National Museum of Archeology of France. Megalithic culture of southern France

The megalith builders who settled around the Gulf of Lyon spread their funeral customs and architecture in the western and northern direction. A cemetery of superbly constructed tombs with a gallery on the Rhône Islands, near Arles, apparently belonged to a colony of traders, the French analogue of the colony at Los Millares.

A small number of corridor tombs were built in Catalonia; there is a group of tombs with a stepped arch and a corridor and stone boxes with a short corridor-entrance in Provence. The megaliths of Provence sometimes contain up to 45 skeletons, leaf-shaped arrowheads, buttons with V-shaped holes, stone beads (jadeite) and bell-shaped cups; some chambers are covered with long stone pyramids. Apparently these buildings reflect the influence of Almerian culture.

The vast majority of collective burials west of the Rhone, in southern France, and - on the Iberian Peninsula - in Catalonia and the Basque provinces belong to the group of gallery tombs. Monumental galleries like Castellet and Bunia, near Arles, are carved into the coastal rocks; they are covered with stone slabs, and round mounds are piled above them. Segmented boxes are found in Catalonia (Puig Rodo), in the Basque provinces and in La Allada, near Tarbes; the box in La Alade is 14.2 m long and is partitioned with seven slabs into seven compartments; a rear room is attached to one of its ends. The box was covered with a stone pyramid. Other boxes, such as the one found at Saint-Eugenie, near Carcassonne, are partitioned off with internal portals. All these tombs reproduce in somewhat barbarized forms the plans of the "tombs of the giants" of Sardinia, the "navetas" and rock-cut tombs of the Balearic Islands and represent, typologically, a link between these buildings and the segmented boxes Northern Ireland and Clyde. By analogy with the latter, we can conclude that these stone boxes date back to times before the Bell-Beaker culture and are contemporary with the cave burials of the first Chalcolithic period. The architecture and burial customs of the Megalithic culture were probably introduced by warlords from the islands of the Western Mediterranean into a mixed population (brachycephalic and dolichocephalic are found in all graves), which already had an established custom of collective burials in natural caves. However, these leaders adopted local superstitions associated with trepanation of skulls, and, finally, even burning. Their architecture began to decline. The post-Bell Beaker tombs on the slopes of the Cévennes and Pyrenees are smaller versions of the early galleries.

If these latter were built by the leaders of the bearers of the megalithic culture in the first period of the Chalcolithic, their founders were soon replaced by the bearers of the bell-shaped culture; traces of this culture are found in all the large tombs in the caves described by Helena, above the layers containing the first vessels with large shallow incisions. Thus, the Bell Beaker people appear to have represented the second stratum of the aristocracy. Perhaps these people came here in search of ore. They undoubtedly consumed copper and gold and developed methods for distributing these metals. Early burials from the Bell Beaker culture period (Chalcolithic II according to the Helena periodization) contain Western European daggers, flint arrowheads with grooves, archery safeties covered with strips of gold sheets, similar to those shown in Fig. 109, top right, slate plates for rubbing paints, gold and turquoise beads and goblets with classical or spiral rope designs. Possibly from this or the next period are bowls on several legs with a groove around the shoulders, similar to Scottish and Irish vessels for storing food (Fig. 139).

However, the predominance of bell-shaped beakers persisted for several generations, and distinctive local styles arose in southern France and Catalonia, which Helena classifies as Chalcolithic III. To the same phase he attributes jagged arrowheads on a long stalk (Fig. 140, o) and spearheads, polished and then covered with notches, as in pre-dynastic Egypt. Beads made of amber and jet and jewelry made of low-tin bronze were imported. Half-coil-shaped beads found in caves, similar to those shown in Fig. 122, a, c, indicate connections with Sardinia (p. 253). Beads with grooves or "wings" (Fig. 140, j, j, n) from caves and Cevennes boxes appear to reflect Eastern Mediterranean influence; in addition, with their help, synchronism with Chalcolithic pile buildings is established. In the burial cave of Ruisseau (Monge), a segmented faience bead imported from Egypt was discovered along with samples from the previous period - a circumstance indicating that III period The Chalcolithic period lasted until 1400 BC. e. Bell-shaped goblets, which are distinctive feature of this period, were found even in large galleries, but in caves and in some Catalan boxes there are also polished vessels, including boat-shaped bowls with handles in the shape of a bent thumb, showing complete similarity with the southern Italian samples presented in Fig. 112, 3.

