MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona
MNAT is the museum of Tarraco, capital of Hispania Citerior / Tarraconensis. Its strength is that it manages not only a collection but also several monuments connected with the Roman city.
Tarraco provides evidence for provincial administration, urban topography, theatre, cemeteries, villas, quarries and Roman infrastructure in Spain. It is a different Spanish centre that complements Merida.
MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona: Marble portrait of the prince Nero Julius Caesar, found in the area of the Colonial Forum where it would have been part of a gallery of statues of the imperial family, Na.
MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona, Spain (51712745558).
MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona: Posthumous portrait of Tiberius wearing the civic crown, it would have been part of a gallery of portraits of the Julio-Claudian family in the Colonial Forum, National Ar.Collection and Historical Context
MNAT has ongoing museum and infrastructure changes, so the article should be cautious about access details and describe the collection through archaeological value rather than schedules.
Work with this museum requires three levels to be kept separate: display, catalogue and archaeological context. The display shows the object's form and scale, the catalogue clarifies date, material, inventory number and collection history, while context explains whether the object came from a house, cemetery, sanctuary, fort, workshop or urban monument.
A single famous exhibit is not always typical. Series are more reliable: several vessels of one type, a group of inscriptions, a funerary assemblage, repeated military fittings or several related sculptural solutions. MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona should therefore be read not only through its most famous objects, but through the links between galleries, collections and findspots.
Display and Main Materials
Urban finds, epigraphy, sculpture, mosaics, cemetery material, the villa of Els Munts, Centcelles and the link between museum and monuments deserve attention. The city should be read as a network of sites, not a single display.
In the museum display it is important to look not only at individual masterpieces but at the neighbourhood of objects: sculpture, inscriptions, pottery, coins, architectural fragments and everyday items often explain one another better than an isolated photograph.
Statue of Antinous, Paros marble, from the Villa of Els Munts, National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona, Spain (51624435722). Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Pedestal of the statue of Marcus Flavius Paulinus who benefited from a public horse awarded by the emperor Hadrian, dated to AD 117-138, National Archaeological Museum of. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Toe from a colossal statue, probably a seated statue of Augustus that would have presided over the Temple of Augustus in Tarraco, National Archaeological Museum of Tarrag. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.Related Topics
- Museums of Antiquity
- National Museum of Roman Art, Merida
- National Archaeological Museum, Madrid
- Roman Archaeological Sources
Official Pages and Catalogues
Fragment of a monumental inscription referring to the construction of a gate in the amphitheatre of Tarraco by a flamen of the Provincia Hispania Citerior, 2nd century AD. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Tarragona Museum sculpture shield. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Portrait of the young Marcus Aurelius aged 23, found near the Colonial Forum, National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona, Spain (51713352640). Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Tarragona Museum relief harvest scene. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Tarragona Museum Mosaic Euterpe. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Mosaic of the Triumph of Bacchus. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Tarragona MNAT Medusa mosaic 03. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Mosaic with Hermes. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Mosaic of the stations. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Mosaic of Medusa (Detail). Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Mosaic of Medusa (Detail, Perseus and Andromeda). Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Tarragona MNAT Mosaic Peacock. Object from the collection: MNAT: National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.Interested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions.
