Spain Guide
Catalunya
Museu Nacional Arqueològic
Address: Off Plaça del Rei
Opening time: June– Sept Tues– Sat 10am–8pm, Sun 10am–2pm; Oct– May Tues– Sat 10am–1.30pm & 4–7pm, Sun 10am–2pm
Price: €2.40
The splendid Museu Nacional Arqueològic is a marvellous reflection of the richness of imperial Tarraco. Its huge collection is well laid out, starting in the basement with a section of the old Roman wall preserved in situ. Thematic displays cover the city's various remains and buildings, accompanied by pictures, text and relics, with whole rooms devoted to inscriptions, sculpture, ceramics, jewellery – even a series of anchors retrieved from the sea. More importantly, there's an unusually complete collection of mosaics, exemplifying the development from the plain black and white patterns of the first century AD to the elaborate polychrome pictures of the second and third centuries.