Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Altamura

On the edge of Altamura's old town, the National Archaeological Museum presents the history of the Alta Murgia from the Paleolithic through the Middle Ages. Its six exhibition sections include a life-size reconstruction of the Altamura Man, made from scans of the Neanderthal skeleton that remains in Lamalunga Cave.

Why it matters

Opened in 1993, the museum stands in the archaeological zone of la Croce, where excavations revealed part of an ancient Peucetian settlement, including houses, production structures and a ceramic kiln. It also gives context to two major discoveries in the surrounding territory: the Neanderthal skeleton in Lamalunga Cave and the dinosaur trackways of Cava Pontrelli. The museum belongs to the Rete Uomo di Altamura, alongside Palazzo Baldassarre and the Lamalunga visitor centre.

What to notice

The displays span two floors and six periods: Paleolithic, Metal Ages, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic-Roman and Medieval. The Paleolithic galleries focus on central and southern Italy. A life-size reconstruction of the Altamura Man, unveiled in 2017 and modelled by paleo-artists Kennis & Kennis, was created from laser scanning and photogrammetry of the skull. Other highlights include a red-figure pyxis attributed to the Darius Painter, dated to 340 BC and showing the myth of Phaedra, and a late-antique gold reliquary cross from Belmonte set with glass paste and garnets. The exhibition “Preistoria del cibo. Alle origini del pane” connects ancient food practices with Altamura's bread tradition.

Context and history

Altamura's municipal collection began in the nineteenth century; the national museum formalised that tradition in 1993. The archaeological site beneath the museum records Peucetian occupation, while the discoveries of the 1990s extended the territory's story into prehistory and the Cretaceous. CARS, the local speleological group, located the Lamalunga skeleton in 1993, about three kilometres from the city. The museum interprets these findings as part of a broader history of human life on the Alta Murgia.