Three gigantic cranes on Sunday successfully transferred a 2.3-ton marble block from the old Acropolis museum in Athens to a new ultra-modern facility, some 400 meters away at the foot of the hilltop ancient landmark. The first transferred sculpture was the Parthenon's northern frieze depicting a procession in an animal sacrifice, the Athens News Agency reported. Packed in a specially-designed metal container, the marble block was carefully ferried in about 80 minutes by the three cranes to its final destination in the Parthenon Hall, a new concrete-and-glass museum. In the next months, a total of 246 sculptures will be transferred to the New Museum, with the transfer cost estimated at1.6 million euro. Observing the operation on site were Greek Culture Minister Michalis Liapis, the new museum's architect Bernard Tschumi, members of the Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles and the ambassadors of EU member states. In a symbolic gesture, Liapis signed the first bill of transport and delivery protocol, calling the start of the operation a "historic event." He explained that the new, ultra-modern museum protects, ensures and preserves the antiquities, and brings back to the forefront the demand for the restoration of all the Parthenon Marbles, including those on display in the British Museum. Six specially-designed containers that will carry the artifacts are made of metal, with wooden crates inside covered with foam rubber to protect the antiquities from damage. The Parthenon is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena built in the fifth century B.C. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece. Its decorative sculptures are considered one of the high points of Greek art.