L’Antiquarium Statale
A journey into the ancient past of the Riviera del Conero
Located in the heart of the historic center, the Antiquarium Statale in Numana offers a fascinating journey into the past of the Riviera del Conero. This archaeological museum houses a significant collection of artifacts from the Picene necropoli in the area, offering a valuable insight into the life and culture of the populations that inhabited this area before the arrival of the Romans.
Among the treasures kept inside, the funerary collection of the famous Tomb of the Queen stands out. This exceptional archaeological find testifies to the wealth, power, and refined lifestyle of the pre-Roman Picene elites. The exhibition presents a selection of valuable objects, including jewelry, vases, weapons, and everyday objects, which allow for a precise reconstruction of the social, economic, and religious aspects of this ancient civilization.
The Antiquarium Statale in Numana is not just a museum, but a true time portal that allows you to immerse yourself in the millennial history of the region. The visit is recommended for anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge of the area and discover the ancient roots of this charming stretch of the Marche coast. The exhibition is enriched with explanatory panels and informative material that facilitate the understanding of the finds and their historical context. An unmissable cultural experience to enrich your visit to Numana.
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The excavations, which are still in progress, have brought to light over five hundred Picentese burials that have made Numana the most important centre of the Picentes in the proto-historic age. Of the three necropolis areas relating to ancient Numana, the Necropolis of the Pines in Sirolo can be visited (booking required). This is the only archaeological area in the Marche region where it is possible to visit a sector of a necropolis with illustrated educational panels placed along the visitor's route. It is the place where the tomb of the Picenum Queen from the end of the 6th century B.C. was discovered. It is from this tomb that the jewel kept in the Museo Antiquarium Statale comes: the rich and prestigious trousseau of the Picentese Queen of Numana, unique objects evocative of the virtues and power she wielded during her life, including in particular two chariots of different types, a chariot and a gig. For a funeral rite typical of the Picentese community of Numana, the two chariots, as in other cases found in central Adriatic Italy, were disassembled and appropriately placed in the burial pit. The Antiquarium houses the recovered and restored metal elements of the two chariots, maintaining the same ratios and measures as when they were laid down. The sumptuous funerary objects of the Picenian Queen include Attic pottery, bronze, ivory and amber jewellery and artefacts. Alongside this extraordinary context, the conspicuous trousseau of a Picenian warrior provides an appropriate counterpart to the female deposition.
The presence of these precious artefacts is further confirmation of the extraordinary importance of this royal burial ground and makes it possible to make some interesting considerations on the trade, relations and exchanges which the port of Numana entertained with Greece and the other ports of the northern Adriatic. The prosperity and wealth attested by the rich tombs found in its necropolis are a reflection of the important role played by the Picentes. Large quantities of material from Numana which ended up in museums and collections both in Italy and abroad (Attic craters and the top of an Etruscan candelabrum in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, a pectoral in Paris and the handle of a hydria in Munich) confirm Numana's importance in the protohistoric age.
Address: via la Fenice, 4
Numana historic centre
Tel. 0719331162
Info: https://museinazionalimarche.cultura.gov.it/museo/antiquarium-di-numana/
