Archeological Museum of Seville, Seville, Spain

The Archeological Museum of Seville is housed in the Pabellón del Renacimiento, one of the pavilions designed by the architect Aníbal González. These pavilions at the Plaza de España were created for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929.

The museum's basement houses the El Carambolo treasure, discovered in Camas in 1958. The treasure comprises 2950 grams of 24 carat gold and consists of golden bracelets, a golden chain with pendant, buckles, belt- and forehead plates. Some regard the El Carambolo treasure as proof of the Tartessian roots of Seville. This is, however, disputed because the treasure includes a small figurine of Astarte, a Phoenician goddess.

Other halls of the museum contain findings from the Roman era, many of which are from the nearby Roman city of Itálica. The Itálica exhibits include mosaics, statues (including the famous Venus of Itálica), and busts of the emperors Augustus, Vespasianus, Trajan and Hadrian.

References:

Wikipedia

Museums in Spain

User Reviews

daemon gomez (2 years ago)
A really nice small museum. It's just a shame there's not more information In English.

jon wright (2 years ago)
Free museum with one of the most extensive and interesting Roman displays I've seen anywhere. A must see for lovers of ancient history.

Ernest Hemiguey (2 years ago)
You can see here good examples of roman, Arabic, Spain architecture

Janine Long (2 years ago)
Great pieces from Neanderthal to Roman times. The building itself is also beautiful and the gardens surrounding it.

DAMIEN FERAUD (2 years ago)
Excellent collection exposed, but museum staff are the typical vague and unpleasant officials. Do not speak a word of English! and they do not make the minimum effort to properly attend to the public. They would not hire them in a funeral home. The State should take better care of these places.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Giåm

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Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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