The museum displays one of the most ancient cities of Mediterranean. (Epidamnus – Dyrrachium – Durres), inhabited uninterruptedly from the 7th century B.C. until present.
It was created with the initiative of archaeologist Vangjel Toci in 1951 with archaeological material collected after the Second World War and some excavations carried out in 1947-1950.
In 1957 the building was enlarged and it made possible the completion of the museum with history and natural sciences pavilions transforming it with a general content. At the end of the 60s it was restituted to a profiled archeological museum adding two other annexes in a portico form to exhibit big objects (sculptures, relief, colonnades, columns, sarcophagi, etc.).
Annual excavations in Durrës have continuously enriched the displays in the new building. The archeological material display respects in a combined way the chronological, didactic and thematic criteria. It gives focused information on the earliest periods of city life, like the pre-urban and ancient one, and more detailed information about the classic, Hellenistic, Roman, Late Antiquity and Middle Ages.
The space around the museum is preserved for big objects of stone and marble in the form of an archeological park organized according to the periods. The new exhibition of Durrës Archeological Museum was opened in 2002 and it represents the biggest archaeological museum in Albania.
Useful information
Durres Archeological Museum
Visiting Hours: 8.00 – 16.00, Holiday: Saturday, Sunday
In May, June, July, August and September the visiting hours are: 8.00-13.00 and 17.00-20.00
Address: L. Nr 1, Rruga Taulantia
Telephone: +355 52 22253