THE ROMANIZATION OF MULA

Promoter: Ayuntamiento de Mula Date: 2023 Categories: Archaeology, Permanent Exhibition

The permanent exhibition “Romanization in Mula”, located in the Museo Ciudad de Mula, offers a deep dive into the history of the region from Roman times to the Visigothic period. This museographic project highlights the discovery of the Paleochristian sarcophagus of the Roman Villa of Los Villaricos in 2021, one of the most relevant findings in the Region of Murcia and the Iberian Peninsula in recent years.

The exhibition is carefully designed to offer a chronological journey from Romanization to the Late Antique period. The new Permanent Exhibition Hall in the City of Mula Museum allows visitors to explore two key thematic areas: daily life in Roman times and the world of death. In the first section, architectural pieces and objects from the domestic and productive contexts found at various sites from the Roman period in the municipality of Mula, including the hill of La Almagra and the Roman Villa of Los Villaricos, are presented behind a glass case that occupies the entire side of the room, and in front of a large-format image that immerses visitors in the agricultural spaces of the time.

The second section of the exhibition focuses on the world of death through an exceptional find from a second cultural phase of Los Villaricos, chronological context of its late antique necropolis, showing fragments of sarcophagi and personal trousseaus found in this ancient burial space and other similar objects found in La Almagra. The sarcophagus from Los Villaricos, restored and placed in the center of the room on an individualized pedestal, serves as the centerpiece of the exhibition, highlighting the importance of this find and its historical context. The rest of the pieces are integrated in vertical display cases or on the floor, evoking their place of origin in a burial site.

The permanent exhibition hall “Romanization in Mula” is a museum project that combines the restoration of archaeological finds with a rich historical narrative, providing a unique educational and cultural experience for visitors to the Museo Ciudad de Mula. This comprehensive approach ensures that the historical value of Mula’s Roman heritage is effectively preserved and celebrated.

The project is part of the future total remodeling of the permanent exhibition halls of the City of Mula Museum.