Photo: Zarateman · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Museo Arqueológico de Linares

Museum in the Casa del Torreón in Linares, with materials from the ancient Iberian-Roman city of Cástulo.

Opening hours

About the museum

The Museo Arqueológico de Linares occupies the so-called Casa del Torreón, a 17th-century palace that belonged to the Dávalos family. The museum was created in 1956 at the initiative of Rafael Contreras de la Paz, and its collection comes almost entirely from remains found at Cástulo, the ancient Iberian-Roman city near Linares.

The displays are spread over three floors: ground, basement and first. The route begins with the origins of Cástulo and the settlement of La Muela, from the 9th to the 7th centuries BC. A 7th-century BC pot from La Muela shows contacts with the Tartessians and Phoenicians. In the courtyard, Iberian and Roman architecture and sculpture are presented, including the Iberian-Roman lion from the north wall, discovered in 2013. Another room reconstructs an Iberian necropolis based on the tombs of Estacar de Robarinas, with the grave goods of Los Higuerones, notably a sphinx.

On the second floor, the Roman municipium and the history of Cástulo up to the Castilian conquest are presented, with pieces such as an Almohad coin. In the basement, Roman inscriptions are preserved, including one with a law of Emperor Hadrian on olive groves and olive oil. The visit ends on the first floor with the Patena de Cristo en Majestad, a glass object with very early Christian iconography in excellent condition.

Highlights

Iberian-Roman lion from the north wall of Cástulo
Los Higuerones grave goods with their sphinx
Roman inscription with a law of Hadrian on olive oil
Patena de Cristo en Majestad, a glass object
Casa del Torreón, a 17th-century palace

Permanent exhibitions

Orígenes de Cástulo y poblado de La Muela – Materials from prehistory and from the settlement of La Muela, the immediate precursor of the Iberian-Roman city, together with the courtyard sculpture.
Necrópolis ibéricas y municipio romano – Reconstruction of an Iberian necropolis with the Los Higuerones grave goods, and a room on the Roman city of Cástulo.
Inscripciones romanas y Patena de Cristo en Majestad – Roman epigraphy in the basement and, on the first floor, the glass paten showing Christ in Majesty.