Editing Messene (section)

==Archaeology==

Excavation of the site began on April 10, 1829, with the French scientific commission of the [[Morea Expedition]], under the direction of [[Guillaume-Abel Blouet]], at the end of the Greek War of Independence.<ref>Abel Blouet, [https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/blouet1831 ''Expedition scientifique de Morée ordonnée par le Gouvernement Français; Architecture, Sculptures, Inscriptions et Vues du Péloponèse, des Cyclades et de l'Attique''], Abel Blouet, Amable Ravoisié, Achille Poirot, Félix Trézel et Frédéric de Gournay, Volume I, Firmin Didot, Paris, 1831.</ref> 
[[File:Prosper Baccuet - Messène - Morea Expedition 1829.jpg|center|thumb|620x620px|The members of the scientific commission of the ''Morea Expedition'' in the stadium of ancient Messene in 1829 (''detail of a lithograph by [[Prosper Baccuet]]'')]]

Systematic excavation of the site was first undertaken by [[Themistoklis Sofoulis]] of the Athens Archaeological Society in 1895. Since then a number of noted archaeologists have made contributions, such as [[George Oikonomos]] (in 1909 and 1925), [[Anastasios Orlandos]] (in 1957), and [[Petros Themelis]] (in 1986).<ref>{{harvnb|Themelis|2010|p=29}}.</ref> A museum of their extensive finds has been constructed within the old city walls.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

This site was awarded a [[European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards|European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.europanostra.org/laureates-2011/ |title=EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2011 | access-date=2014-06-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140601032449/http://www.europanostra.org/laureates-2011/ |archive-date=2014-06-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-11-695_en.htm | work=Press release | date=10 June 2011 | title=Winners of 2011 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards honoured | publisher=[[European Commission]] | accessdate=25 July 2021 }}</ref>

The systematic excavation under the direction of Prof. Petros Themelis has collaborated with many international institutions for excavation at the site. Among those, since 2020-21, excavation East of the [[temenos]] of [[Asclepius]] at the site of an early Christian church is conducted by the Open University of Cyprus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://late-antique-worlds.ouc.ac.cy/|title=ΜΑΡΚΟΣ ΙΟΥΛΙΟΣ ΕΥΓΕΝΙΟΣ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΛΑΟΔΙΚΕΙΑΣ, ΠΡΩΗΝ ΑΞΙΩΜΑΤΙΚΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΡΩΜΑΪΚΟΥ ΣΤΡΑΤΟΥ}}</ref>