Archeology | Cultural Heritage. Goverment of Catalonia.

Archeology

On the outskirts of the ancient city of Tarraco, on the banks of the Francolí River, the Necropolis of Tarraco takes visitors on a journey back in time to the funerary practices and beliefs of the Roman world and to life in the neighbourhoods outside the walls of a Roman city.

This sprawling cemetery includes both tombs of people of the Roman religion and early Christian Romans, from the 3rd-5th centuries AD. With more than 2,000 documented burials, the cemetery is one of the most important surviving burial grounds of the Roman Empire.

As you walk through the necropolis, you can see various types of tombs. The place and method of burial varied according to the deceased's social status. The higher the status, the closer they were buried to a main road, such as the Via Augusta. Therefore, burial sites ranged from simple graves with coffins made of materials such as wood, stone or lead, to more elaborate mausoleums and churches with decorated sarcophagi.

The necropolis was uncovered during the construction of the Tobacco Factory in 1923. Subsequent excavation made it possible to conclude that the bishop of Tarraco St. Fructuosus and his deacons St. Augurius and St. Eulogius were buried in 259 AD. It also revealed the location of the crypts of the Arches and of the Engineers; uncovered details about religious beliefs and life in Roman times; and brought to light pieces such as the tombstone of Optimus, the Lion sarcophagus and the Ivory Doll, which was found inside a sarcophagus with the remains of a six-year-old girl.

Therefore, the necropolis of Tarraco is an essential stop for all those interested in archaeology and Roman history. The complex is part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

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If there is one place that will tell you what the lifestyle of the Roman elites must have been like, it is here at Els Munts Villa.
 
The luxurious residence of one of the most important officials of Tàrraco has stood atop a hill near Altafulla beach since the second century AD. In this idyllic location, the remains of a large complex are on display: the baths, the residential area, buildings for agricultural work and even the remains of a mithrae for cult rituals.
 
The splendour of many of the sculptures found at the site can be admired at the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona. The paintings and mosaics are preserved on site and can be discovered as you walk around the villa.
 
In addition to being one of the best-preserved aristocratic villas in Roman Hispania, Els Munts is surrounded by other sites that together make up the Tarraco archaeological complex, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.
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The collection of rock paintings in the Muntanyes de Prades is made up of around forty archaeological sites, only three of which are open to visitors: Portell dels Lletres, Mas d'en Llort and Mas d'en Ramon d'en Bessó.
 
The compositions and pictorial scenes preserved here show hunters and wild animals such as goats, deer, bovines, or wild boars, as well as herders with domesticated animals and a large number of abstract signs and symbols. They depict the transition from hunting and gathering (simpler language) to agriculture (more complex language).
 
This may also have been a space for solar worship: in addition to the hunting scenes, we can see depictions of honey harvesting and sunsets.
 
in order to facilitate the interpretation of all these paintings, the Rock Art Interpretation Centre of the Mountains of Prades was created in Montblanc. It presents a significant sample of these prehistoric images as well as an exhibit with full-sized reconstructions of the rock shelters where they are found.
 
Some of these archaeological sites (around fifteen) were included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998 together with the other rock art sites in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula. They are also included in the Rock Art Route.
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The rock paintings of El Cocó de la Gralla, which are over 8,000 years old, were discovered in 2004 by a local, but the authorities were not informed of their existence until ten years later.
 
These paintings are found in the nature park of Els Ports, in the ravine of Montpou in the municipality of Mas de Barberans (Montsià). An extraordinary find, they show a type of figure not documented in Catalonia until 2018.

This set of paintings shows 69 figures in the Eastern Iberian or naturalist style, including 27 archers, 4 human figures and 3 goats. Some are depicted wearing ornaments such as feathers. Especially noteworthy are two rows of running archers, as well as a number of animals and footprints, which make up a possible hunting scene. These figures make this one of the most exceptional collections of rock art in Catalonia.
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The town of Capçanes, in the Priorat region, houses the largest collection of rock paintings in Catalonia. This includes a total of 19 pieces in two ravines: the Barranc de la Vall and the Barranc de Parellada. One of the most important pieces is The Sacrifice’, a mural with 27 figures showing a human sacrifice, a rarity in Eastern Iberian art that makes the site a unique find.  
 
Among the more than 150 human and animal figures depicted, a large 54-cm bull stands out. It is one of the largest registered pieces of rock art, along with three carvings of deer on the rock overhang. This is the first collection of paintings found on an overhang in Catalonia. They date from a period when rock art was not common in the region, and it may therefore be one of the oldest pieces of rock art in Catalonia.
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Protected by the most magical mountains in Catalonia, in an area created by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, you can see one of the most important artistic and archaeological collections in Catalonia. The Montserrat Museum shows more than 1,300 pieces that have a long timeline: from an Egyptian sarcophagus from the 22nd century BC to a painting of Sean Scully from 2010. The permanent exhibit has big names in the history of art.

The archaeology section has its origins in the so-called Biblical Museum, created in the year 1911, by the monk Bonaventura Ubach, who in his trips to the Near East managed to gather archaeological materials of great importance. Currently you can see pieces from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Xyprus, Italy and the Hellenic World, the Low Empire and Paleo-Christian culture.

The collection of old paintings (13th and 18th centuries) consists in about 250 works, which were in large part acquired in the beginning of the 20th century. The museum exhibits a collection that includes artists such as Berruguete, El Greco, Jan Brueghel de Velours, Frans Francken and, in a special place, Caravaggio. Sant Jeroni Penitent is the only work by the Italian Baroque artist that can be seen in Catalonia.