Thus, the III Chalcolithic period in Southern France already coincides with the Bronze Age in Almeria, Central Europe and Brittany.

However, despite the presence of local ore and the proximity to Sardinia, the layers in the caves of the IV Chalcolithic period, which followed the Bell-Beaker period, and the small megalithic boxes of Catalonia and Cévennes are still characterized by a largely Neolithic economy. Apart from objects imported from Britain in the Vendée and some hoards of Danube bronzes east of the Rhone, hardware The Early and Middle Bronze Ages were virtually unknown in southern France. The tools and weapons found in the common ossuaries, as in the previous phase, are mainly made of stone. Only a few imported bronze daggers, pins with heads in the shape of a bubble, trefoil or racket, which came here through Switzerland from the Unetice inventory, faience and even iron beads indicate that this Cevennes “ copper age"is actually contemporary with the developed Bronze Age of the V period in other countries. It was during this period that pottery with molded ribs, of the type considered by Bosch-Gimpera to be the oldest in France, acquired a more characteristic appearance, although it dates back to the second period of the Chalcolithic. However, this Copper Age culture remained unchanged until the late Bronze Age - the Hallstatt era, when newcomers from Central Europe brought with them a new economy.

Here before us classic example trade, which served mainly the purposes of ritual - the acquisition of magical substances and amulets - and culture, the bearers of which focused their attention primarily on spiritual rather than material benefits. The desire to acquire these goods produced a number of remarkable achievements, in addition to the construction of megalithic tombs. A large number of skulls from the Cevennes megaliths and from caves were trepanned - some while people were still alive! Since skull amulets resulting from this operation have been discovered in settlements of the Cortaillot culture in Switzerland, the custom in question appears to date back to pre-galithic times in southern France, although it has survived, like many features, into more recent times. late time. In Aveyron, Gard, Hérault and Tarn, images of a female deity armed with an ax were carved on solid pieces of stone. One such menhir statue served as a door lintel in a megalithic step-arch tomb at Kollorg, Gar (Fig. 141). It is quite obvious that this is not a “portrait statue”, but an image of the same deity that the inhabitants of Troy I also depicted on the monolith stele. We will meet this deity again in the Marne Valley. Perhaps the menhir statues indicate the movement of this cult to the north, but we have no other data to date them. In Southern France, whose material culture had stagnated for perhaps 1000 years, sculpture and surgery developed outside the sphere of urban life and did not pursue any practical goals in our understanding of the word.

Archeology of France.

From the Paleolithic to the Merovingian era.

Exhibition catalog from the collection
Museum of National Antiquities of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Paris).

// L.: “Art”, Len. department, 1982. 104 p.

Translation from French - T.V. Metelitsyn.

Scientific edition of the Russian text -
A.M. Miklyaev, Yu.Yu. Piotrovsky, M.B. Shchukin.

R. Geoffroy. - 5

Paleolithic. A. Delport and L. Mon(Cat. No. 1-80). - 9

Neolithic and Bronze Age. J.-P. Moen and K. Eluer(Cat. No. 81-131). - 29

Celts. A. Duval(Cat. No. 132-207). - 45

Gaul during the era of Roman rule. F. Beck(cat. no. 208-258). - 65

Gaul of the Merovingian era. F. Vallee(cat. no. 259-320). - 85

The purpose of this exhibition is to show, through the example of archaeological objects, the sequence of cultures and civilizations that took place on the territory of modern France from the beginning of human activity until the accession to the throne of Emperor Charlemagne. France is sometimes called the birthplace of humanity, because it was in France, thanks to scientists such as Boucher de Pert and Piet, that the idea of ​​​​the antiquity of humanity arose. Most prehistoric periods and cultures are named after the localities in France where they were first discovered.

The earliest traces of a person who already knew how to make weapons and tools from stone date back to an era dating back 700 thousand years.

It was a period early paleolithic, which lasted for many hundreds of thousands of years. During this time, man learned to process stone well.

The Middle Paleolithic, or Mousterian period, lasted much shorter, only a few tens of thousands of years. Neanderthal begins to use animal bone as an anvil to make flint tools, but he does not process it yet.

