Collections from the Mediterranean Basin
The Greek and Egyptian collections include over a 1000 pieces from private bequests and deposits from the Louvre.

Prehistoric times
The Palaeolithic
The bifaces on display come from Saint-Acheul, a district of Amiens, situated at the confluence of the Avre and the Somme, which has given its name to the Acheulean period. These sharpened flints were found in huge quantities, from 1853 onwards, in the ancient alluvial deposits of the Somme, as gravel pits were being opened up. They date from between 450,000 BC and 350,000 BC and different types were sometimes found in the same deposit. As their name suggests, they are sharpened on both sides and were probably used both for cutting wood and cutting up big game.

The work done around Saint-Acheul and Montières, to the west of Amiens, by Victor Commont and Abbot Breuil at the beginning of the century, and by Roger Agache and Franck Bourdier at the end of the 1950s, was restarted in 1977. It gives you an understanding of the stratigraphy of the terraces of the Somme and the deposits connected with them. It proves that man has been living here for the last 600,000 ans.

The Neolithic
The Belloy vase is a remarkable ceramic dating from 5500 BC. The beautiful naviform double-headed axe, on display in this section, was found in Renancourt, a district in the west of Amiens. Other objects come from the Megalithic mass grave at Chaussée Tirancourt, near Samara.

Protohistory
The Bronze Age
The first objects found in the Amiens region for this period date from between 1900 and 1800 BC. They include flat axes, daggers and halberds. The development of the bronze industry, along the Somme, between 1500 BC and 1200 BC, can probably be explained by the distribution of the mineral tin coming from south Cornwall. Some of the objects corresponding to this period are on display: sword blades, pins, bracelets. The largest collections are from the final Bronze Age. In 1843, on a peat-digging site in Le Plainseau, in Amiens, the Picardy Antiquary Society discovered around 200 objects. 131 now belong to the Museum's collections: swords, axes, specialist tools. Other deposits of this type have been discovered in the Amiens region. They would appear to be annexes to foundries.

The Iron Age
The objects, from the first part of the Iron Age (850-450 BC), found in Amiens are mostly of bronze. During the La Tène era, the Second Iron Age, a Celtic people, the Ambiens, arrived in the Somme. We know this through Caear's Commentaries on the Gallic War. The Somme basin was more densely populated at the time, as shown by the aerial survey work done by Roger Agache, which revealed a number of "native" farms from before the Roman conquest. Little is known about this period, however. The vast sanctuary at Ribemont-sur-Ancre, which is still being excavated, like the farms excavated on the A16 route, should deepen our understanding of the Ambiens. One section of the gigantic ossuary at the Ribemont sanctuary (several hundred bodies) has been reconstructed at the Museum.

The Gallo-Roman Period
The oppida situated right along the Somme are the first indications of Roman military occupation. The largest, at Chaussée Tirancourt was built, according to the dating of its gate and the foundations of its fortifications, around 30 BC.
It was at the beginning of the first century that Samarobriva was founded, which would become Amiens, based on the Roman town planning model, with its "insulae" and roads built at right-angles. The plans on display give you an idea of the town's expansion throughout the century. With 25,000 inhabitants and covering an area of over 200 hectares, Samarobriva became one of the largest towns in Belgian Gaul. The public buildings, forum, basilica, amphitheatre et thermae reflect the importance of the town.

The collections in the Museum relating to this period represent only a small proportion of the objects found in the ground in Amiens. The extensive building programme that took place in the city in the second half of the XIXth century revealed some very important remains, which have attracted the attention of collectors throughout the world. This is why you can find, for example, engraved glasswork from Amiens in the British Museum.

Among the 1500 Gallo-Roman objects displayed in the Museum, let us highlight just a few:
• the so-called "Amiens" patera, made from bronze and covered with champlevé enamel, probably belonging to a legionary. It lists some of the military posts on the wall built by Hadrian along the entire breadth of present day Scotland to protect the empire from the Picts.
• 7 zoomorphic perfume bottles, found in a cremation tomb, come from workshops in Allier. a magnificent "karchesion", or goblet, made in Cologne.
• the priapus found in Rivery, east of Amiens. It is the oldest Gallo-Roman object belonging to the Museum. Often written about and reproduced, this figurine represents a garden deity clothed in a "cuculus", a Gallic coat with hood. This upper section is detachable and conceals a phallus.
• soldiers' funeral steles (IVth century).

The Merovingian Period
In the IVth century, after the first Germanic invasions, Samarobriva entrenched itself behind a fortified enclosure, which is at the heart of the present-day city centre and covers an area of between 30 and 40 hectares, a quarter of its former surface area.

The Picardy Museum