Greece's Culture Ministry

A tourist wearing a face mask to guard against the coronavirus is seen leaving the Stoa of Attalos in the Ancient Agora's archaeological museum in central Athens, Tuesday. Greece's Culture Ministry announced on Monday that it was closing the museum of the major archaeological site for two weeks after a cleaner there was diagnosed with Covid-19.

Greece's Culture Ministry on Friday ordered the closure of the country's archaeological sites and state-run museums, due to "special circumstances."

Concerns over the Covid-19 outbreak have resulted in shortages in staff at guards, the ministry's announcement said, adding that the decision to keep these venues closed will be revisited on March 30.

An ancient Greek cup awarded as a prize to the marathon winner in the first modern Olympics of 1896 has been returned to Athens from a German university.

Greece's Culture Ministry says the 6th century B.C. pottery vessel was considered lost for decades until research in 2014 by archaeologist Giorgos Kavvadias identified it in the University of Muenster's collections.

Greece's Culture Ministry says three shipwrecks from ancient and medieval times and large sections of their cargoes have been discovered off the small Aegean island of Kasos.

A statement Monday said an underwater survey that ended last month also located cannons and other scattered finds — possibly from other foundered vessels that have not yet been pinpointed.

Greece's Culture Ministry announced it is temporarily suspending the operation of tthe wheelchair lift at the Acropolis Hill in central Athens to avoid possible accidents due to the high winds blowing in the region of Attica.

The wheelchair lift on Acropolis Hill is again available to the public following repair work, Greece's Culture Ministry said Wednesday.
In a statement earlier in the day, the ministry said the lift would remain out of service for at least four days.

Greece's Culture Ministry has revoked the building permit for a controversial nine-story structure that is under construction near the Acropolis in the district of Koukaki, amid protests that the building mars the view of the Parthenon.

Greece's Culture Ministry says a Greek farmer's recent discovery of a fragment of an ancient statue while tilling his field has yielded three more statues and several graves in the past month.

Excavations next to the uninhabited Greek islet of Keros, already identified as the enigmatic hub of a forgotten religion, have now revealed traces of intense industrial activity more than 4,500 years ago.

Greek authorities were awaiting on Sunday for a formal briefing from US authorities to launch the procedures for the repatriation of the Greek antiquities seized from a billionaire's home and office in New York city, Greece's Culture Ministry said in a press statement.