The most productive and most long period ancient history on the territory of modern France begins about 30 thousand years BC. It was then, in the Aurignacian and Perigordian periods, that the first works of art appeared: female figurines made of bone or limestone, symbolizing fertility. Amazing flowering of art Upper Paleolithic, who used a variety of technical means, produced works worthy of the best contemporary artists(engraving, sculpture, wall painting). The French Museum of National Antiquities has the world's best collection of these works of art. Gradually, the very cold climate changes and becomes much warmer. People's lives change along with it. They begin to engage in agriculture and cattle breeding, the Paleolithic era ends.

Technical innovations appear, such as ceramics and stone polishing. But art on the territory of modern France, on the contrary, experienced an obvious decline during the Neolithic period, although in other countries of Central Europe it continued to develop in the form of figurines made of baked clay.

A new cultural revolution begins with the advent of metal, that is, around the 1900s. BC. Copper, and soon bronze, give man weapons of great capabilities and effective tools. There is an interest in precious metals. Massive bracelets and necklaces made of gold testify to the wealth of deposits of this metal that were available at that time.

Bronze is replaced by iron. Iron ores are widespread in many areas of France. Huge archaeological material from the first Iron Age, or Hallstatt era, 750-450. BC, came to us thanks to excavations of numerous settlements and burial grounds of this period. Some burials are striking in their richness and give us new evidence of trade relations between people who lived on the territory of modern France with the Italian and Greek world. Attic bronze and ceramic vessels are often found in these burials.

The Second Iron Age, or La Tène culture period, lasted until the conquest of Gaul by the Roman general Julius Caesar (52 BC). During these few centuries, Celtic art reached its full flowering. It is characterized by the appearance of a curvilinear ornament in the decoration of ceramic products, torcs, bracelets, and weapons. The lines of the ornament harmoniously merge into complex and varied motifs. Roman conquest was of great importance for Gaul. The Romans taught the Gauls to build with stone, they created an excellent network of roads throughout the country, and put an end to the internecine wars that separated the tribes and nationalities living at that time on the territory of modern France.

But it would be unfair to talk about the colonization of Gaul by Rome. There was cooperation between the Gauls and the Romans, which led to a very successful form of symbiosis. A Gallo-Roman culture was formed, where the most diverse people found their place. different types art. Industrial production of this period is represented by ceramic workshops such as Grofesanc and Lezou. These workshops produced and exported hundreds of beautiful, relief-decorated vessels.

Other types of crafts also developed. They provided countless household items: brooches (cloak clasps), toiletries, kitchen utensils. Gallo-Roman culture existed for quite a long time, until the moment when in the 3rd century. AD, around 272-276, raids by barbarian tribes who came from the east began. They crossed the Rhine and plundered nearby cities. From this time on, cities began to be surrounded by high fortress walls.

Gradually, barbarian tribes - the Franks, Allemans, Burgundians, Vandals - finally settled in the territory of Gaul. They bring with them new art and new technique, such as damasking.

Over time, the former Gallo-Roman population merged with the newly arrived tribes. As a result, there is new culture- Merovingian culture, which existed until the accession to the throne of Emperor Charlemagne (889).

The Museum of National Antiquities was created by Emperor Napoleon III. It is located in the former royal palace Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The building has recently been refurbished and landscaped, and now the museum offers for viewing rich collections of objects characterizing different periods of the country's ancient history, and scientists have a huge amount of material in its collections. In 1979, a wonderful exhibition « Ancient art peoples of the USSR from the collections of the Hermitage”, organized by the Ministry of Culture of the USSR and the Union of National Museums of France. This exhibition aims to introduce, in turn, Leningraders to the collection of the Saint-Germain-en-Laye Museum.

R. Geoffroy,

director of the Museum

national antiquities

The shelter was a narrow and low cave. Inside, researchers found 20 niches for oil lamps. A ceramic pot found in the cave allowed archaeologists to date the shelter to the end of the 11th century. This period coincided with the rivalry between the counts of Anjou and Blois for the Touraine region.

One could go down to the shelter via steps dug into the ground. The cave had an extensive network of passages and rooms, the length of which was more than 15 m. The cave was very narrow (average width was 0.5 m) and low (height - 1.15 - 1.55 m). The entrance to the shelter was closed by a door at the foot of the steps.

Another door blocked access to three passages located further. The cave had several right-angled turns that slowed down the attackers. The chamber located in the shelter was intended for storing food. According to archaeologists, 5-6 people could have been in the shelter for a long period of time.

