Archaeological Museum of Split in Croatia

The Archaeological Museum of Split is the oldest museum institution in Croatia, established in 1820. It serves as a central repository for the rich material heritage of ancient Dalmatia, with a particular emphasis on the nearby Roman city of Salona, once the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. The museum’s collection is extensive and methodically curated, comprising over 150,000 artifacts spanning prehistoric, Greek, Roman, early Christian, and medieval periods. Its Roman holdings are especially significant, including inscriptions, sculptures, mosaics, glassware, and everyday objects that provide insight into urban life, administration, and religious practices in antiquity. The epigraphic collection is among the most important in the region, offering detailed evidence of social structures and linguistic usage in Roman Dalmatia. A distinctive feature of the museum is its integration with the archaeological landscape. Many of its key exhibits originate from systematic excavations at Salona, located just outside Split. These finds include sarcophagi, funerary monuments, and architectural fragments that help reconstruct the physical and cultural environment of the ancient city. The museum complex also includes an outdoor lapidarium and a landscaped garden, where larger stone monuments and inscriptions are displayed in situ-like conditions. This arrangement allows for a more contextual understanding of Roman funerary and civic art. Overall, the Archaeological Museum of Split functions not only as a display institution but also as a research center, contributing to ongoing archaeological scholarship in the Adriatic region. It offers a structured and academically grounded perspective on the historical development of coastal Croatia from prehistory through late antiquity.