AIGAI MUSEUM

This archaeological museum is called the "central building of the polycentric Agai Museum" (Κεντρικό Μουσειακό Κτήριο του Πολυκεντρικού Μουσείου των Αιγών/Kentriko Mousiako Ktirio tou Polykentrikou Mousiou ton Aigon, Central Museum Building of the Polycentric Museum of Aigai). It is housed in a large 7,000^m2 white building on the 5305 road (Veria-Meliki-Kipseli). Opened at the end of 2022, it brings together discoveries from various ancient sites in Agai and the Veria region. The very contemporary presentation, of a dazzling whiteness never before seen in Greece, is astonishing, with an aesthetic bias that is sometimes a little disconcerting. Thousands of objects from different periods (from the ^11th century BC onwards) are grouped thematically to form superb graphic compositions: nails, jewelry and spectacle fibulae (spiral-shaped brooches), spearheads and strigiles (curved scrapers used to clean the skin), etc. Information on the objects themselves is provided by the exhibition staff. Information on the objects themselves is sparse, but well-designed panels explain the historical context of ancient Macedonia. In the center of the building, the atrium houses a reconstruction of the central courtyard floor of Agai's palace, with original marble, limestone and terracotta elements. Of particular note are the silhouettes of Macedonian noblewomen displaying the jewels and fibulae of the wealthy deceased, in particular the sumptuous finery of Queen Eurydice (c. 410-359), mother of Philip II.