Culture Minister Lina Mendoni on Thursday inaugurated the restored archaeological site of Poliochni on Limnos, known as “the oldest city of Europe”, in the context of meetings that continued on the island on Friday.
Poliochni, one of the most important prehistoric settlements of the Aegean, dates to the 3rd millennium BC and includes unique evidence of early urban and social planning.
“Poliochni is not simply a significant archaeological site. It is the tangible evidence of early social and urban planning, trade extroversion – mainly due to metal ores – and of human creativity, starting in the 3rd millennium BC,” Mendoni said.
The island is a land deeply connected to mythology, she explained, serving as the base of iron-monger Hephaestus and his sons, the Kabeiroi, while the island is also the meeting point of queen of Limnos Hypsipyle and Jason, one of the most emblematic narratives of ancient Greek mythology.
Continuing, the culture minister pointed out that “the archaeological sites of Poliochni on Limnos, Thermi on Lesvos, Emborio on Chios and Palamari on Skyros comprise a unique path that highlights and documents the wealth of the 3rd and 2nd prehistoric millennium in the Aegean.” She added that the restoration of the site cost approximately 5 million euros, with funding from the Regional Business Program of North Aegean-NSRF 2014-2020 and the Recovery and Resilience Fund. Every site and museum project completed protects and highlights Greece’s cultural wealth and actively invests in the country’s future, as it benefits local economies sustainably and creatively, she underlined.
At the site, the extensive works included the centra, south and western sections with 22 building islets spreading over 1.2 hectares (12 stremmas). The southern enclosure (perivolos) was cleaned and supported, while an outdoor events section was set up. Accessibility was improved and new infrastructure for the public were created, along with educational programs for people with disabilities.
New museum
While at Limnos, Mendoni signed a rental contral with the Christodoulideio Foundation’s president Dimitrios Achiladellis to rent the neoclassical mansion in Myrina for 50 years, turning it into a new Diachronic (Timeless) Museum of Limnos. It will contain new archaeological artifacts, digital applications, educational and cultural programs, with a space for the history of the Christodoulides family. The site is 0.127 hectares (1,270 square meters) and will contain meeting spaces for young people available to the local community.
Mendoni was also briefed on cultural projects on the island budgeted at 17.5 million euros from the regional program and the RRF. They include restoration work on the Myrina Fortress and the St Demetrios Church in Kontopouli, as well as fire protection works at the ancient site of Kabeirion, already installed but requiring an upgrade of the water network by the eponymous town.
