Antiquarium Seville

The Antiquarium of Seville is located in the modern Metropol Parasol building, underground, 5 meters from street level .

The Antiquarium opened on March 27, 2011 and it presents the most important Roman finds of Seville. The discoveries were made while excavating the area to build a parking lot. This parking lot never materialized.

In 2004, the German architect Jürgen Mayer won a competition with his Metropol Parasol project to transform 'la Plaza de la Encarnación' into what it is today. The Antiquarium has become an important part of it. For example, you can see Roman mosaics and houses from the first century AD. to admire.

Because the Guadalquivir had branches through the city at the time , an important Roman fish market had been built on the north side of Seville. This can be viewed almost completely intact. You also have remains of a Roman oil lamp factory.

What is so special is the fact that you see the centuries passing by, so to speak. In addition to the houses from the first century, you will see houses from the fifth century and also the thirteenth century Arab period. A nice detail is that the materials were reused at the time. You can see that some tiles were used in a different place in another century and sturdy pillars were found in the houses of other buildings, such as those of the Visigoths.

There is also a clear difference in height between the settlements of the first Romans and subsequent generations. You can see that the 'Almohade/Moorish house' is much higher than the Roman houses. All these finds make it clear that the typical Andalusian houses with patios date back many generations.

A small special feature (for children) are the tiles with games from Roman times; children probably played marbles back then too! Excavations and exhibitions are still being done in Seville and the surrounding area.

Willem Vandenameele