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Tag: Phoenicians

Treasure from a Phoenician Shipwreck

Treasure from a Phoenician Shipwreck

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For the past couple of weeks I’ve been blogging about the sights of Málaga, Spain, most notably the popular castles of Alcazaba and Gibralfaro. Less well-known to casual visitors is the Ifergan Gallery, a private collection of ancient art collected by local wealthy collector Vicente Jimenez Ifergan.

I’d like to meet Ifergan, because if I ever get to be rich, this is something I’d do — collect ancient treasures from a dozen different civilizations and open a museum to show them off. The museum, while rather small, has some choice finds from Greece, Rome, Egypt, Iran, Mesopotamia, and more. The most interesting room showcases a large collection of Phoenician terracotta votive statuettes from the 9th to 3rd centuries BC.

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Exploring the Alcazaba of Málaga, Spain

Exploring the Alcazaba of Málaga, Spain

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The Alcazaba with the ruins of a Roman theater in the foreground

Last week I had the pleasure of spending five days in Málaga, a historic port on Spain’s south coast. Founded by the Phoenicians around the 8th century BC, it continued to be important during Roman times and well into the modern era. While it was never one of the major ports like Barcelona, it always saw brisk trade.

The main attractions are two museums dedicated to local-boy-done-good Pablo Picasso and a pair of impressive medieval castles. The first is the Alcazaba, which loomed over the town and we’ll talk about today. Next week’s castle is further upslope and is called the Gibralfaro.

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Phoenician and Roman Cádiz: The Original Pillars of Hercules

Phoenician and Roman Cádiz: The Original Pillars of Hercules

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Phoenician bling.Jewelry found in the Phoenician cemetery dating
from the 5th to 2nd centuries BC. The finds include many imports,
even amulets of Horus and Sekhmet from as far away as Egypt

Europe is known for its ancient cities, with many dating to Roman or even pre-Roman times. One of the oldest continually inhabited cities in Europe is Cádiz, on the southwestern coast of Spain near the Strait of Gibraltar. It has been a city since at least Phoenician times and has been of crucial importance to the region ever since.

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Celtiberian Treasures at the Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid

Celtiberian Treasures at the Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid

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Silver pectoral from the 3rd or 2nd century BC.
Silver pectoral from the 3rd or 2nd century BC.

Madrid is famous for its vast collection of art and antiquities, and the biggest museum news from Spain’s capital this year is the reopening of the Museo Arqueológico Nacional. It was closed for refurbishment for several years and madrileños were beginning to wonder if they were ever going to get their archaeological museum back.

Earlier this year, it finally reopened and having just moved back to Madrid I made a beeline to go see it.

It was worth the wait. The old museum, with its poor lighting and antiquated displays, is no more, replaced by a more open, modern floor plan that reminds me of the 2009 redesign of the Ashmolean in Oxford. The signage has improved, with detailed texts in both Spanish and English, and the arrangement of the artifacts is easier on the eye.

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