First proposed in the 1860s by Muhammad Khaznadar, the son of the Prime Minister of Tunisia,[2] the museum is housed in an old beylical palace since 1888, it has been the setting for the exhibition of many major works discovered since the beginning of archaeological research in the country. Originally called Alaoui Museum (Arabic: المتحف العلوي, romanized: al-Matḥaf al-ʿAlawī), named after the reigning bey at the time, it takes its current name of Bardo Museum after the independence of the country even if the denomination is attested before that date.
The museum houses one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world, thanks to excavations in various archaeological sites in the country including Carthage, Hadrumetum, Dougga and Utica. Generally, the mosaics of Bardo, such as the Virgil Mosaic, represent a unique source for research on everyday life in Roman Africa. From the Roman era, the museum also contains a rich collection of marble statues representing the deities and the Roman emperors found on different sites including those of Carthage and Thuburbo Majus.
The museum also houses pieces discovered during the excavations of Libyco-Punic sites including Carthage, although the National Museum of Carthage is the primary museum of the Carthage archaeological site. The essential pieces of this department are grimacing masks, terracotta statues and stelae of major interest for Semiticepigraphy, and the stele of the priest and the child. The museum also houses Greek works discovered especially in the excavations of the shipwreck of Mahdia, whose emblematic piece remains the bust of Aphrodite in marble,[not verified in body] gnawed by the sea.
In order to increase the reception capacity and optimize the presentation of the collections, the museum is the subject of a vast operation which was to be completed initially in 2011 but was not finished until 2012 due to the Tunisian Revolution. The work concerns the increase of the exhibition surfaces by adding new buildings and redeploying the collections. The project aims to make the museum a major pole for a quality cultural development, so that the visitor can appreciate the artistic pieces deposited.
On March 18, 2015, an Islamist terrorist group attacked the museum and took tourists hostage in the building. The attack, which killed 22 people including 21 foreign tourists, was claimed by ISIS.
Location and description
The Bardo National Museum building was originally a 15th-century Hafsid palace, located in the suburbs of Tunis.
The Bardo is one of the most important museums of the Mediterranean basin, and the second largest on the African continent after the Egyptian Museum. It traces the history of Tunisia over several millennia and through many civilizations through a wide variety of archaeological pieces. Being in the former palace, it offers many major works discovered since the beginnings of archaeological research in the country. Originally called Museum Alaoui (المتحف العلوي), the name of the reigning bey at the time, it has had its current name of Museum of Bardo only since the country's independence.
The Bardo brings together one of the finest and largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world thanks to the excavations undertaken from the beginning of the 20th century on archaeological sites in the country including Carthage, Hadrumetum, Dougga, or Utica. The mosaics represent a unique source for research on everyday life in Roman Africa. The museum also contains a rich collection of marble statues representing the gods and Roman emperors found on various sites including those of Carthage and Thuburbo Majus.
The Bardo has also rich pieces discovered during the excavations of Libyco-Punic sites including mainly Carthage, although the Carthage National Museum also possesses an important collection. The main parts of this department are grimacing masks, terracotta statues and stelae of major interest for the Semitic epigraphy, the stele of the priest and the child being the most famous. The museum also houses Greek works discovered in particular in the excavations of the ship of Mahdia, whose iconic piece[according to whom?] is a marble bust of Aphrodite.[attribution needed]
The museum underwent a major refurbishment, completed in 2012, that was interrupted due to the Tunisian revolution. The expansion, which added 9,000 square meters to the complex, was designed by SCPA Codou-Hindley (France) and Amira Nouira (Tunisia). Considerable funding came from the World Bank.[3]
On 18 March 2015, 24 people were killed in a terrorist attack[4][5] when three terrorists in civil uniform attacked the Bardo National Museum in the Tunisian capital city of Tunis, and took hostages.[6] Twenty-one people, mostly European tourists, were killed at the scene, while an additional victim died ten days later. Around fifty others were injured. This attack took place after the famous Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris where many journalists were killed [4][5][7] Two of the gunmen, Tunisian citizens Yassine Labidi and Saber Khachnaoui, were killed by police, while the third attacker is currently at large.[8] Police treated the event as a terrorist attack.[9][10] It was the deadliest terrorist attack in Tunisian history; surpassing the 2002 Ghriba synagogue bombing, which killed nineteen people, most of whom were also European tourists, and injured more than thirty others.[7][11]
Mosaic of Virgil seated between Clio and Melpomene (from Hadrumetum Sousse). CE 3rd century.
