The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki exhibits the civilization of Macedonia from Prehistoric times to the late antiquity.
The building is designed by architecture Patroklos Karantinos and was inaugurated in 1962. It is an important sample of the modern architecture in Greece.

The museum was recently renovated. Five thematic exhibitions compose the new display, through which visitors come in contact with the grandiose of ancient Macedonian civilization.

The first thematic exhibition presents the life of Prehistoric Macedonia. It presents masks, parts of the “macedonian ouranopithikos” head, as and a copy of the famous head from Petralona (200.000 BC). Also findings concerning agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, hunting, tool construction, storage of products, cooking, weaving, pottery, as well as the technology of the prehistoric man.

The second exhibition is called “Towards the birth of the cities and presents the material remains from settlements and cemeteries dating to the Iron Age (1100-700 BC) in the region extending between Mt. Athos and Olympus.

The third exhibition is entitled “In Macedonia from the 7th BC until late antiquity” and highlights aspects of the public and private life of the ancient Macedonians. It covers the Archaic period from the creation of the Kingdom of Macedon until the imperial times (1st – 4th AC), when Macedonia was the province of the Roman Empire.
The exhibition is articulated into eight internal spaces, corresponding to thematic sub-units: the economy, political and social organization, worship, war, death, daily life, commerce, and the arts. Most of the exhibits here come from the prefectures of Thessaloniki, Pieria, Kilkis and the Chalkidiki.

The forth exhibition “Thessaloniki, The Metropolis of Macedonia”, displays historic and archaeological information about the city.
It gives information about important monuments and spaces. The exhibition is completed by the reconstruction of an Archaic Ionian temple. The temple, whose original location is not known, was transferred during the Roman period to Thessaloniki’s sanctuary area. The statues of emperors found inside it, lead to the hypothesis that the temple was connected with imperial worship.

The fifth exhibition displays “The Gold of Macedon”. It presents findings from cemeteries of the Archaic and Classical periods. The processes of mining and refining gold, the techniques for constructing and decorating gold and gilt objects, and the relation of the noble metal to beliefs about life and death held by people are described.