Museum
Marseille History Museum
2 Rue Henri Barbusse, 13001 Marseille
Sunken garden of excavated Greek and Roman port ruins, saved from bulldozers by a nineteen sixty-seven standoff.
This guide to the Marseille History Museum traces the 1967 discovery of ancient Massalia's ramparts, unearthed by bulldozers clearing ground for a shopping center behind the old stock exchange. It follows the standoff that came next: antiquities director Maurice Euzennat racing to protect the find, mayor Gaston Defferre pushing to move the stones for his towers and jobs, and archaeologists refusing outright. Stand in the sunken garden below street level, where the dispute was finally settled.
Audio guides are written and narrated by AI.