A proposal for the renovation and reopening of the old Acropolis Museum was approved on Friday by Greece’s culture ministry.

The museum, located atop the Acropolis Hill, served as an exhibition hall for Greece’s top archaeological attractions. However, due to its limited size, successive governments decided to build a new museum. In June 2007 the old museum closed its doors so that its antiquities — along with scores of other artifacts stored in warehouses — could be moved to their new home, the state-of-the-art New Acropolis Museum, which opened in June 2009.

The proposal for refurbishing the interior of the old building aims to transform it into a modern venue, where visitors will be able to admire inscriptions and other architectural parts, which are now exposed to the elements.

The museum will also include a conservation lab open to visitors.

According to the ministry’s announcement, renovations will limit the construction facilities and the storage containers around the building by more than 40 percent.