Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne (MAM)

Museum in Marseille

Musée D’archéologie Méditerranéenne, Marseille — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Onceinawhile

The Musée d’Archéologie Méditerranéenne (Mediterranean Archaeology Museum), located on the first floor of La Vieille Charité in Marseille, is divided into two main sections: one dedicated to Egyptian antiquities and the other to classical antiquities. The museum’s regional archaeology collection was previously housed here but has since been transferred to the Marseille History Museum at the Centre Bourse. Meanwhile, the second floor of La Vieille Charité is home to the Museum of African, Oceanic, and Native American Arts.

The museum’s notable Egyptian collection originates largely from the acquisitions made by Doctor Clot-Bey (1793-1868), who was commissioned by the viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet Ali, to establish a medical school in Egypt. Marseille later acquired these artifacts at a minimal cost, and the collection has been expanded over the years through donations and various acquisitions.

The museum is organized into five consecutive rooms, each thematically displaying statues, sarcophagi, and various artifacts. The first room introduces visitors to the predynastic period, featuring exhibits such as tubular vases, vases with geometric patterns, bone pins, makeup palettes, arrowheads, and scrapers, all elegantly displayed in two showcases. The final room is designed to replicate a funerary chamber.

Highlights of the collection include a granite bust of a man, a 20th dynasty granite statue of Ramses VI, and a leptocephali head of the goddess Sekhmet. This head likely came from the temple of Mut at Karnak or a Jubilee temple of Amenhotep III, who notably revered Sekhmet and commissioned numerous statues of her.

Visitors to the museum can expect a rich journey through ancient civilizations, each artifact offering a window into the diverse cultures that flourished around the Mediterranean basin.

The Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne (MAM) appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Marseille!

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