Eskişehir Eti Archaeology Museum

The Eskişehir Eti Archaeology Museum, also known as the Eskişehir Archaeology Museum (Turkish: Eskişehir Eti Arkeoloji Müzesi), is a national archaeology museum located in Eskişehir, Turkey. Established in 1974 and situated in the Odunpazarı district on Atatürk Boulevard, it serves as a key institution for the preservation and display of archaeological material from one of central Anatolia's historically significant regions. The museum holds particular importance for its comprehensive chronological scope, spanning from the Neolithic period through the Ottoman era, and for its role in housing finds from major regional excavations.

The museum's origins trace to 1966, when it was first established in the Kurşunlu Complex, a religious building approximately one kilometre east of the present site. In 1974, the institution moved to its own dedicated building, marking its formal establishment as an independent museum. By the early 2000s, this facility had become inadequate, prompting the construction of a new building financed and donated by ETİ Food Industry, a cookie producer based in Eskişehir. The new structure was completed in 2010 and officially opened on 28 May 2011. The Spanish Wikipedia adds an earlier precursor, noting that a first storage of cultural objects was created in 1945 at the Alaeddin Mosque, though this is not corroborated by the English or Italian sources.

The museum's holdings represent an exceptionally broad chronological range, encompassing the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Hittite, Phrygian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods. The collection has been assembled through excavations, purchases, donations, and confiscations within the surrounding region. Notable provenance sites include the ancient cities of Dorylaeum and Pessinus, as well as Keçiçayırı, Han, Demircihöyük, Çavlum, Küllüoba, and Karacahisar. The Italian source particularly emphasises Küllüoba Höyüğü as significant for understanding the daily practices, religious beliefs, and socio-economic dynamics of the region's earliest urban communities. The collection encompasses architectural elements, marble sculptures and figurines, funerary steles, terracotta vessels, glass and metal objects, weapons, jewellery, and coins.

Among the museum's distinctive pieces are a Mesopotamian seal and a Hittite seal, singled out in the Spanish source as particularly noteworthy. The collection also includes an elephant tusk displayed in the natural history section, which features fossils of animals and plants. The Italian source notes the presence of idols and ornaments alongside utilitarian objects. While the English and Italian Wikipedia entries describe the general categories of artefacts, the Spanish source provides the most specific identification of individual pieces and their significance.

The museum occupies a total area of 3,000 square metres, including both the building and its grounds. The structure comprises three blocks: one dedicated to administration and auxiliary services including a library, laboratory, and photo lab; the basements of the other two blocks serve as storage. The ground floor of one block contains a conference hall, while the ground floor of the other functions as a multipurpose art gallery. The exhibition halls are located on the upper floors of these two blocks. The museum sits on Atatürk Boulevard in central Eskişehir, with Müze Street running to its east, named in the institution's honour. The precise coordinates are 39°45′57″N 30°30′48″E.

The Eskişehir Eti Archaeology Museum operates as a national museum under the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, accessible through the official museum portal at muze.gov.tr. Its location on Atatürk Boulevard in the city centre places it within easy reach of visitors. The 2011 building, funded by private corporate sponsorship from ETİ Food Industry, represents a notable example of public-private partnership in Turkish cultural infrastructure. The museum maintains active research and educational functions through its conference facilities, art gallery, and specialised laboratories, serving both scholarly and public audiences.