Gibraltar National Museum
 Ordnance House or "Bomb House", home to the Gibraltar National Museum. | |
  Location within Gibraltar | |
| Established | 24 July 1930 |
|---|---|
| Location | Ordnance House, 18–20 Bomb House Lane,Gibraltar |
| Coordinates | 36°08′20″N5°21′16″W/ 36.1390°N 5.3544°W |
| Type | National museum |
| Director | Prof.Clive Finlayson |
| Website | gibmuseum |
TheGibraltar National Museumis anational museumof thehistory,cultureandnatural historyof Gibraltar located within the city centre of theBritish overseas territoryofGibraltar.Founded in 1930 by the thenGovernor of Gibraltar,GeneralSir Alexander Godley,the museum houses an array of displays portrayingThe Rock'smillennia-old history and the unique culture ofits people.The museum also incorporates the remains of a 14th-centuryMoorishbathhouse. Its director since 1991 isProf.Clive Finlayson.[1]
History
[edit]Background
[edit]There were several unsuccessful attempts to establish a museum in Gibraltar during the 19th century. Significant local finds could not be kept onThe Rockbecause there was no museum, resulting in the first known adultNeanderthalskull (the so-calledGibraltar skull) went to theNatural History Museumin London.[1]This was the second Neanderthalfossilto be found and was excavated in 1848 atForbes' Quarryon the north face of theRock of Gibraltar.[2]
The first known collection established in Gibraltar was due to the Reverend John White, chaplain at Gibraltar from 1756 to 1774. Encouraged by his elder brotherGilbert White,he collectedzoologicalspecimens which he studied and sent to England. He took advice fromGiovanni Antonio Scopoliand also later wrote in England, what is considered the first detailed zoological account of Gibraltar. However,Fauna Calpensiswas never published, and it and his collections are now lost.[3]The next known recording of something that could resemble a museum dates from 1830.St Bernard's Hospitalis recognised to have had aroom for specimens of natural history and morbid anatomy.Again, no remains of such collection are kept.[4]
The first proposal to open a museum in Gibraltar was discussed in 1835 at a meeting of the Gibraltar Scientific Society - a group ofBritish Armyofficers who met at theGarrison Library.The first museum was established and housed in rented accommodation. The museum became so important that the society changed its name to the Museum Society. One of the milestones of the existence of the Society was the presentation of the Gibraltar skull on 3 March 1848, although its importance was not recognised at the time, it was to the Society, by its secretary, Lieutenant Edmund Flint of theRoyal Artillery.[5]
Foundation
[edit]The museum's establishment is credited to GeneralSir Alexander Godley,who was installed asGovernor of Gibraltarin 1928. Upon his arrival, he gave an opening address in which he highlighted his reformist aims, which would: "help to restore [Gibraltar] to its prosperity which had been showing signs of waning".One of the elements of this reformist mission was the creation of a national museum. After nine months in office, on 30 July 1929, the Gibraltar Society was launched. Its primary objective was to assist the colonial authorities in the foundation of a museum. Godley was able to get two adjacent military quarters for use as a museum. The choice was fortunate as under one of them, Ordnance House, the former residence of the assistant director of Ordnance Stores, lay chambers of abathhousefrom theMoorish period,which had been used as a semi-underground stable.[6][7]
The Gibraltar Museum was opened on 24 July 1930 and on the first anniversary (10 July 1931), the Gibraltar Museum Ordinance was passed as "AnOrdinancerelating to Ancient Monuments and Antiquities and to provide for the management of the Gibraltar Museum".[4]
In the 1970s, the Gibraltar Museum housed the first office of theGibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society(GONHS). Founders of the organisation included thencuratorof the museum Joaquin Bensusan and Clive Finlayson, the current museum director.[8]
Name change
[edit]In 2018, the Heritage Trust Act 1989 which provided the legal framework for the management of the museum, was replaced with the Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018. The new legislation updated the name of the museum to officially recognise it as the national museum of Gibraltar.[9]
Displays
[edit]
The Gibraltarian
[edit]Rooms dedicated toGibraltariansocial history.[10]
Cinema
[edit]Film about thehistory of Gibraltar.[10]
The Rock – world symbol for three millennia
[edit]Rooms dedicated to The Rock as a symbol, from thePillars of Herculesto today includingPhoenicianandCarthaginiancollections.[10]
Natural history and prehistory
[edit]Rooms devoted to the natural history of Gibraltar including reconstructions of past landscapes, walk-in cave andNeanderthals.[10]
Marine biodiversity
[edit]A room dedicated to the variety of marine species living around Gibraltar's coastline.[10]
The Great Siege
[edit]Room dedicated to the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779–1783).[10]This was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782. At three years and seven months, it is the longest siege endured by the British Armed Forces.
