A collection of priceless Minoan frescoes from the Greek island of Santorini are back on display, along with four rare wood painting fragments never before exhibited, after the Athens National Archaeological Museum underwent repairs, the museum said.

The Minoan-era, 16th-century-BC frescoes depicting two young pugilists, antelopes and floral motifs had been inaccessible to the public since 1999, when the museum building was badly mauled by an earthquake.

Although the 19th-century building underwent extensive renovation ahead of the 2004 Olympics, the entire first floor and the Bronze Collection hall missed the Games deadline of the 14.9-million-euro makeover programme, and was to open officially on Wednesday night.

In addition to the Santorini frescoes on the first floor, the completion of works will enable the display of four wood painting fragments from the 6th century BC for the first time.

Nearly half of the Bronze Collection's 1,670 items now available, covering the full scope of Antiquity, are also making an exhibition debut.

The collection's stand-out exhibit is the 'Lady of Kalymnos', a Hellenistic-era bronze statue of a woman, named after the southeast Aegean island where a fisherman discovered her in 1994.

In addition to anti-quake safeguards already effected on the building structure in the last two years, and the addition of elevators and air-conditioning, museum director Nikolaos Kaltsas said that steps were taken to improve presentation inside the newly-reopened halls.

Exhibit signs are now provided in both Greek and English, and the museum shelved a third of its vase collection to gain space.

This still leaves 2,400 items dating from the Bronze Age (second millennium BC) to Hellenistic times (4th-3rd century BC), Kaltsas told a press conference.

The ministry of culture has long studied the prospect of further expanding the National Archaeological Museum's premises.

Kaltsas was confident that by next year the museum, which is among the most prestigious of its kind in the world, will be able to exhibit new collection themes, such as ancient glasswork and jewellery, based on items currently in storage.