The Archaeological Museum houses artifacts from the excavations conducted by the Archaeological Society at Ancient Messene, which began in 1895 under Themistoklis Sofoulis and were continued by Georgios Oikonomos (1905 and 1926), Anastasios Orlandos (1957–1975), and Petros Themelis (1986 to 2023). It was built between 1968 and 1972 on the western outskirts of the village of Mavromati, on a plot of land donated to the archaeological society by D. Latzounis, a member of the Greek diaspora.
The museum is small, two-story, and simple in design. The upper floor features three exhibition halls and a balcony, while the ground floor houses the storage areas. Architectural elements and inscribed pedestals are on display in the museum’s atrium and in the storage areas. Today, the archaeological museum displays only a very small portion of the archaeological finds from the excavations—primarily sculptures—while the vast majority are stored in the warehouses. The total number of recorded finds alone (architectural elements, sculptures, metal, stone, clay, (figurines, vases), bone, glass, etc.) totals 20,000, with 10,000 coins.
Plans are currently underway to construct a new, larger archaeological museum that will house the majority of the excavated finds.
Between 1995–1999 and 2002–2008, at the expense of the Society for Messinian Archaeological Studies (EMAS), extensive repair and renovation work was carried out on both the museum and its surrounding area, as well as the construction of a protective canopy for the archaeological finds in the museum’s courtyard. At the same time, EMAS continues to contribute to the annual care and maintenance of the archaeological museum and its surrounding area to this day.
