Niğde Museum is one of the institutions that preserve, exhibit, and research the historical and cultural heritage of the Central Anatolia Region. Niğde province has witnessed continuous settlement from the Paleolithic Age to the present day and has carried the traces of many civilizations throughout this process. Museum activities are important for the preservation, promotion, and transmission of the rich cultural heritage formed as a result of this long historical process to future generations. Niğde Museum, in this context, has become one of the institutions representing Anatolian archaeology with its rich and unique (unique) artifacts.
Niğde Museum (Niğde Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism)
Establishment and Development Process
Museum activities in Niğde first emerged in 1939, when Akmedrese began to be used as a warehouse affiliated with the Istanbul Archaeological Museums during World War II. This building was repaired with the establishment of the Niğde Museum in 1957, and exhibition and arrangement setups were made for the first time, opening it to visitors as a museum. In 1977, the museum moved to its new building, and on November 20, 1982, the first modern exhibition and arrangement setup was made. This arrangement served until February 16, 1999.
However, with the increasing number of artifacts from archaeological excavations and the need for a new presentation suitable for contemporary museology, the museum was reorganized in 2001; it was reopened to service in its modernized form on November 20, 2001. In this new form, Niğde Museum was nominated for the “Museum of the Year in Europe” award by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2003 and, despite passing the evaluation of jury members from Germany and France and reaching the finals, did not win the award. In the same year, it was selected as a pilot museum by the US World Cultural Heritage Preservation Fund. Within the scope of this project, it was aimed to transfer all artifacts in the museum to a digital environment and restructure them, thus making Niğde Museum a pioneering example for museums in Turkey.
Exhibition Halls
Niğde Museum has six exhibition halls where the archaeology of Central Anatolia is displayed in chronological order. A large portion of the artifacts in these halls are original findings unearthed as a result of archaeological excavations in the region.
Hall I – Köşk Höyük Hall
This hall is an area where artifacts from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Ages are exhibited. Especially obsidian tools, grave finds, god and goddess figurines, anthropomorphic vases obtained from the excavations of Pınarbaşı Höyük, Köşk Höyük, Tepecik Höyük, and Kaletepe Obsidian Workshop, and a Chalcolithic Period house dated to 4883 BC from Köşk Höyük are recreated in a one-to-one scale. The hall is named “Köşk Höyük Hall” in this respect and sheds light on the early settlement culture in the region.
Artifacts from Köşk Höyük excavations (Niğde Museum (Niğde Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism)
Hall II– Bronze Age and Assyrian Trade Colonies Hall
In this hall, findings from the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) are exhibited. Mining tools and equipment found during the excavations at Göltepe Mound in Celaller Village, Çamardı District, and the reconstructed gallery entrance of the ancient Kestel tin mine opposite it are presented to visitors. In addition, palace finds from the Assyrian Trade Colonies period, along with artifacts brought from Acemhöyük excavations and the Darboğaz Town of Ulukışla, are also displayed.
Findings belonging to miners found during Göltepe Mound excavations (Niğde Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism)
Hall III– Late Hittite and Phrygian Hall
This hall is dedicated to the Late Hittite city-states and Phrygian culture, dating back to the 1st millennium BC. Steles of storm and fertility gods belonging to the Nahita and Tuvanuva kingdoms established in Anatolia after the collapse of the Hittite Empire, Hittite hieroglyphic inscriptions, findings from Kaynarca Tumulus, Phrygian period ceramics, and the Lion statue brought from Göllüdağ are exhibited in this section.
Phrygian period ceramics and the “Göllüdağ Lion” are exhibited (Niğde Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism)
Hall IV– Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Hall
In one part of this hall, which contains artifacts from the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, findings from Tepebağları, Porsuk Höyük, and Acemhöyük excavations, as well as terracotta and glass objects, seal impressions, and Byzantine period artifacts acquired through purchase and expropriation, are presented. In the other part of the hall, sculptures and tomb steles from the Roman Imperial Period (2nd century AD), unearthed in the Ancient City of Tyana, are exhibited.
Sculptural products and tomb steles dating to the Roman Imperial Period are exhibited. (Niğde Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism)
Hall V– Coin and Mummy Hall
This hall is divided into two main sections:
- A) Coin Section: Coin minting techniques and their historical development are explained through two panels, and Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic-Ottoman period coins are exhibited in chronological order in six large display cases. In addition, a silver hoard from the Seljuk period and the Tepebağları hoard belonging to the Kingdom of Cappadocia are also located here.
- B) Mummy Section: The "Nun Mummy" from the 10th century found in Ihlara Valley, Aksaray, and four child mummies found in Çanlı Church in the 13th century are exhibited. These artifacts are rare examples of the mummification tradition in Anatolia.
Islamic-Ottoman period coins, a silver hoard from the Seljuks, and the Tepebağları hoard belonging to the Kingdom of Cappadocia are located here. (Niğde Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism)
Hall VI– Ethnographic Artifacts Hall
This hall is dedicated to the traditional cultural elements of the region that are on the verge of disappearing. Weapons, manuscripts, writing sets, lighting tools, carpets, kilims, finials, jewelry, various artifacts from the Ilkhanate Period, and a tray belonging to the Qajar Turks are exhibited in this hall. Additionally, a 'şark köşesi' (oriental corner) reflecting recent Niğde home life is also located in this section.
Niğde Museum (Niğde Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism)
