Museo del Cobre

About the museum

The Museo del Cobre is in Cerro Muriano, a settlement that largely belongs to the municipal area of Obejo, in the building of the former Guardia Civil barracks (Casa Cuartel de la Guardia Civil). It is dedicated to the heritage of mining activity in the area, especially copper extraction, and covers more than four thousand years of the history of mining and metallurgy.

The origins of mining in Cerro Muriano probably go back to the third millennium BC, when Chalcolithic communities exploited oxidised and carbonated copper ores. Exploitation became intensive and systematic in Roman times, from the 1st century BC to AD 37: the balneum excavated on the Cerro de la Coja, the necropolis of La Mocha, the Republican kiln at Los Pinares and the smelting areas of Siete Cuevas point to an important mining centre. After a long lull, in the 19th century English companies again took an interest in the veins, among them the Córdoba Copper Company, founded in 1908.

The museum is organised into three rooms: the first displays materials subjected to metallographic analysis and minerals from the area, the second is dedicated to protohistory with the oldest objects, and the third to the Roman world. Outside there is a reconstruction of a Republican Roman kiln. A small permanent display also recalls Robert Capa's photographic series in Cerro Muriano on 5 September 1936, with a copy of the famous image taken some 500 metres from the museum.

Highlights

• Three rooms: archaeometallurgy, protohistory and the Roman world
• Materials from the excavations on the Cerro de la Coja
• Outdoor reconstruction of a Republican Roman kiln
• Display on Robert Capa's photographs in Cerro Muriano (1936)
• Free admission

Permanent exhibition

• Exposición permanente del Museo del Cobre – Three rooms on archaeometallurgy, protohistory and the Roman world in the mining district of Cerro Muriano, with a reconstructed Roman kiln outside.

Founded

2004

Operated by

Ayuntamiento de Obejo

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

According to the Caminos Mozárabes portal, the museum is accessible for people with reduced mobility.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on Calle Acera del Cuartel Viejo, in Cerro Muriano, next to the archaeological area of the Cerro de la Coja. From Córdoba take the N-432 (exit 266) and then the C-3100 as far as a roundabout, from where there is signage to the museum.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit