Archaeological Museum of Drama

The Archaeological Museum of Drama is located at 6 Costa Varnali Street in a central part of Drama and has been operating since 1999. The finds it houses record the cultural history of the area of Drama from the Middle Paleolithic Era to 1914.
The exhibition space consists of three main rooms, traveling the visitor through time. Starting from the first room with the archaeological finds that testify to the presence of nomadic hunters of the Middle Paleolithic Age in the cave of Pigon tou Aggitis, one understands the morphology of the soil and the life of that time. Then the life of the permanent agro-livestock Neolithic settlements of Drama and Sitagre (5500-3000 BC) is presented. The representation of a Neolithic dwelling with its household equipment, where daily life and the activities of Neolithic man are described, is a trademark of the museum and captures the particularities of daily life in the past.
In the same room, the journey through time continues, to the Bronze Age, the Iron Age and later historical times up to the Late Roman Age. The grave goods from the Industrial Zone of Drama take us back to the Early Iron Age (1050-700 BC). The findings of historical times (700 BC – 4th century AD) come from the excavation research and collection throughout the prefecture, such as from the city of Drama, the area of Kali Vrysi, the area of Grammeni, of Prosotsani, Platania, Potami etc.
The bust of Dionysus, with elaborate designs, which testifies to the gravity of the god’s presence in the area, is sensational! In the space we see different forms of Dionysus, such as that of the entertainer, the god of wine and good times but also the protector, on whom the inhabitants relied for their safety.
To the Roman times belong two bronze sculptures of excellent art that adorn a small showcase. It is a statuette of Zeus thunderbolt from Marmaria and a lamp in the form of a captive from Kefalari. However, the marvelous jewel of the Roman times at the back of the hall is the famous tombstone of Grammeni which describes the military successes of the Roman legionary Tiberius Claudius Maximus. Ending the route in Roman times, the visitor stops at a mile marker and a stage marker of the Egnatia Road found in the area of Kalambaki.
In the second room, architectural sculptures, ceramics and coins attest to the continuity of life in Drama and in the entire prefecture during the early Christian Byzantine and post-Byzantine times. Our attention is drawn to two treasures of coins found in Drama and Bolaka with copper and gold Scythian coins of the 12th and 13th centuries.
In the third room of the exhibition space, which is a covered atrium, the visitor can admire sculptures organized in three sections. The first includes architectural sculptures from ancient times to the late Byzantine. The second contains votive monuments connected to the worship of various gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon and local deities with special reference to Dionysus. A thematic exception is an amphigraphed column that preserves a military decree of Philip E΄.
The exhibits of the Museum do not leave anyone indifferent, even more so if one considers the influence of history in today’s era, through tradition and our simple habits!