What types of museums are there? Oooh, there are a lot of them and in a variety of directions. These are the Louvre and the Hermitage, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Higgins Museum, the Royal Arsenal in Leeds and Tank Museum in Bovington, this is the Central Naval Museum in St. Petersburg and Military History Museum fortifications "Mikhailovskaya Battery" in Sevastopol, there are a great many local history museums in the cities of Russia, sometimes even in the smallest, and even in villages, for example, Taman, and... the same many municipal and private museums abroad. That is, people are interested in their past, their culture, and all these museums satisfy their interest in them in one way or another. There are ethnographic museums and museums of technology, there are museums of rarities, the same Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg, there are wine museums, a beer museum, a museum... a museum... a cat museum, and not even one!
I have already told you about many of them, and about this palace too

National Museum archeology of France. A real castle, isn't it?

And yet there is one thing historical direction, which is always present in one way or another in the work of any historical museum, but the main thing is only for some. This direction is archaeology. We can see archaeological finds in almost every museum in our country, but there are enough of them, well, let’s say, for one hall and nothing more.

We also have special museums, for example, in Anapa, where archaeologists unearthed the ancient Gorgippia, or in Taman, where there is a small but beautifully decorated museum ancient city Hermonassa, but only Athens and Cairo can boast of huge collections and buildings of impressive size, although many archaeological sites can also be found in British Museum, and the Tokyo National Museum, which is not surprising, of course.

In spring, tulips bloom all around it.

However, there is a completely unique, and purely archaeological, museum in France, just some 19 kilometers west of Paris. This is the National Museum of Archeology, which is one of the main French museums, and its exhibition covers the period from prehistoric times to the Merovingian era.

It is located in the Chateau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Of course, you need to visit there to see everything that is on display there with your own eyes, because it is difficult to convey in words the entire amount of information that can be obtained. But, nevertheless, if you can try, then... why not do it and at least basically try to talk about it. Moreover, archeology is a subject of interest to many readers

Let's start with history, with the fact that the Castle of Saint-Germain has been one of the most important royal residences near Paris since the 12th century. After the court moved to Versailles, the castle housed a court, and then it was given to the exiled King James II from England, became a cavalry school in 1809 and, finally, a military prison from 1836 to 1855. By this time it was in very poor condition, and was recognized as a historical monument on April 8, 1863.

Inside, the halls are impressive even in themselves.

The exhibitions in them match the size of the premises.

In those years, it was a real labyrinth of corridors, false floors and temporary partitions. The castle was very dilapidated and was black with soot. The architect Eugene Millet, a student of Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, was commissioned to restore the castle in order to transfer it to the National Museum of Antiquities, which first required dismantling all the cells that had been built there when it was used as a prison.

Already in 1857, he reported that all the partitions forming the chambers had been demolished and the castle grounds had been cleared. Construction work began in 1862, and Millet set himself the goal of restoring the castle as it was under King Francis I. The work took time and money and was completed only in 1907.

The Hall of Antiquities, named after the archaeologist Edouard Piette, is a “museum within a museum.”

Showcase of ancient stone axes.

On the left are products made of bone, on the right - from stone.

It received its first name - “Museum of Gallo-Roman Antiquities” in 1862. Then he had the opportunity to visit the “Museum of Celtic and Gallo-Roman Antiquities”, the “Museum of National Antiquities” (1879), until in 2005 it acquired its current name: “National Archaeological Museum”.

The famous "Venus of Brassempouille".

It should be noted that any empire is good because it allocates a relatively large amount of funds for science and art. The Second French Empire was no exception, and its era coincides in France with a surge of interest in archeology. And this is not surprising: after all, Emperor Napoleon III himself was passionate about history and archeology, and financed the excavations. Well, the finds needed to be stored somewhere. Therefore, on March 8, 1862, Napoleon III signed a decree on the creation of a Gallo-Roman museum of archaeological antiquities.

Columns of Trajan, located in the ditches of the National Archaeological Museum

In 1864, Jean-Baptiste Verchères de Reffi, who was involved in the museum project, proposed to the Emperor a project for a “historical museum” that could “provide historians with accurate documents about the lives of our fathers ...”, as well as interest industry in ancient samples and technologies. Napoleon III liked the idea, and he personally opened the first seven rooms of the museum on May 12, 1867, during the Paris World Fair.

