Ancient Greek sculptures moving to new home

Greece's minister of culture,Giorgos Vougarakis, doffed his suit jacket and lent a hand to a team of technicians in Athens on Thursday, as officials demonstrated the process of transferring more than 300 ancient sculptures to the brand new Acropolis museum.

Priceless statues from the Parthenon and other temples in the area are being wrapped in padded coverings and carefully lowered into Styrofoam-filled, plywood and metal carrying cases.

The packed boxes will then be moved nearly 275 metres by shock-absorbing cranes, from the current, cramped museum to the spacious, new, glass-and-concrete facility. Designed by U.S. architect Bernard Tschumi in conjunction with Greece's Michael Photiades, the new building is located at the foot of the Acropolis.

"Great care is being taken at every stage of the transfer. … Many statues are undergoing restoration work before the transfer," Voulgarakis said.

"The new Acropolis museum and all the complex projects associated with it is undoubtedly the most important work that the culture ministry is currently undertaking," he added.

The old museum, which did not have enough room to display its entire collection, was closed last month so staffers could begin preparing for the move.

New building 10 times as spacious

The new, two-storey building will have 10 times the display space of its predecessor. It will also feature an empty display earmarked for the Parthenon Marbles, removed from Greece by the U.K.'s Lord Elgin in the early 19th century and currently held at the British Museum in London despite a long-running campaign calling for their repatriation.

Many ancient pieces— including a quartet of stone columns carved in the shape of women and known as the four Caryatids — require special attention.

"They are built with good material but have been strained by prolonged exposure to atmospheric pollution and other factors and require great care when being packed and unpacked," said Costas Zambas, the supervising engineer in charge of the project.

He added that in the case of inclement weather — including rain or strong winds — the operation will stop.

The entire move is expected to last six weeks and estimated to cost the equivalent of $3.6 million. The new museum is scheduled to open in early 2008.

"This move is necessary mainly because these masterpieces must be appreciated from a distance as well as from close up. …The old museum gave the visitor no distance, and it was very crowded in the summer," Zambas said.