Bonds and affinities among successional spaces: spatial performativity in the New Museum of the Acropolis in Athens

Archaeological excavations conducted during the construction of the Museum of the Acropolis in Athens exposed an urban neighbourhood dated from the classical to the Byzantine periods. This discovery induced a modification of the original architectural plan: museum and excavation were combined into a unique exhibition ensemble. Its visitors further created another, peculiar and makeshift, spatial innovation in the excavation quarters. This study focuses upon multiple enacted receptions of historical spaces on the site, diachronically. Byzantine dwellers perceived and used the ancient site; the Museum creators integrated the Byzantine neighbourhood; contemporary visitors spontaneously signified the entire complex with new symbolic meaning.