Presentation of "Trésor de Rethel", 16 pieces of Gallo-Roman silver discovered in 1980 in Rethel (Ardennes) and dated to 270-280.

Beginning in 1936, the museum began to create plans to save artifacts, a list of the most important works and carry out preparations for their possible evacuation, which clearly speaks of the foresight of the museum workers and their practical intelligence. Cellars with vaults measuring 2.70 meters in area were prepared as a shelter for museum staff. Wooden crates were prepared to transport the collections (it is estimated that 12 trucks were needed to remove them, but all of them were requisitioned by the army in 1938).

A traditional Gallic helmet with earpieces imprinted with three discs.

On August 24, 1939, an order was received to close the museum, after which its collections were evacuated. Since June 24, 1940 the museum has been occupied by German troops, which showroom No. 1 was turned into a conference room for the German authorities in charge of Ile-de-France. Later, the castle suffered from bombing, but, in general, survived the occupation quite successfully, and already on August 26, 1944, the French flag was raised over one of its towers. The collections were repatriated until March 15, 1946, but the museum was opened to the public on October 2, 1945.

Original Gallic helmet with swastikas.

Gallic helmet of Amfreville-sous-les-Monts (rear view),

“Helmet with swastikas” close-up.

By 1961, the museum's exhibition was declared obsolete and its reconstruction began. The number of rooms was reduced to 19, the number of exhibits was reduced to ... 30,000. The new museum was visited by Charles de Gaulle on March 25, 1965, and on April 9, 1965 it was opened to visitors.

The courtyard facades were renovated from 1998 to 2000, the ground floor rooms (Paleolithic to Iron Age) were restored from 1999 to 2006. In total, the museum's funds contain about 3 million archaeological sites, of which about 30,000 are on view, making it one of the richest museums in Europe.

These are, first of all, finds made on the territory of France, and represented by the following chronological periods: Paleolithic, Neolithic, bronze age, Iron Age, Roman period (Roman Gaul) and early Middle Ages(Merovingian Gaul). The comparative archaeological hall displays collections of foreign archaeological and ethnological objects. The museum presents the evolution of the genus Homo, starting with the skulls of Homo erectus and Neanderthal.

But for some reason the Gauls did not decorate this helmet...

Simple Gaulish helmets, riveted from two halves, 1150-950 BC.

Among the most famous objects in the museum's Paleolithic collections is the Venus of Brassempouille, found by Edouard Piette in the Pyrenees. In his honor, 10,000 finds are exhibited in a separate room named after him. This room was newly restored and opened in 2008 with the aim of demonstrating the original museology of the 19th century (a museum within a museum!), so it is necessary to consider not only the finds themselves, but also how exactly they are exhibited there, or rather, were exhibited in that distant time time from us.

Gallic cuirasses (circa 950 BC to 780 BC).

The Neolithic (circa 5800 to 2100 BC) was the second period of prehistory from which artifacts are on display in the museum. The population became sedentary, agriculture and cattle breeding emerged, people created the first artificial materials - fabric and ceramics. For the first time, international exchange is being formed.

Bronze swords of the Koban culture of the Caucasus.

Blade of a Roman pugio dagger.

During the Bronze Age (c. 2100-750 BC) society is still very similar to Neolithic society, but technical advances, represented by bronze metallurgy, change society, which becomes more and more hierarchical.

Thorns against cavalry. Used by the Romans and... the Gauls against the Romans. They hid in a wooden block of wood, which was buried in the ground. This type of thorns was considered an economical weapon.

But such thorns or “garlic”, as they were called in Rus', were scattered, so a lot of them were required and it was difficult to collect them later.

Roman caliga - legionnaire's sandal.

The First Iron Age (terminology adopted in France) refers to the era of 780-480. BC, and corresponds to the Hallstatt culture, a period characterized by the burial of a privileged part of the population in mounds.

Roman horseman - bronze figurine. And someone, however, still believes that horses came to Europe only after 1492?

And this is a gladiator. That is, they were also fond of gladiator fights in Gaul. The conquered Gauls did not want to yield to the Romans.

The Second Iron Age (480 BC–early AD) was marked by an increase in the militarization of society, which took place from the fifth century BC until the second century AD. The Gauls are superior to other European peoples in ceramics, dishes, and metallurgy (bronze and iron).

