Lugdunum Musée et Théâtres

Lugdunum Musée et Théâtres is an archaeological museum in Lyon, France, dedicated to Gallo-Roman civilisation. Located on Fourvière hill in the city's 5th arrondissement, it stands at the heart of the ancient Roman city of Lugdunum. The museum opened in 1975 in a building designed by architect Bernard Zehrfuss and was renamed in November 2017 to reflect its expanded remit, which now includes the adjacent Roman theatres. It is managed by the Metropolis of Lyon in partnership with the archaeological museum of Saint-Romain-en-Gal. The institution is significant for its concentration of material from one of Roman Gaul's most important cities, presented on the actual site of ancient Lugdunum.

The municipal Gallo-Roman collection was previously displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon and at a smaller venue called the Antiquarium. The Antiquarium had its origins in storage facilities established near the excavation of the theatres beginning in 1937, using buildings including the former convent of Notre-Dame de la Compassion and the Maison Magneval. A public room opened between 1952 and 1954 under Pierre Wuilleumier, and in 1957 the Antiquarium received major pieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, including the Lyon Tablet and the Coligny calendar. Paul Gélis, architect in chief of historic monuments, first proposed a dedicated museum in 1938, envisioning a lapidary museum along the rue de l'Antiquaille; this was abandoned in April 1944 due to wartime difficulties. In 1958, architect André Donzet developed a new proposal for a stone building with large glass windows, also along the rue de l'Antiquaille, but this too was not realised. The decision to replace the inadequate Antiquarium was taken in 1967, and the old structure was demolished in 1969. Bernard Zehrfuss was commissioned to design the new building, which was constructed in 1971 and inaugurated on 15 November 1975. During the construction period, several remarkable mosaics were destroyed in a fire at a restorer's workshop. The museum was renamed Lugdunum on 8 November 2017, and since that date has also incorporated the Roman theatres on Fourvière hill.

The museum's collections span Celtic pre-Roman, Gallic, and Roman periods, with particular emphasis on material from Lyon and its immediate surroundings. The holdings include engraved stones, statues, jewellery, everyday objects, ceramics, mosaics, metalwork, and glassware. A potter's kiln is displayed, and weights and scales illustrate Lugdunum's role as a trading centre between the Rhône and Saône rivers. The museum also features a plan-relief of the ancient town and scale models of major monuments. Temporary exhibitions are regularly hosted. The original 1975 relief model, based on theories of Amable Audin, was replaced in 2015 by an animated model with lighting effects that traces the history of the city on Fourvière hill and locates the main ancient monuments, the Capitol temple, theatre, and odeon.

Among the museum's most significant objects are the Lyon Tablet, a bronze inscription of a speech by Emperor Claudius, and the Coligny calendar, a rare surviving document in the Gallic language. The Circus Mosaic, discovered in the Ainay district in 1806, is one of the few ancient representations of a chariot race. Other major pieces include fragments from the Altar of Rome and Augustus from the federal sanctuary of the three Gauls, a taurobolic altar dedicated in 160 for the recovery of Antoninus Pius, and several large Dionysiac sarcophagi, notably the Sarcophagus of the Triumph of Bacchus. The Lyon-Vaise Hoard, comprising dishes, jewellery, and silver statuettes buried during a 3rd-century Germanic invasion, is of exceptional importance, as is the Neptune of Lyon, a locally made 2nd-century bronze statue and the largest of its kind found in France. The museum also holds the silver Lyon cup decorated with Gallic gods, and extensive mosaics including the Mosaïque de Bacchus and Mosaïque aux Svastikas. A Gallic bronze ceremonial wagon and the Vernaison Hoard of Bronze Age axes and sickle blades are among pre-Roman highlights.

The museum building was designed by Bernard Zehrfuss and is situated on the slope of Fourvière hill, at the edge of the ancient site. It is partially embedded into the hillside, with views toward the remains of the Roman theatre and odeon. Internally, the architecture is organised around a concrete spiral ramp that descends and branches into the display rooms, a design that creates a continuous circulation path through the collections. The building is deliberately understated to avoid competing with the ancient monuments, and its placement allows glimpses of the theatre and odeon remains. The integration of the Roman theatres into the museum's public offer since November 2017 has transformed the institution's relationship with its archaeological setting.

Lugdunum Musée et Théâtres is located in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon, on Fourvière hill, near the Roman theatre and odeon. The museum is managed and operated by the Metropolis of Lyon jointly with the archaeological museum of Saint-Romain-en-Gal. Its official website is https://lugdunum.grandlyon.com/fr/. The institution's present role combines permanent display of its archaeological collections with temporary exhibitions and the presentation of the Roman theatres as an integral part of the visitor experience.