Repository

The Monasteries of Mount Athos possess and manage the largest collection of Greek manuscript codes in the world (approximately 15,000), dating from the 4th to the 19th century.

The manuscripts, in parchment and paper, preserved in Mount Athos cover a large thematic area -from religious subjects to scientific and philosophical treatises-, decorated with priceless illuminations and decorations that renders them works of art.

Mount Athos' Monasteries possess the largest collection of portable icons (more than 15,000) and the highest density of frescoed sets in the world (approx. 100,000 square meters).

The Athos Digital Heritage project has digitized despotic icons, diptychs, triptychs, icons donated by donors, parsises, anthologies, copies of engravings, engravings, etc, which represent the artistic production in Mount Athos throughout time.

In the Catholica and the sacristries of the Monasteries of Mount Athos is preserved a large number of miniature works from the Byzantine and post-Byzantine era, handcrafted with the use of luxurious (such as gold, silver, ivory, steatite, etc.) or less luxurious (such as bone, wood, etc.) materials. 

The textile and embroidered artefacts included in the database of the Athos Digital Heritage comprise a significant number of items. The collection covers a long period, from the late Byzantine period (14th century) extending to the modern era. 

The archives from the Monasteries and from the Holy Community of Mount Athos are distinguished in Greek and foreign languages.

Greek Archives
The archive of Greek documents, according to their chronological period, can be distinguished in a) Byzantine,
b) post-Byzantine and c) modern.

Foreign language Archives
The foreign language archives mostly include  a) Slavonic, b) Turkish and c) Romanian documents.

All of the Monasteries in Mount Athos preserve a special archive containing architectural records, which document the process of restoration of the monumental building complexes, undertaken recently or in the past.

Of particular interest are the collections of archetypes and antiquarian books, that is, books printed at the dawn of typography and later on, until the 19th century. Many of these books are invaluable editions of the writings of ancient Greek writers, dictionaries, treatises etc. Throughout the libraries of Mount Athos, the number of archetypes and antiquarian books amounts several tens of thousands. 

Marble sculpture and wood carving collections on Mount Athos contain a large number of artefacts dating from the Byzantine and post-Byzantine period. 

The coins that are included in the Athos Digital Heritage database constitute a considerable body of evidence, which covers almost all the periods that followed the Hellenistic era, up to the present monetary production.

Athos Digital Heritage includes a number of interesting ceramic vases and porcelains, dating from the 15th century until the early 20th century.

Bringing to light treasures and objects of everyday use found in the Monasteries is a task of particular interest, due to the special status of Mount Athos, which operates as a workshop for the production and preservation of a variety of aspects of everyday life throughout the years, from the Byzantine to the modern times.

Mount Athos preserves one of the largest collections of old photographs, photographic plates, negatives and slides in Greece. There are thousands of pictures of persons, buildings and even documents and relics, which are lost today.