The golden hat is a unique type of cone-shaped item made of bronze and gold, characteristic exclusively of the Proto-Celtic culture of the urn fields. Only four such objects are currently known, dating from 1400 to 800 BC. e. Three were found in Germany, the fourth - in 1844, much further west - in the town of Avanton near Poitiers.

The museum's collections show the life of the Gauls before their conquest by the Romans. The museum's collection of Celtic art is one of the richest in the world.

Roman Gaul (from 52 BC to the end of the 5th century AD) was the result of the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar. Gaul was forcibly integrated into the Roman Empire, but it benefited it. The growth of cities and the construction of public buildings began, and a road network was created throughout Gaul, which has survived (including bridges!) to this day.

Beautiful Roman mosaics.

The six rooms of the Gallo-Roman section display artifacts of religious content (gods, world of the dead), presence of the Roman army in Gaul, different kinds crafts and household items (related to the preparation and consumption of food, clothing, ornaments, transport, writing...).

A completely tasteless helmet from the decline of the Empire.

The Merovingian era (5th to 6th century AD) is also reflected in the museum's exhibition. From this period, numerous items decorated with garnets, items decorated with cloisonné enamel, as well as belt buckles inlaid with silver or brass wire have come down to us.

Here they are - buckles about which one can say: “barbaric splendor.”

And this buckle is decorated with cloisonné enamel.

Because the remains of the past are silent, the archaeologist sometimes calls on other humanities, such as ethnology or sociology, to help him interpret these traces with greater confidence.

Umbo of the shield of the Franks.

It was in this spirit of “comparative archeology of the five continents” that at the beginning of the twentieth century Henri Hubert and Marcel Maus conceived an exhibition that would illustrate “the ethnographic history of Europe and mankind” from the origins of man to the Middle Ages. This comparative approach was popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, and although some of the comparisons did not stand up to serious criticism, it turned out to be quite applicable today. In addition, it allowed us to go beyond just French territory and draw broad historical parallels.

The famous Francis of the Franks.

At the National archaeological museum this approach resulted in two "axes" in the exhibition. On one axis of the room, the technical achievements of man from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages are demonstrated: stone processing techniques, terracotta, metallurgy.

The transverse axes represent the geographical section: Africa, Asia, Middle East, Europe, America and Oceania. This approach allows us to show the similarities and differences in the evolution of cultures in different regions peace.

Roman military belt with a portrait of Emperor Tiberius

The visitor consistently gets acquainted with the Paleolithic and Neolithic culture of Africa (Maghreb, South Africa, Ethiopia, Benin, Congo, Ivory Coast, Zaire, etc.), then moves on to the birth of the civilizations of the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East (Egypt, ancient Susa, Bulgarian Thrace).

Galvanoplastic casting of the Gundestrup cauldron in comparative archeology

He can then compare the development and technical skill of bronze and iron metallurgists in the Caucasus and in Europe (sites from Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Azerbaijan, North Ossetia, etc.).

Taken from different continents, and sometimes in different time, the exhibits show a similar state of development (the transition from hunter-gatherer to producer), or, conversely, very different forms or products (for example, there is a comparison of products from Asia and America, finds from China, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Greenland, North America etc.).

Most of the collection came here in the First world war. The first contribution was the Scandinavian collection offered in 1862 by Frederick VII of Denmark. Other major collections came from the Caucasus, from excavations in Susa (modern Iran) and in Egypt.

The archeology comparison room is located in the old ballroom castle, it is also called the “room of Mars”.

So, if you are in Paris, then... don’t be lazy and also stop here, in Saint-Germain. Take my word for it - you won’t have to regret it!

The Museum of National Antiquities (Musée des antiquités nationales) was created by decree of Napoleon III on March 8, 1862. It is housed in the old Saint-Germain Castle, restored by the architect Eugene Millet. Since 2005, this institution has been called the Museum of National Archeology (Musée d'archéologie nationale). Five years after the issuance of the imperial decree, the former Saint-Germain Palace received visitors for the first time. May 12, 1867 […]

Museum of National Antiquities was created by decree Napoleon III dated March 8, 1862. He was located in old Saint-Germain castle, restored by the architect Eugene Millet. Since 2005 this institution has been called Museum of National Archeology (Musée d'archéologie nationale).

