeological Museum Ahmet Arif Literature Museum Library Diyarbakır Archaeological Museum Gaziantep Museum of Archaeology Kilis Museum Mardin Museum Şanlıurfa Archaeology and Mosaic Museum

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Afyonkarahisar Archaeological Museum.