Antiquarium Arborense - Museo archeologico Giuseppe Pau Oristano

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"The sand of time": the first room, quick like the sand of an hourglass, describes the territory of Oristano from the first human settlements in the Early Neolithic age (7500 years ago), testified by the obsidian of  Monte Arci, subject of an intense international trade, to the presence of man during the Middle and Late Neolithic age in Sinis, Montiferru, Campidano and Barigadu, until the discovery of metals (copper) and bronze.
The Nuragic culture spread in this territory from 1500 to 1000 B.C. Afterwards, thanks to the Mediterranean relations with Mycenaeans, Cypriots and Levantines, a rising culture refers to the age of  "giants" (who built nuraghi and "giants' tombs"), but also builds well temples and megaron temples, makes hundreds of bronze figurines and builds enormous calcareous warriors beside the tombs of the "heroes" (Mont'e Prama, Sinis peninsula). 
In 630 B.C. Phoenicians and Sardinian people built the two cities of Othoca (Santa Giusta) and Tharros. Around 520 B.C.  they built the new Carthaginian market of Neapolis.  
These cities grew during the Carthaginian period (until 238/237 B.C.) and during the Roman age nearby the new cities of Cornus, Uselis and Aquae Ypsitanae- Forum Traiani. Christianity spread from the 4th century A.D. Then Vandals, Byzantines, Islamic people and the kings of the reign of the Arborea...but this is another story to tell in the Museo Regionale della Sardegna Giudicale in the Arcais Palace, overlooking via Dritta.
 

The false Sardinian-Phoenician idols: from 6th April 2018 until 7th February 2019 the archaeological collection of the Antiquarium Arborense is enriched by the presence of the temporary exhibition "Carlo Alberto archaeologist in Sardinia. The false Sardinian-Phoenician idols". 
The main characters of this kind of 'detective story' are a king and a government official. This story tells about the sale of 330 false Sardinian- Phoenician idols to the king of Sardinia Carlo Alberto, to the museum of Lyon and to the museum of Cagliari by Gaetano Cara, the director of the Museum of Antiquity in the University of Cagliari.
Seventy idols of this collection are on display in the Museum of Antiquity of Turin, but 150 idols are on display in the Antiquarium Arborense of Oristano.

The exhibition will be open until 7th February 2019. 

 

 

This room represents the Goldonian family with the protagonist, the lawyer Efisio Pischedda, and his predecessors from Oristano and not only, who lived contemplating their jewellery, gemstones and iridescent glasses.

Beside them, the most famous archaeologists who reconstructed the ancient wolrd, from Schliemann to Evans, from Champollion to Rawlinson, Austen Layard, Paul Émile Botta up tp Wolley, and Italian archaeologists in their country and during their missions abroad (from Pigorini to Orsi, Halbherr and Pernier, Gàbrici, Ducati, Minto, and so on).

Manuscripts and original editions of their books tell about the archaeologists, with panels that represent their faces and their excavations. 

 

Efisio Pischedda is introducted by Sardinian archaeologists and historians: Alberto Lamarmora, Vittorio Angius, Giovanni Spano and Gaetano Cara.
These last two were great friends and fought for years when G. Spano became rector of the University of Cagliari (from which the Museum dicrected by G. Cara depended). Cara was accused of having sold huge collections from Tharros and having acquired false Sardinian- Phoenician idols for his Museum.