The Asklepieio Natural History Museum

The Asklepieio Natural History Museum

The Asklepieio Natural History Museum: The Natural History Museum of Kotsiomitis is located in Ligourio, Argolida, 5 km from the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus. It exhibits 6.000 articles, out of the 22.000 articles it possesses, mostly minerals and fossils. An impressive exhibit is the collection of hand-made geologic maps. Its collections are considered unique throughout Greece and of the richest ones in Europe. Some of its exhibits are not to be found anywhere else in the world. It was founded by Vasileios Kotsiomitis and Anastasia Sarri-Kotsiomiti, in 1993, and it operates as a non-profit organization, with the collaboration of special scientists from the University of Athens, Aristotle University, I.G.M.E (Ι.Γ.Μ.Ε., Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration) and other scientific institutes. A 250 m² building has been provided to the museum by the Municipality of Asklepieio, allowing it to possess more exhibits and even more collections. A visitor to the museum will find fossils of 3.000.000 to 530.000.000 years old, from Greece and other parts of the world:
-    Fossilized tree trunks, hippurites, corals, trilobites, fish, sea urchins, oysters, etc.
-    Comprehensive collections of ammonites from the Asklepieio area, characterized as “a unique palaeontological monument of ammonite fauna”
-    A huge collection of mineral crystals, such as: azurites, malachites, vanadinites and quartz from all over the world, but mostly from the Lavrio district.
-    Collections of insects, antigones, shells, stone instruments, excavation equipment, as well as palaeontological equipment.
-    Material, such as maps, tables, posters, texts and graphics, used to educate and inform the public on issues such as the formation of the Earth, the appearance and evolvement of life on our planet.