Five years after the issuance of the imperial decree, the former Saint-Germain Palace received visitors for the first time. On May 12, 1867, seven halls were opened. The first director and founder of the museum was an archaeologist Alexandre Bertrand. He led the institution for 35 years. During this time, French archaeologists made a significant contribution to the collection of antiquities. The museum has become a unique repository archaeological finds.

Using the exhibits of the museum collection, you can trace the history of the peoples and civilizations that lived on the territory of the French state from primitive times to the beginning of the reign of Charlemagne. The true antiquity of the human race was reliably assessed throughout the world thanks to the discoveries of French scientists. The names of several prehistoric periods and ancient cultures were derived from the names of localities in France marked by important archaeological finds.

The first traces of ancient people who used stone tools belong to the era of the early (lower) Paleolithic. This period lasts about seven hundred thousand years. Human for a long time learned to process stone.

Based on the finds, one can trace the evolution of the most ancient flint tools - from rough hand axes to carefully processed stone scrapers, gimlets and knives. In the Middle Paleolithic era (Mousterian period), new methods of stone processing appeared using animal bones as an auxiliary tool. Processing bone at this time is not yet available to humans.

30,000 BC The longest period of ancient human history began on French territory. Aurignacian and Perigordian cultures are marked by the first works applied arts. Figurines made from bone and limestone date back to this time.

The ancient creators of the Upper Paleolithic era used different visual arts: painting, sculpture, engraving. The Saint-Germain Palace Museum has the largest collection works of art this period.

The climate on earth was changing, becoming warmer. The life of primitive tribes also changed. People learned about agriculture and cattle breeding. The period has begun Neolithic.

Man learned to create dishes and figurines from clay and burn them in a flame; I tried to polish the stone. The Neolithic period in France is characterized by some decline in the development of art. New rise observed with the advent of metal products.

The first copper objects discovered by scientists date back to the 1900s BC. Copper fossil finds are gradually being replaced bronze. Metals give humanity new opportunities. More advanced tools and weapons appear. The first gold jewelry dates back to this period. They are heavy and massive - there was a lot of gold in France.

Iron ore mining is beginning in many areas of the country. Bronze products are being replaced by iron. The first Iron Age is called the Hallstatt era. This is the period 750-450. BC. Excavations of burials from that time indicate trade relations between the inhabitants of French territories and Greece and Italy. Attic vessels made of ceramics and bronze are often found in ancient burial grounds.

Time from 450 to 52. BC. called the La Tène culture period, or the second Iron Age. The art of the ancient Celts has flourished over the years. Curvilinear patterns appeared in the decoration of ceramic dishes, bracelets, and weapons.

In 52 BC. conquered Gaul Julius Caesar. The Roman invasion brought development to the Gallic tribes. Centuries-old enmity between nationalities was eliminated. The Gauls learned from the Romans the technique of building with stone. Civil strife ceased, and a network of new roads stretched across the country.

It would be unfair to talk about the colonization of Gaul by the Romans. The cooperation was mutually beneficial and fruitful. Gallo-Roman culture combined different types of art. Industrial production of ceramic products was established; The famous workshops of Grofezank and Lezu were created, producing magnificent, richly decorated vessels. Other crafts also developed.

Gallo-Roman period lasted for several centuries. In 272-276. AD began raids and robberies of barbarians. The cities of France had to be surrounded by defensive structures.

Tribes of barbarians: the Burgundians, Vandals, Allemannians and Franks - gradually penetrated into Gallic territory and settled down on it. They also contributed to local culture. Over time, a merger of peoples occurred, and a new cultural era got the name "Merovingian era". The Merovingian dynasty was overthrown with the beginning of the reign of Charlemagne.

The National Museum of Archeology presents a rich collection of exhibits. More than 30 thousand archaeological finds are stored in seven sections of the exhibition. Museum collection offers visitors the most interesting finds and curious facts. Scientists turn to museum funds for invaluable materials for research.

Museum of National Archeology (Musée d'archéologie nationale)
Place Charles de Gaulle 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
musee-archeologienationale.fr‎

Take the RER A train to Saint-Germain-en-Laye station

How do I save on hotels?

It’s very simple - look not only on booking. I prefer the search engine RoomGuru. He searches for discounts simultaneously on Booking and on 70 other booking sites.