Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The museum of Mediterranean archaeology, located on the first floor of the Old Charity in Marseilles, was created by the merger of two departments: Egyptian antiquities and classical antiquities. Based on the collection of Dr Clot-Bey (1793-1868), a doctor and friend of the viceroy of Egypt Mehemet Ali, it was enriched by subsequent donations and acquisitions. The Egyptian collection, second in France after that of the Louvre, covers periods ranging from Nagada culture (c. 3900-3150 B.C.E.) to Ptolemaic period (323-31 B.C.E.). The five thematic rooms explore daily life, religion, and funeral rites of ancient Egypt, with major pieces such as sarcophagus, statues of deities, and a papyrus of the Book of the Dead.

The museum also presents collections from the Near East, Cyprus, Crete, Greece, Etruria, and Rome, illustrating the evolution of Mediterranean civilizations. Among the notable pieces are a Minoan vase discovered in Egypt, Greek ceramics, and Etruscan and Roman objects. The collection of the Middle East evokes the beginnings of urbanization and writing, while the collection of Great Greece highlights the cultural exchanges between Greeks and local populations. The museum, labeled "Musée de France", is housed in a historic building, the Old Charity, built in the seventeenth century by Pierre Puget to welcome the poor, before becoming a hospice and then a cultural place.

The Old Charity, a baroque building designed by Pierre Puget, was restored between 1961 and 1986 after decades of abandonment. The museum was transferred there, enjoying a remarkable architectural setting with its oval dome chapel and galleries on three levels. The collections, initially dispersed (especially those of Bernardins and Saint-Victor), were gathered here, offering a unique chronological and thematic journey. The museum is distinguished by its immersive scenography, such as the reconstruction of an Egyptian funeral chamber or the presentation of objects from underwater excavations, in collaboration with the DRASM and the Louvre.

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