Mosaic of a hunting scene. CE 2nd century
Roman Christian mosaic of bricklayers at work. CE 4th century
Roman mosaic of "Crescentinus diaconus", dating from the CE 4th century. The inscription translates: "The host of the angels, the count of the martyrs, and breathing a peaceful life, may he go to you in a holy manner. Our memory, with the gracious piety with which the deacon Crescentinus is accustomed, returned in peace the 3rd Augustus Kalends."
A Roman Christian mosaic called "Daniel among the Lions". CE 4th century
"Famous sculptures"
Roman commemorative sculpture, in which the deceased is dressed as Hercules. CE 3rd century
Minia Procula, Roman sculpture. CE 2nd century.
Roman sculpture of Minerva. CE 2nd century
Roman sculpture of Suturn. CE 2nd century
Roman sculpture of Ceres Diademea, CE 2nd century
Roman sculpture of Apollo leaning on the Delphic tripod. CE 2nd century
Venus and Eros, Roman sculpture of Venus and Eros, CR 2nd century
Sculpture of Venus Pudica, CE 2nd century
Sculpture of Ganymede, CE 2nd century
Colossal head, Sculpture of Jupiter, CE 3rd century
Jupiter Serapio, CE 2nd century
Sculpture of Jupiter, CE 2nd century
Sculpture of Bacchus, CE 2nd century
Sculpture of Dionysus as a child, CE 2nd century
Sculpture of Empress Faustina II statue, CE 2nd century
sculpture of Hercules, CE 2nd century
Sculpture of Drunken Hercules, CE 2nd century
Sculpture of Abundance, CE 3rd century
Sculpture of Concordia Pantea, CE 2nd century
"Pieces in the ground floor"
The early Christian room with baptistery in the centre
Museum entrance
Hallway of sarcophagi full with visitors.
Access door on the first floor
"Fresco and Roof of Althiburos Room"
Fresco on interior balcony
Roof of the Bey Palace
"Roofs of Oudna Room"
Painted ceiling of the Oudna Room.
Painted wooden ceiling.
Painted and gilded ceiling of the Room Althiburos.
"Roofs of Sousse Room"
The domed ceiling of the mosaic hall
Parts of the Bardo Palace before CE 1870, Le Bardo
"Roofs of Virgil Room"
Roofs decorated with stucco
Ceiling of the Virgil room
Apartments of the Bey, room called Virgil, after the name of the mosaic of Sousse that was exposed until the extension of the years CE 2010
Technologies
Starting from June 17, 2014, the museum offers visitors a digital guide in English, French, and Arabic.[12] Developed by Orange Tunisia using Near-field communication technology, it comes in the form of a free downloadable application for smartphones and visitors can also borrow a free smartphone at the museum entrance.[12] It offers audio commentaries, photo slideshows, and a historical and geographical perspective of the displayed works.[12]
^Zaiane, Selma (2008). "Le musée national du Bardo en métamorphose. Pour une nouvelle image du tourisme culturel tunisien et de nouveaux visiteurs". Téoros. 69: 2.
^Daniel E. Coslett, "Heritage, Tourism, and the Challenges of Postcolonial Globalization at Tunis' Bardo Museum", in Neocolonialism and Built Heritage, ed. Daniel E. Coslett (New York: Routledge, 2020), 191–216.
Abidi, Beya (2005). Palais des beys aux environs de la ville de Tunis, El-Abdaliya à la Marsa et Dar el-Bey à Hammam-Lif (en arabe) (mémoire de master) (Thesis) (in Arabic). Tunis: Facultés des Lettres, des Arts et des Humanités de Manouba.