Rock model
[edit]
The John Fernandez Rooms include a 8 metres (26 ft) longscale modelof Gibraltar and also includes old photographs of Gibraltar.[10]The model was completed in 1865 from a survey by Lieut.Charles WarrenR.E.who later took a leading role in theJack the Ripperinvestigations.[10][11]It was made at the direction of Major GeneralEdward Charles FromeR.E. and painted by Captain B.A. Branfill in 1868.[10]
Calpe gallery
[edit]Devoted to The Rock'sLatinname,Calpe.A 19th-centuryfox huntand a Royal Navy reserve unit.[10]
Urban excavations
[edit]A room containing medieval artefacts excavated within the city of Gibraltar.[10]
External excavation
[edit]An open-air excavation covering seven centuries of Gibraltar's history.[10]
Moorish baths
[edit]
Located within the museum's basement level lie the remains of a Moorishbath housebuilt around the 14th century during the rule ofMarinid dynasty.[7]These private baths are known to have been within the Palace of theGovernor of Gibraltar.[7]The building was used as stables while the building was under control of the British military with a floor of one of the rooms was raised so high that horse-drawncoachescould be moved into the remaining space in the room.[7]The site is now smaller than it was originally as the building suffered extensive damage during theGreat Siege of Gibraltar.It is one of the best-preserved Moorish bath houses in Europe.[12]In 1906, Mr. Budgett Meakin, an authority on Moorish antiquities, wrote of these baths:
Except in theAlhambrathere is nothing in Spain to compare with it; and inMoroccosuch baths may not be entered byNazarenesor Jews, so that its interest is exceptional.[13]
Excavations in the museum's garden revealed a waterconduit,dating to the Spanish period. This conduit enters the garden fromLine Wall Roadand is thought to have run off anaqueductthat run along that road from wells south of the town. It then runs through the rooms and into acisternunder the interiorpatio.[4]
The baths consist of rooms similar to theRomanHypocaustsystem of baths with a normal temperature room for undressing, a cold room and a hot room. Channels under the floor would allow warm air to circulate as a form ofunderfloor heating.This process of bathing would act like modernsaunaswhereby moving between hot and cold temperatures cleanses the body bysweating.[7]
Projects
[edit]- Gibraltar Caves Project
Curators/directors
[edit]- M. McEwen (1952–1965)[6]
- David C. Devenish (1967–1970)[14]
- Joaquin Bensusan (1970–)[14]
- Prof.Clive Finlayson(1991–present)[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abc"The Heritage of Gibralter [sic]: A Reply ".CAM Bulletins.Commonwealth Association of Museums. May 1998. Archived fromthe originalon 28 September 2011.Retrieved10 September2012.
- ^Finlayson, Clive & Geraldine (1999).Gibraltar at the end of the Millennium: A Portrait of a Changing Land.Gibraltar: Aquila Services.
- ^Foster, Paul (2007). "The Gibraltar collections: Gilbert White (1720–1793) and John White (1727–1780), and the naturalist and author Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (1723–1788)".Archives of Natural History.34:30–46.doi:10.3366/anh.2007.34.1.30.ISSN0260-9541.
- ^abc"Museum History".Gibraltar Museum. Archived fromthe originalon 1 March 2014.Retrieved7 July2012.
- ^Keith, Arthur (1994).The Antiquity of Man.Anmol Publications. pp. 180–1.ISBN9788170419778.
- ^abEllicott, Dorothy(1975).Our Gibraltar.Gibraltar Museum Committee. pp. 131–132.
- ^abcde"Gibraltar Museum".Gibraltar Info. Archived fromthe originalon 3 January 2012.Retrieved25 June2012.
- ^"GONHS is 30 years old this week"(PDF).2006 PRESS RELEASES.Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society. 16 December 2006.Retrieved13 September2012.
- ^"Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018"(PDF).Laws of Gibraltar.HM Government of Gibraltar. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 11 April 2019.Retrieved11 April2019.
- ^abcdefghijkl"Gibraltar Museum".DiscoverGibraltar.com. Archived fromthe originalon 5 September 2013.Retrieved13 September2012.
- ^Beckett, Ian (2006).Victorians at War p.53.Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 272.ISBN9781852855109.
- ^"Famous Places To Visit in Gibraltar".Europe Travel Hub. Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.Retrieved25 June2012.
- ^"Gibraltar Museum".Gibnet.Retrieved25 June2012.
- ^ab"Pasado, presente y futuro del Museo de Barbados"(PDF)(in Spanish). UNESCO. 1986.Retrieved10 September2012.
External links
[edit]
| International | |
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| National | |
