Archaeological Museum of Mykonos: The hidden treasures of Rineia

Rineia was the island that served as the vast necropolis of ancient Delos during the Classical and Hellenistic periods. In the winter of 426/425 BC, the “Cleansing of Delos” took place, during which all the tombs were opened and the human remains, as well as some grave goods, were taken to the neighbouring island of Reneia and buried in the so-called Pit of Purification. Excavations at Rineia were carried out in 1898 by archaeologist Dimitrios Stavropoulos, who recovered the Delians’ burial remains and unearthed thousands of objects, including pottery, figurines and other artefacts dating from the 8th to the 5th century BC.

The Archaeological Museum of Myconos was built in 1902 to house and display these unique finds and acquired its final, Cycladic appearance in 1934. Among its outstanding exhibits is the Mykonos Pithos, a rare monumental funerary storage jar (1.40 m high) dating to 670 BC, one of the finest examples of relief pottery in Greece, decorated with scenes from the Sack of Troy.