The Archaeology Museum of Catalonia (, MAC) is an

archaeological museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological artifacts. Many archaeology museum are in the open-air museum, open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum.David Watkin. ''The Roman Forum ...

with five venues that exposes the most important archaeological collection of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, focusing on

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

times and

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...

. The museum was originally founded in 1932 by the Republican Government of Catalonia. The modern institution was created under the Museums of Catalonia Act in 1990 by the Ministry of Culture of the same Government. The head office is located in the former Palace of Graphic Arts, which was built on the

Montjuïc Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Montjuïc or Montjuich, meaning "Jewish Mountain" in medieval Latin and Catalan, is a broad, shallow hill in Barcelona with a rich history. It was the birthplace of the city, and its st ...

hill for the

1929 Barcelona International Exposition The 1929 Barcelona International Exposition (also 1929 Barcelona Universal Exposition, or Expo 1929, officially in Spanish language, Spanish: ''Exposición Internacional de Barcelona 1929'') was the second World's fair, World Fair to be held in ...

. The pavilion was initially to be dismantled once the event was over, but it was conserved and refitted by the architect Josep Gudiol before the museum opened its doors in 1932.

Venues

The museum is composed by a group of five museum venues archaeological sites in several places of Catalonia:

1. MAC Barcelona

Officially, Museu d'Arqueologia de Barcelona i Institut de Prehistòria i Arqueologia. The museum was designed by Pelagi Martínez i Patricio, covers an area of 4,000 m and is structured into five chronological spaces: prehistory;

protohistory Protohistory is the period between prehistory and written history, during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures that have developed writing have noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in the ...

, the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n colonisations; the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

; and, finally, the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

, marking the start of the medieval period. Some of the main attractions are the Greek statue of

Asclepius Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...

from the 3rd century BCE which was discovered in Empúries, the Iberian Treasure of Tivissa and the votive crown from the Treasure of Torredonjimeno.

2. The Greco-Roman city of Empúries

The village of Sant Martí d'Empúries is on a small isthmus that has been settled since the 9th century BCE, when it was inhabited by

Indigetes The Indigetes ( or or , Iberian: ) were an ancient Iberian (Pre- Roman) people of the eastern side of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken the Iberian language. Location They occupied the far north east ...

. The town itself was built around the 6th century BCE by Greek colonists and was later occupied by the Romans during the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ancient Carthage, Carthaginian Empire during the period 264 to 146BC. Three such wars took place, involving a total of forty-three years of warfare on both land and ...

. Archaeological recovery of the site began in 1908 and 25% of the site has been excavated. In addition to the outdoor exhibits, many of the artifacts discovered here can be seen in the museum on the site.

3. MAC Girona

Founded in 1846 as the "Provincial Museum of Antiquities and Fine Arts", making it one of the oldest museums in Catalonia. It was relocated on several occasions until it arrived at its current location in the Benedictine monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants in 1857. It became a part of MAC in 1992.

4. The monuments of Olèrdola

The settlement at Olèrdola was continuously inhabited from the 8th century BCE to the time of the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

. The site includes an Iron Age fortified nucleus, an Iberian settlement, a Roman fortification and a medieval town with Romanesque and pre-Romanesque churches and medieval tombs cut into the rock. It was opened to the public in November 1971 and became part of the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia in 1995.

5. The Iberian settlement of Ullastret

Located in the Baix Empordà, the Iberian town of Ullastret is the largest Iberian settlement discovered so far in Catalonia, with a history stretching back to the 5th Century B.C. Excavations started in 1948 and continue to this day. Visitors can walk around the ruined walls and cobbled streets of the village, as well as visit the Ullastret Monographic Museum, which is also part of the complex.

The Submarine Archaeology Centre of Catalonia

Officially, ''Centre d'Arqueologia Subaquàtica de Catalunya'' (CASC) in Girona. Created in 1992 to protect underwater archeological sites and part of MAC since 1996, the centre's mission is to take inventory, protect, conserve, and study underwater heritage sites in Catalonia. In addition to its own projects, CASC provides support for external archeological teams.

References

External links

* (in Catalan) {{Authority control Archaeological museums in Catalonia 1932 establishments in Catalonia Museums established in 1932