This museum headquarters is located in the medieval Santa María de la Mota Chapel.
Archaeological Town Museum
This space consists of a wide collection of mineral and fossil found in the municipal district of Montoro, which was increased with contributions and discoveries throughout the Spanish geography.
What will you see in the museum?
During your visit you will be able to take a historical tour that began in the Palaeolithic period. You will discover exclusive pieces in it, not only for Montoro; these findings have been a guarantee of social and general historical development. Moreover, some of them have been the subject of international research.
As a result of the excavations of the Llanete de los Moros (which is located in Montoro) a lot of fragments of Greek and Iberian ceramics are exhibited. This archaeological ensemble has been one of the most important ones for the study of the pre-Roman trade in the Peninsular territory.
If you move forwards on …
You’ll reach the Roman times, where Montoro was known as Epora. This time was of great splendour, because it was considered a federated city with Rome, together with Malacca and Ebussus. At that time, the municipal district enjoyed its own political, economic and social autonomy in the area. A representative example of this period, the military Thoracata, can be seen in the museum.
There are few references about the medieval Montoro, and for this reason there are few archaeological testimonies of this period. In addition, there are several works of great importance that are kept in this museum such as the Orante Angel by the sculptor Mateo Inurria.
It will interest you:
The precursors of this museum extended their exhibitions also to the ethnological field. As a result, you will be able to distinguish coins cases, bills and other objects that are no longer in use nowadays.
The most important piece: Estela del Guerrero
One of the most recent findings corresponds to Estela de Guerrero, which is located in the countryside of the municipal district of Montoro.
The estela large stones both engraved or painted with diverse graphic motifs were commemorative and monumental elements similar to statues in the recent Prehistory, Protohistory and Antiquity.
A group of experts from the universities of Seville, Granada, Cardiff and Southampton, as well as the CSIC, have identified compatible graphemes with the oldest known Iberian scriptures and with others of Eastern origin in this monumental inscription, which help us to understand the origins of writing in Western Europe.
Ntra. Sra. del Castillo or de la Mota old Chapel building
The current Archaeological Museum headquarters of Montoro is located in Nuestra Señora del Castillo or de la Mota old Chapel. It has a simple structure, it has 327 square meters which are distributed in three separated naves by slender stone columns.
It dates back to 13th century, although this building has undergone significant transformations until the 18thcentury.
Ubicación
Plaza de Santa María de la Mota, s/n.
Horario
Sábado, domingo y festivos: 10:30 - 14:00 h
Precio
Gratuito
Nearby places
- San Bartolomé Parish (140 m)
- Town Hall (150 m)
- Plaza Mayor or de España (160 m)
- House of Shells (350 m)
What other museums can you see?
- Oil Museum
- Holy Week Museum
- Antonio Rodríguez Luna Museum