296 artifacts ranging from the Paleolithic era to modern times, 30 caves, rock shelters, and chasms of archaeological interest in Northern Greece, and two museum halls transformed into a labyrinthine cave comprise the new temporary exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki In the Cave. Stories from Darkness Brought to Light.
The exhibition is co-organised by the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (AMTh), where it is being presented, and the Ephorate of Paleoanthropology and Speleology (EPS).
In this exhibition, caves are approached as an integral part of human life, and this inseparable relationship is reflected on multiple levels. This concept forms the foundation of both the museological narrative and the museographic approach, which considers the unique and fragile ecosystem of caves not merely as a geological formation, but as an environment -a lived space- where humans have been connected to since the dawn of their existence.
The cave is a place where the sense of refuge and safety has been experienced -alongside feelings of confinement, trauma, celebration and ritual, revelation, contact with deities, rebirth, transition, and philosophical exploration. This rich spectrum is presented to the visitor through five main sections: A Diary of the Past, The Archaeology of Caves, The Other Side of Caves, Following the Paths, and Shedding Light on the Cave.
Stone and bone tools, pottery, sculptures, inscriptions, coins, bronze tools and weapons, clay figurines, bronze and gold jewellery, votive images, as well as anthropological, archaeobotanical, and archaeozoological material -and even works of contemporary art- shed light on the multifaceted relationship between humans and the cave. A special section is dedicated to the scientists involved in the exploration of caves.
The exhibition is the result of an exceptional collaboration with eleven Ephorates of Antiquities (Arta, Imathia, Ioannina, Kavala-Thassos, Larisa, Magnesia, Serres, Rhodope, Chalkidiki and Mount Athos, Florina, and Chios) and three museums (the National Archaeological Museum, the Museum of Byzantine Culture, and the Museum of the Tellogleion Fine Arts Foundation of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), which have lent representative objects from their collections -most of them previously unpublished finds that will be presented to the public for the first time.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of parallel activities, including educational programs for schools and families, guided tours, music concerts, reading promotion events, and academic lectures. A scientific catalogue documenting the exhibition will be available at the Museum shop starting May 15, 2025.
