Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres
Lugdunum in Lyon is important as a museum embedded in a Roman urban landscape with theatres. It presents an ancient city of Gaul not through a single object, but through the combination of museum, Fourvière hill, spectacle architecture and urban memory.
Lyon was a major centre of Gaul, and the museum links sculpture, inscriptions, pottery, coins, cult, trade and topography. It is a useful alternative to museums where objects are detached from a visible place.
Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres: Lyon 5e - Musée Lugdunum, entrée.
Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres: Lyon 5e - Musée Lugdunum, amphores à l'entrée.
Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres: Lyon 5e - Musée Lugdunum - Lieu des expositions temporaires - Un Empire, des peuples.Collection and Historical Context
Lugdunum was a major urban centre of Roman Gaul. Its theatres, inscriptions, architectural fragments and everyday finds illuminate different aspects of public life. The scale of its buildings and the city’s position require caution when comparing it with smaller Gallic settlements.
Display and Main Materials
The theatres, museum models, inscriptions, sculpture, domestic pottery, water-supply material and objects explaining Lugdunum as an administrative and religious centre are especially important.
Venus Genetrix from Pozzuoli, shown in an exhibition at Lugdunum Museum.
Statue of crouching Aphrodite, shown in an exhibition at Lugdunum Museum.
Venus Genetrix. Archaeological Museum of the Phlegraean Fields; comparative material for the Lugdunum collections.Related Topics
- Museums of Antiquity
- Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier
- Museum of Ancient Arles
- The Louvre and Antiquity
- Archaeology and museums
Official Pages and Catalogues
Lyon 5e - Musée Lugdunum - Exposition Un Empire, des peuples - Relief de Maliku. Object from the collection: Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres.
The restored Circus Games Mosaic depicting a chariot race in quadrigas, 2nd century AD, from Lugdunum, Musée gallo-romain de Fourvière, Lyon (9191588535). Object from the collection: Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres.
Statue of Victory, shown in an exhibition about Claudius in Lyon.
Bas-relief d'Allât sous les traits d'Athéna Empire, Peuples. Object from the collection: Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres.
Inscription honoring Tib. Antistius Marcianus (Lyon, Mus Gall-Rom AD23). Object from the collection: Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres.
Bronze statuette of a heifer, inventory Bronze.1157, shown in an exhibition at Lugdunum Museum.
Coin Elagabalus MBA Lyon. Object from the collection: Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres.
Coin Julia Domna MBA Lyon. Object from the collection: Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres.
Coin Trajan MBA Lyon. Object from the collection: Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theatres.
Bronze sestertius of Antoninus Pius. Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon.
Bronze sestertius of Hadrian. Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon.
Bronze human figurine, second–third centuries AD, Lyon. The person’s social status cannot be established from appearance alone.Interested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions.
