The Archaeological Museum houses finds from excavations at ancient Messene. The building was erected between 1968 and 1972 on a plot donated by D. Latzounis, an expatriate Greek, to the Archaeological Society of Athens, and was designed according to the recommendations of A. Orlandos, the excavator of ancient Messene. The exhibition occupies an upper storey of the Museum, in three rooms forming an L shape.The ground floor is given over to storerooms, conservation laboratories and toilets. In 1977, Professor G. Despinis, then at the University of Thessaloniki, designed the display of sculptures and reliefs, which came from the earlier excavations of Sophoulis, Oikonomos and Orlandos.The Museum did not open at that time, however, since the display was not carried to completion.