The Tower of Gavras is located near the central square of Chora, “Loza”. it was built in the 16th century during the Venetian period (1207 – 1537).
It consists of two floors, the “upper floor” where there is a “hall of Gavras’, a spacious reception hall, and the ground floor or” basement “where the auxiliary rooms and a large internal courtyard exist.
The building was reconstructed and many elements have been preserved such as the stone unfluted columns, capitals, the arches which constitute a remarkable example of secular architecture of the Venetian period.
Today the Tower serves as a museum which houses the archaeological collection of Amorgos. The systematic archaeological exploration of the island and the donations of residents have greatly enriched the collection with several findings, the most important of which are now exhibited in the halls of the tower, while the rest are stored in warehouse.
Description
- In the upper floor you can see mainly sculptures, statues and reliefs, dating from the Archaic period, 6th century BC until the Roman period, the 2nd century AD. Almost the exhibits are surface finds from the ancient cities of Amorgos, Amorgos, and Minoa Arkesini and other places. Few come from the excavation of the city of Minoa.
- Objects of various materials (copper, clay, glass, ivory, gold, etc.) are found mainly excavation of Minoa (8th BC – 3rd century AD.).
- In the courtyard at the upper floor inscribed stone panels of the archaic years, architectural and headless trunks of Roman statues are exposed.
- In the first floor in the courtyard you can see:
Inscriptions: tomb, dating from the 6th century until the Christian era, dedicatory and honorary resolutions of the Hellenistic and Roman times.
Reliefs and statues, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Architectural Hellenistic, Roman and early Christian times.
Grave of the bottomless fourth BC century.
- In room 1 of first floor a significant collection of prehistoric finds island, dating to the Late Neolithic period, 4th BC millennium, the Early Bronze Age, 3rd BC millennium, and the Late Bronze Age, 13th-12th BC century is exhibited:
Ceramics
Marble figurines of the Cycladic civilization
Stone-built tomb of Cycladic Civilization
Stratigraphic section of the excavation of the Cycladic settlement in Marciana.
All items come from Amorgos, dating from the 3rd BC to the 3rd millennium AD century:
Sculptures, statues and reliefs (BC 5th-2nd century AD)
Signs (3rd BC-3rd century AD)
Ceramics and pottery (BC 8th-3rd century AD)
- In the room 2 of first flour the archaeological collection of antiquarian Amorgian Ioannidis Emmanuel (1823-1906) is housed, that includes several findings (sculptures, statues and reliefs, ceramics, etc.) dating from the 3rd BC millennium BC to the 3rd century.
Museum Telephone: +30 22850 71831
