A museum, a monument
The Archaeology Museum, opened in 1963, was installed in the
Bastion Saint Andrée, a military fortification constructed
by Vauban at the end of the 17th century. It is ideally
situated overlooking the sea, and there is a panoramic
view from its terrace of the old town and the Cap d'Antibes;
Recently renovated, the two vaulted galleries house archaeological
collections of Antibes, which trace the history of the town
since antiquity.
The original collection by Romuald Dor de la
Souchère
from 1928 was originally housed in the Chateau Grimaldi,
the first historic museum of the town.
From the beginning of the 1960s, the development of underwater
retrieval methods and archaeological research in the old
town and surrounding areas considerably enhanced the collection
of major finds.
Antipolis, Greek institution
The museum houses finds that show the origins of Antibes¾Antipolis
in antiquity¾which was in the 6th century B.C. a Ligurian
oppidum before being a Massalian town.
The collection from Greece, Etruria and the Greek mainland,
produced between the 6th and 1st century B.C. has various painted
vases and indicates commerce between the different peoples
of the meditteranean.
Antipolis, Roman city
In the 1st century B.C., Antipolis became an autonomous Roman
city attached to the province of Narbonne. From the Augustinian
period, the city possessed facilities typical of those in
Roman cities: theatres, amphitheatres, thermal baths, aquaducts.
Its ideal situation rapidly made it a flourishing port, a
place of much shipping activity, as witnessed by the many
wrecks and their cargo found around the coast. Tombs, sarcophagi,
urns and gravestones attest to the different practices used
for the dead. Following this period, there is evidence of
urban development of the town. Mosaics, frescoes and a monumental
marble fountain show the style of living and public monuments.
The outer districts of the town revealed remains of a secondary
town at Vaugrenier, some kilometres north of Antibes.
