Musée d'archéologie

The Musée d'archéologie in Antibes occupies the Bastion Saint André, a Vauban fortification built in the late seventeenth century. Its two vaulted galleries hold archaeological collections from Antibes. Land and underwater excavations trace ancient Antipolis from the seventh century BCE through the fifth century CE, with Ligurian, Greek, and Roman evidence. The museum opened in 1963 inside the bastion. Displays feature the Terpon pebble, the oldest inscription found in Antibes, alongside stone female heads and Mediterranean ceramics. Greek and Italian vases represent ancient Mediterranean exchange. Roman Antipolis appears through coins, bird and love-motif wall paintings, and a marble bust identified as Dionysus or possibly a faun. Shipwreck finds include amphorae, coloured glass, pottery, and ship fittings. Funerary displays include Gallo-Roman inscriptions, cremation urns, a tile-built tomb, a lead sarcophagus, and offerings linked to beliefs about the afterlife. Vaugrenier presents rural life beside the Via Aurelia through tools, workshops, temple-related finds, and weapons.