Aydın Archaeological Museum

Aydın Archaeological Museum is an archaeology and ethnography museum situated in the Efeler district of Aydın in western Turkey. Artifacts discovered in the surrounding region were initially protected within the city's Community Center before being transferred to the Undersecretariat of Treasury in 1950.

Formed initially as an office inside a room at Zafer Primary School on February 16, 1959, the institution gained the status of a directorate on February 17, 1969. As the volume of artifacts increased, a new building was inaugurated on April 23, 1973.

Initially, archaeological and ethnographic items were exhibited together. In subsequent years, objects obtained from scientific archaeological excavations grew significantly, and available showrooms, warehouses, and service units failed to meet contemporary museology standards, prompting a mandatory redesign in the year 2000.

Due to the lack of expansion options in the former location, a project for a new building was initiated in 2000 but stalled due to financial constraints. On May 25, 2011, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism took over the project, and construction was completed in roughly one year after the tender, costing approximately ₺8 million.

Opened in August 2012, the museum's current building is located in the Ilıcabaşı neighborhood of downtown Aydın on an area spanning 15,769 square meters. The two-story building with a basement features a 1,340-square-meter exhibition hall, administrative offices, a temporary exhibition hall, a children's workshop, and a multi-purpose auditorium.

The museum houses numerous statues, tombs, columns, and stone carvings from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods. It holds around 11,000 archaeological artifacts, 4,000 ethnographic items, and a numismatics collection of 45,000 pieces, with visitors welcomed by the verses of the Seikilos epitaph.

Specialized exhibition areas include the Tepecik Tumulus, Archaic Panionium, Kadıkalesi, Alabanda, Tralles, Magnesia, Nysa, Mosaics, and Stone Artifacts halls. These sections display prehistoric finds, Hittite seal imprints, Roman imperial statues, terracotta Eros sculptures, Orthosia gladiator mosaics, and extensive coin collections ranging from Lydia to the Ottoman Empire, including the Kızıldere Treasure.

The museum is located at Müze Bulvarı 4 in the Ilıcabaşı neighborhood of Efeler, and remains closed on Mondays as well as until noon on the first day of religious holidays.