The largest section of the museum is from the 19th and 20th century. It is worth it to focus on the collection of Catalan paintings, one of the best in the country, with pieces by Fortuny, Martí Alsina, Vayreda, Rusiñol, Nonell, Mir, Picasso, Torres-Garcia and Dalí, among others. Jove decadent. Després del ball, from Casas, awaits visitors stretched out on a comfortable green sofa. You can also see a small collection of paintings from great masters of French Impressionism (Degas, Sisley, Renoir, Monet, Pissarro), unique to Catalonia.

Unique too is the Nigra sum display, gathering artistic and traditional materials to explain the iconographic evolution of the image of the Montserrat Virgin. Or the exhibit of icons from the Slavic Byzantine churches Phos Hilaron (‘joyous light’).
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Three physical elements have marked the development of Santa Coloma de Gramenet: the mountain (Puig Castellar), the river (Besòs) and the city (Santa Coloma).

These three concepts make up the discourse of the Balldovina Tower Museum, a local multi-disciplinary museum inaugurated in 1987, which safeguards the cultural and natural heritage of this city near Barcelona. Starting with the building that it occupies, a defensive tower form the 11th century, which has had different uses throughout history: an agricultural building from the 14th century, a large manor in the 18th century and, finally, the summer residence of the family of the sculptor Josep Maria de Sagarra.

An important part of the permanent exhibit goes back to the origins of the city, linked to the Iberian site of Puig Castellar. You cannot miss the Treasure Room, displaying the most significant Iberian pieces found during excavations. Some are really valuable such as the zoomorphic wrought iron andiron and a sheet of lead with an inscription.

During the tour, you can find out how the Laietani who became established in this area lived: economy, technology, society, writing, beliefs... You can even see the reconstruction of an Iberian house.

The medieval and modern history collection include the collection of coins and ceramics coming from Molí d’en Ribé and Mas Fonollar. Different objects from different professions coming from old establishments in Santa Coloma serve to explain part of the contemporary history of the city.
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What did it mean to live along the Upper Border of Al-Andalus and the Catalan counties? The Noguera Museum explains how the county was impacted socially, ideologically and culturally, and especially the city of Balaguer, which preserves one of the most important heritage sites of Catalonia and one of the benchmarks of the peninsula.  

Using the archaeological materials exhibited, it shows the nature of the culture of the Andalusian world, set apart from the feudal world represented by the county of Urgell. And in 1105 the count of Urgell conquered Balaguer and this would be a turning point for the city.

Of note in the collection are the remains coming from the site of Pla d’Almatà from the Andalusian era. They allow us to build a story on how life was in the Muslim quarter (“medina”) of Balaguer from its origins to the 8th century, when it was a military camp, until it became a prosperous city where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together. You can see ceramics, a basin and even surgical or cosmetic tools from this time period.

The museum also dedicates an area to the hisn (castle) of Balaguer which represents the centre of power, both in Andalusian times and in the era of the counts. It shows the plasterwork that decorated the Taifa palace (11th century), one of the few sites with Islamic architecture in that period in the Iberian peninsula. It also shows some decorative and domestic items from the period in which the hisn became the palace of the counts of Urgell. 
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The Terrassa Museum explains the evolution of the territory and the human occupation of Terrassa and its region, from its origins to modern times, using a collection of more than 26,000 objects. One of their peculiarities is that not everything is concentrated in a single building. To see the art, archaeological collections and decorative art, you need to visit six historic places in the city.

First stop: the medieval castle of Castell Cartoixa de Vallparadís, turned into a museum in 1959, which hosts the permanent exhibit of the Terrassa Museum. This starts by explaining the natural environment, prehistoric times and the ancient world. You can see a shell bracelet from the late Neolithic era (Cova del Frare), a Roman signaculum (Can Colomer) or a reconstruction of a burial on tegulae. This is precisely how the lead sarcophagus from between the 2nd and 4th centuries was found in Ca n’Anglada, which is also part of the exhibit.

Then you can discover Medieval Terrassa with some original objects such as the Romanesque carving of the Virgin Mary from Sant Cugat. The last room explains everything about rural life and the Industrial Revolution in the contemporary city. You can even go into a post-civil war home!

The extensions of the Terrassa Museum bring visitors to the Palace Tower and Cultural Centre of the Medieval Village of Terrassa (12th century), the Cloister of the Convent of Saint Francis (17th century), the Casa Alegre de Sagrera (19th century, but reconverted into a bourgeoisie home during the modernist period) and also the Seu d’Ègara, the most exceptional heritage element of Terrassa.
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Joan Vila CincaPere QuartJosep Renom... Sabadell in the beginning of the 20th century was boiling over artistically and culturally and the first fine arts and archaeology collections in the city started to get organized. From there arose the need to create a local museum. In the year 1931, the Museum of the City opened its doors and, starting in 1970, it was definitely established as the Sabadell History Museum, an obligatory stop to learn about the origins of the Vallès plains.

The museum is located in the factory home of the industrialist Antoni Casanovas, erected in 1859. This is a multi-disciplinary museum, which includes local archaeological, historic and ethnological collections.

In the permanent exhibit, visitors can discover how the first prehistoric communities in the area lived, using materials between 6,500 and 2,600 years old such as the variscite necklace which was part of the burial objects of a Neolithic tomb (found in the site of Bòbila Padró - Can Tiana). You can even go inside the reconstruction of a prehistoric hut!

The tour continues by showing the footprints that the Iberians and the Romans left on the region (don’t miss the mosaic from the 2nd-3rd centuries A.D., with the image of the god Neptune, coming from the Roman villa of La Salut). Finally, it focuses on the collections connected with the manufacturing of wool and the textile industry, which turned Sabadell into a big industrial city.

The museum also has 13 areas on different periods which complete the story and the experience of the city’s history.