Badalona Museum facts for kids
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The main building of the Badalona Museum.
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| Established | 1966 |
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| Location | Badalona, Catalonia, Spain |
| Type | Archaeology museum |
The Badalona Museum is a special museum in Badalona, Spain, that lets you travel back in time to the Roman Empire. Opened in 1966, it is built right on top of the ancient Roman city of Baetulo.
The most exciting part of the museum is underground. There, you can walk through the actual ruins of Baetulo. You can see what's left of Roman baths, shops, and homes. You can even stand on parts of the city's two main streets, the cardo maximus and the decumanus maximus.
The museum also displays amazing artifacts found during archaeological digs. These objects tell the story of Baetulo and the people who lived there thousands of years ago.
Contents
What Can You See at the Museum?
A visit to the Badalona Museum is like being an explorer. You can see both the ruins of the city and the treasures that were found there.
A Walk Through Ancient Baetulo
In 2010, the museum opened a large underground area for visitors. This lets you explore a part of the old Roman city. You can see:
- Main Streets: The remains of the Cardo Maximus (the main north-south street) and the Decumanus Maximus (the main east-west street). These were the bustling center of Roman life.
- Shops: The ruins of several shops, called tavernae. You can imagine what merchants sold here long ago.
- Apartment Buildings: Three Roman apartment blocks, known as insulae. This is where many of the city's ordinary people lived.
Famous Treasures on Display
The museum has a permanent exhibition with some incredible Roman artifacts. These items show what life was like in Baetulo. Some of the most famous pieces include:
- The Venus of Badalona: A small, beautiful marble statue of the goddess Venus. It is one of the most important Roman sculptures ever found in Catalonia.
- The Tabula Hospitalis: A bronze tablet with a legal agreement written on it. It records a pact of friendship and hospitality between the people of Baetulo and a Roman governor.
- The Vas de les Naus: A ceramic pot decorated with drawings of ships.
- A Portrait of Agrippina: A sculpture of the head of Agrippina the Younger, who was a very powerful woman in the Roman Empire.
- Iberian Steles: Three carved stone slabs made by the Iberians, the people who lived in the area before the Romans arrived.
The Museum's Story
The story of the museum began in 1955. An archaeologist named Josep Maria Cuyas i Tolosa was working in Badalona when he made an amazing discovery. He found the ruins of the ancient Roman baths of Baetulo hidden underground.
People realized how important this discovery was. They decided to build a museum right on top of the site to protect the ruins and show them to the public. The museum building was finished and fully opened in 1966. Since then, it has been a window into the Roman past for everyone to enjoy.
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Badalona para niños
