If you visit Madrid, take at least a morning to visit the National Archelogical Museum.
The museum traces the anthropology of the Iberian peninsula from stone age prehistory through the present time with an innovative and expertly curated series of exhibits, including some well-produced videos and stunning collections of artifacts. (The museum also includes a fine Egyptian exhibition and an extensive Greek exhibit from the museum’s archaeological digs in the late 1800s. The museum itself was founded in 1867.)
The exhibits are based on the movement of peoples around the Iberian peninsula through time, told through videos, artifacts, and maps. Highly recommended. A few images follow.
Museum exteriorEarly stone age rock fragment with an etched deer. Humans will always create art.Two animal figures on a stone fragment. Humans will always create art.Stone age potteryEarly bronze age weapons found at an underwater sacrificial siteThe Warrior steal, one of the first human depictions outside of cave paintingsSilver artifacts. The flow of silver out of Iberia was said to be so great the Phoenicians would remove their ships’ anchors and replace them with silver in order to carry more lootThe Lady of Elche. No one knows who she is or exactly who created the bust.The Romans used copper sheets like this one to post their laws and contracts in conquered territories.Livia, wife of Augustus. A beautifully rendered Roman sculpture.Roman mosaic detail. Each piece is roughly the size of a lentil. Not as ornate as the Moorish artists, but impressive nonethelessThe crown of Recesswinth, a Visigoth queen.The Zamora Pyxis, an ornately carved Moorish ivory vessel.Some Nazarine (Moorish) pottery from Alhambra.What knockers! (Reference joke…)A brass astrolabeAn ornately carved, portable version of Napier’s Bones, a calculating engineAn intricate porcelain depiction of a Spanish royal family
