Once packed, they will be moved about 300 yards by crane from a cramped museum on the Acropolis to the new glass-and-concrete museum designed by US-based architect Bernard Tschumi.
"This is an operation which requires great care . . . We will work long hours and through holidays," supervising engineer Costas Zambas told The Associated Press.
Among items requiring special attention during the transfer are four caryatids -- stone columns sculpted in the shape of women -- as well as older limestone artifacts created before marble became popularly used.
"The cryatids require special attention . . . They are built with good material but have been strained by prolonged exposure to atmospheric pollution and other factors and require great care when being packed and unpacked," Zambas said.
The old Acropolis museum was closed last month to facilitate the transfer.
Some 165-foot shock-absorbing cranes will be used for the transfer that will cost an estimated $3.5 million.
The new Acropolis museum is due to open in early 2008, and will include exhibition space for the Parthenon Marbles collection -- also known as the Elgin Marbles -- which Greece is demanding be returned from the British Museum in London.
It will also allow the public to view artifacts that have been kept in storage because of lack of space.
