Archaeological Museum of Nicopolis

The Archaeological Museum of Nicopolis is a museum located at the site of ancient Nicopolis in the Preveza regional unit of Epirus, northwestern Greece. It houses the principal finds from excavations of the ancient city founded by Augustus in 28 BC to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Actium. The museum serves as the primary custodian of the region's rich archaeological heritage, displaying objects that span from the Hellenistic period through Roman times and into the early Christian and Byzantine eras. Its collections illuminate the urban development, daily life, and material culture of one of the most significant Roman foundations in Greece.

The need to house finds from excavations that began in 1913 at the ancient Roman city of Nicopolis led to the establishment of a first museum space in an Ottoman mosque in the city of Preveza. This early institution, known as the Archaeological Museum of Preveza-Nicopolis, operated until 1940, when the mosque was bombed by Italian aircraft and partially destroyed. Some exhibits were stolen during this destruction. After the Second World War, the Greek state demolished the damaged mosque. In 1965, the state constructed a small archaeological museum inside the Byzantine walls of ancient Nicopolis, which opened to the public in 1972. Planning for a new, larger facility began in 1998, with construction proceeding from 1999 to 2006. The new Archaeological Museum of Nicopolis opened to the public in July 2009, incorporating many important new exhibits discovered at the site of the Monument of Augustus between 1995 and 2005.

The museum's collection is drawn entirely from the archaeological site of ancient Nicopolis and is organized to present the historical evolution of the city from the era of Alexander the Great through its foundation and subsequent decline. The exhibition is structured around two principal thematic areas. The first traces the city's development from its foundation to its abandonment, organized around three units: the Battle of Actium, Roman urban infrastructure, and the evolution of the city during the early Christian and Byzantine periods. This section includes architectural elements, sculptures, coins, ceramics, glass objects, and metalwork. The second thematic area focuses on aspects of daily life, including productive and commercial activities, domestic routines, and funerary practices, with displays of ceramic vessels, tools, jewelry, toys, sarcophagi, and objects of everyday use.

Among the museum's significant pieces are several marble sculptures and reliefs. These include a funerary sculpture inscribed with the name of the deceased, his father, his profession, and his age; a marble offering altar dedicated to Empress Sabina, wife of Emperor Hadrian; and a decorated marble sarcophagus featuring lions and floral motifs. A marble seated lion dating to the 4th century BC and a Roman copy of a 4th century BC statue of the goddess Minerva are notable sculptural works. The museum also holds a marble statue of a Muse known as the "small Heracliotis," discovered during excavations of the theatre at Nicopolis. Other significant pieces include a reconstructed broken marble head of General Agrippa and a marble head of Faustina, wife of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, notable for its apparent depiction of strabismus. A marble cylindrical statue base bearing a relief of the Battle of the Amazons (Amazonomachy), subsequently partially reused for a Christian mosaic from the Alkysson Basilica, demonstrates the layered history of the site. Additional holdings include a marble plaque depicting an ancient symposium, a glass urn, coins, and hair pins from the Odeum.

The museum is situated 5 km north of Preveza, near the archaeological site of Nicopolis, roughly halfway between the village of Nikopoli and the city of Preveza. The current building was constructed between 1998 and 2006, replacing the earlier 1965 structure that had been built within the Byzantine walls of the ancient city. The museum's location adjacent to the extensive archaeological remains of Nicopolis allows visitors to connect the displayed artifacts directly with the urban fabric from which they were excavated. The ancient city itself was founded by Augustus on a promontory overlooking the Ionian Sea, near the site of his decisive naval victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra.