Activities
Kapla Workshop
By the Department for the promotion and dissemination of heritage, with the Centre Kapla Sud
Have fun building the walls of the ancient city of Nîmes using wooden ‘Kapla’ blocks.
- Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June – From 10am to 6pm
- Free, no booking required, subject to availability
- Accessible to all from the age of 6
- Museum gardens
- Duration: 15 min.
Atelier ARC-chitecte
By the Department for the promotion and dissemination of heritage
Assemble a semi-circle just like the builders from Roman times, to build the outer wall of the amphitheatre. Learn all about the building techniques with a prototype.
• Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June – From 10am to 6pm
• Free, no booking required, subject to availability
• Accessible to all from the age of 6
• Museum gardens
• Duration: 15 min.
Workshop: One tower can hide another
By the Department for the promotion and dissemination of heritage
The Tour Magne is one of the city’s iconic Roman monuments, and it is also the most ancient. It was originally built by the Gauls, and then redesigned by the Romans. Build a copy of the two towers (the Gallic and the Roman towers) to learn about the unique history.
- Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June – From 10am to 6pm
- Free, no booking required, subject to availability
- Accessible to all from the age of 6
- Museum gardens
Archaeology of plants
By Julien Chardonneau-Henneuse and Justine Gomes, PhD students in archaeology at the Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 (UMR 5140), Association 2AEC2A
The purpose of this workshop is to show participants the archaeological research that has been done on plants, through carpology, the study of seeds, and anthracology, the study of charcoal. These disciplines allow us to recreate past environments and understand how different plant species were used by ancient civilisations. During the workshop, the participants will learn about the operational chain from the ground to the laboratory, and they will have a chance to look more closely at the plants through a microscope
- Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June – From 10am to 6pm
- Free, no booking required, subject to availability
- Accessible to all from the age of 6
- Museum gardens
Monumental architecture in Nîmes
By Richard Pellé and Caroline Lefebvre, archaeologists at Inrap
Nîmes can be distinguished from other ancient cities by the sheer wealth of its monumental constructions, the most well-known of which is the Amphitheatre. But findings from municipal and departmental archaeological excavations are also brimming with blocks, sometimes very big in size, from constructions that have often since disappeared. Thanks to the study of ancient sources, recent research on these monumental architectural elements sometimes allows some of these forgotten or unfamiliar monuments to be contextualised, studied, and rediscovered.
- Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June – From 10am to 6pm
- Free, no booking required, subject to availability
Ceramography
By Sébastien Barberan, ceramographer at Inrap
Bricks, tiles, dishes, amphorae, containers, oil lamps, etc. Ceramic objects are the most common items to be recovered in excavations. Thanks to the level of conservation of these items, the shards recovered are essential in defining which archaeological strata they come from, from the Neolithic era to the 21st century. Ceramic specialists, or ceramographers, measure, draw, compare and identify the recovered shards with great precision, to reassemble all or a part of the objects found. They then try to find out everything they can about them.
- Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June – From 10am to 6pm
- Free, no booking required, subject to availability
Numismatics
By Richard Pellé, head of archaeological research at Inrap
Numismatics is the science of identifying, classifying and studying coins from a technical, epigraphic and iconographic point of view. Coins often provide very precise information regarding dates in an archaeological context, and they are also excellent indicators of dominant power, trade exchange, as well as social and religious events, helping us learn about ancient civilisations.
- Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June – From 10am to 6pm
- Free, no booking required, subject to availability
Did you say preventive archaeology?
By Inrap
The excavation work carried out at the location of the future Palais des Congrès revealed some relatively new information about the ancient city of Nemausus: an area devoted to craftspeople (potters, blacksmiths, limeburners) near one of the entrances to the city. During the Middle Ages and the early modern period, this area became a place of public benefit. A protestant hospital that was built in the 17th century and could still be seen in the 1980s, was transformed over more than three centuries, becoming an orphanage and then an educational institution.
Come and meet the archaeologists from Inrap!
Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June – From 10am to 6pm
Free, no booking required, subject to availability
Conferences
Women, men or Neolithic gods? The statues / menhirs of Languedoc on a European scale
By Luc Jallot, lecturer at the Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier 3, CNRS, UMR 5140 Archaeology of Mediterranean Societies
The statues / menhirs of Languedoc on a European scale.
Conference based on the research currently being conducted on anthropomorphic art in the south of France and the European Mediterranean: current trends, chronological analyses and interpretations.
- Saturday 18 june – 14 p.m
- Free
- Duration : 1h
Fascinating skeletons, archaeological anthropology
By Marion Gourlot, anthropologist and head of operations at Mosaïques Archéologie, Association 2AEC2A
When human bones are uncovered during archaeological excavations, the fascinating discoveries always raise a lot of questions and surprises. Marion Gourlot will give participants an overview of her role as an archaeological anthropologist, from excavation work in the field, to understanding mourning rituals, which allow us to use our research on the deceased to study the living.
- Saturday 18 june – 4 p.m
- Free
- Duration : 1h
Information
What are the latest discoveries from the excavations? – Palais des Congrès Project (conducted by Inrap)
The excavation work carried out at the location of the future Palais des Congrès revealed some relatively new information about the ancient city of Nemausus: an area devoted to craftspeople (potters, blacksmiths, limeburners) near one of the entrances to the city. During the Middle Ages and the early modern period, this area became a place of public benefit. A protestant hospital that was built in the 17th century and could still be seen in the 1980s, was transformed over more than three centuries, becoming an orphanage and then an educational institution.
Come and meet the archaeologists from Inrap!
• Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June – From 10am to 6pm
• Free
• Museum esplanade (on the Arena side)
GUIDED TOURS :
Archaeology, from a passion to a profession
The museum invites you to this one-of-a-kind tour to discover how this discipline, that fascinates people of all ages, came to be: archaeology. From the very first passionate scholars with their collections of ‘beautiful objects’, to the modern archaeologists, real-life detectives using scientific techniques, learn about the incredible contributions that archaeology has made to our knowledge of the past.
- Saturday 18 et saturday 19 june – 11 a.m et 3,30 p.m
The Etruscans, a Mediterranean civilisation
Of all the ancient Mediterranean civilisations, the Etruscans were without a doubt one of the most sophisticated and fascinating, but also one of the least well-known by the general public today. Let’s put this right by going back over the history of this civilisation through the centuries, before the formidable power of Rome really took hold in this central region of the Italian Peninsula.
- Saturday 18 et sunday 19 june –2,3 p.m
