Three giant cranes began the painstaking task on Sunday of transferring hundreds of iconic statues and friezes from the Acropolis to an ultra-modern museum located below the ancient Athens landmark.
The operation started with the transfer of part of the frieze at the northern end of the Parthenon.
That fragment alone weighed 2.3 tonnes and in the weeks to come, the cranes will move objects as heavy as 2.5 tonnes.
PHOTO: AFP
Packed in a metal casing, the frieze, which shows a ancient religious festival in honor of the goddess Athena, was transferred from the old museum next to the Parthenon to the new one 300m below.
Under a cloudy sky, with winds of 30kph to 39kph, the three cranes passed the package down to its new home, in an operation that lasted one-and-a-half hours.
Following the operation on site was Greek Culture Minister Michalis Liapis, who also attended Thursday's two-hour dry run, along with several archeologists, engineers, restoration experts and technicians.
"It's a moving moment," said Liapis. "This is an international event that will soon allow the opening of the new museum where thousands of tourists will be able to admire these precious relics."
On Thursday, the minister said the move would be halted if there were storms or strong winds, since the relics' safety was the main consideration.
This unprecedented transfer of so many ancient objects was "technically very difficult and delicate," Liapis said.
But windy conditions did not mar the move on Sunday, and the operation's chief engineer Kostas Zambas pronounced it a success.
"Everything passed off well, despite the wind," Zambas said.
Most of the more than 300 more ancient objects should be transferred over the next six weeks, Liapis said, weather conditions permitting. The cranes will stay on site a further six weeks to handle some smaller objects.
The operation will cost 1.6 million euros (US$2.2 million) and has been insured for 400 million euros.
The new museum, designed by Swiss-born architect Bernard Tschumi, will house the Parthenon collection and other finds from the Acropolis. It is scheduled to open to the public early next year.
Spanning 25,000m2, the three-story structure will mainly house relics and artifacts dating back to between 800BC and 500BC from other historical sites such as the Athena Nike temple, dedicated to the Greek goddess of victory.
Greece is still lobbying for the return of the Elgin Marbles -- part of the iconic structure of the Parthenon, which were removed by agents of Britain's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Lord Elgin.
They were taken to London in the early 19th century and Greece has demanded their return for decades, but the British Museum, which eventually purchased them has long argued, they should remain in London.
"We hope that within three months all the relics will have been transported to the new museum," Liapis said on Thursday.
"The millions of visitors to the new museum will be our best allies for the return of the Elgin Marbles," he said.
One of the world's most visited sites, the Acropolis was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list of monuments on March 26.
It dates back to the golden age of Athenian democracy, which began in 500BC.
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