Gods,
soldiers, citizens in Aquincum
Permanent exhibition, BTM Aquincum Museum, main museum building
April 15, 2005 - October 31, 2005
The exhibit in the museum building was put together on the occasion of
the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Aquincum Museum. With the
aid of the most important finds from we present life in the town, the
Roman citizens and soldiers who lived within its walls. The townspeople
lived with their gods, so that, the world of the Roman Gods wove through
every aspect of everyday life.
The Aquincum Pantheon of deities is displayed on the back wall Hall I
before a background design to give the feel of a Roman shrine interior.
Military monuments characterize Hall II. The official cults and remains
connected to the Governor's Palace may be seen in the next Hall. Hall
IV is designed around the activities of the Civil population of the town.
The work and tools of potters, carpenters, masons, and stucco artisans
can be seen in the cases. The atmosphere of antique times is brought back
in the last Hall where visitors can find an interior reconstruction with
its mosaics and wall paintings.
The interior decoration and color arrangement of this exhibition aims
to complement and fill out the experience of the visitor in the surrounding
ruin area.
Exhibition director:
Paula Zsidi
Exhibition publication:
Gods, soldiers, citizens in Aquincum
Budapest, 1995 Edited by P. Zsidi
Lets weave the Past...
Roman plaiting-work from reed and willow withes - A temporary exhibition
at the Aquincum Museum,
April 29, 2005 - October 31, 2005
Like other organic materials objects made from reed and willow withes
could be preserved for centuries or even for millennia only under special
conditions. Pannonia provincia and therefore also the neighbourhood of
Aquincum were not favourable environments from this point of view since
because of fluctuations in temperature and the humidity of the soil, objects
made from organic materials are only rarely recovered during archaeological
excavations and if they come to light at all they are usually in very
poor and fragmentary condition. However, with the help of ancient sources
and pictorial representations it is possible to complement our knowledge
about wicker-work objects, woven objects made from reeds, willow withes
or bulrushes found in Aquincum.
The aim of the exhibition is to provide a vivid picture on the manifold
uses of baskets and wicker work in the everyday life of Romans and on
the raw materials and tools used to make them using ancient archeological
and written sources and present-day handicraft products. Another aim is
to display the varieties in forms, sizes and the movement of baskets and
weaving techniques used by Romans as well as understand the roles of baskets
in cults. In addition, the exhibition will show the activity of basket
makers both in towns and the country, furniture and other household objects
made from wicker-work as well as its use in architecture. The exhibition
provides information on some aspects of Roman pomiculture as well since
the use of baskets was closely connected to the cultivation of fruits.
Basketry is one of the oldest of all crafts. From the beginning it required
considerable handiness and great skill because the basket-maker works
with very few tools.
Basket workers not only made their products but also traded in them and
in the raw materials they used.
Basketry and wicker work had a special role in the vicinity of towns where
to meet the claims of the great number of demanding customers it was necessary
to provide quality products in a wide variety of forms all year round.
On rural estates at the same time basketry was a seasonal activity, usually
taking place in winter after open-air agricultural activity was over for
the year.
The majority of plaited containers or those with a decoration imitating
these patterns were represented as fruit baskets filled to overflowing
with favourite fruits - plums, apples, figs and pomegranate.
Ancient seeds, stones and pips can be preserved under favourable conditions
e.g. in the oxygen starved interior of vessels or wells. Their study provides
information on the plant species known by the Romans and on their use.
It is possible to recognize those varieties of fruit which came to Aquincum
from distant provinces as imported foods and those species which the Romans
cultivated locally. Archeobotanical material, together with pictorial
representations of fruits in baskets, generally shed light on contemporary
standards of pomiculture and plant cultivation.
As with all roman activities, basketry, too, had close connections with
religion. Ceres (Greek Demeter) is known as the goddess of the fertility
of wheat fields. One essential element in her representations is a basket
held in her hand and filled to overflowing with fruits and wheat. The
cult of Ceres was less popular in Pannonia, where the cult of the god
Liber and the goddess Libera was widespread. As another goddesss of fertility
Libera also was usually represented with a fruit basket.
Woven patterns on products made of reed and willow withees also inspired
forms and patterns in other arts and crafts. The decoration on ceramic
or glass vessels frequently imitated woven baskets.
Representations of plait-work occurs frequently on stone monuments and
wall paintings in Aquincum. Woven vessels are frequently depicted on the
so-called scenes of funeral sacrifices on tombstones in addition to the
mourners and maidservants preparing funeral feasts. On one of the ritual
monuments in Aquincum, representing the deities of the underworld the
goddess Proserpina (Greek Persephone, Kore) can be seen with a fruit basket
in her hand. Most of what we know about baskets and woven products comes
from a wall painting found in the House of Centurion in the legionary
fortress showing a grape harvesting young man and baskets full of grape
and figs.
Animals in the Human
World: food, companion, symbol
2005. április 29 – október 31.
The lives of animals and people have been intertwined since the beginning
of human history. People first hunted animals, eating their flesh and
using their hides for making shelters and clothing. Later certain species
were domesticated. Early in human history, animals also came to symbolize
connections with the supernatural world. The line between what is human
and what is animal became blurred as people attributed human characteristics
and behavior to animals – as we still do today. Archaeozoology, as introduced
in this exhibit, is the science which attempts to connect the bare bones
of these animals found during excavations with the lives of ancient people,
in order to understand both the practical and symbolic importance of animals
in their day to day existence.
The Celtic folk who occupied the area of Budapest before the Romans raised
the various domestic animals and also acquired chicken and donkey, probably
through trade. Their domestic animals were very small, a fact that was
probably related to environmental deterioration. The bones from a village
found at Corvin Square come from a time just the before the Romans moved
into the area. They show that hunting and fishing played a very important
part in Celtic subsistence as well.
Although the Romans continued to use Celtic animals they also introduced
the first improved breeds, with special selected traits. However, only
officers now had the right to hunt and the bones of wild animals almost
disappear from bone assemblages except at military installations. Horse
had a special status as a riding and draught animal. Cattle were also
important in hauling heavy loads where speed was not critical. Two of
the new animals introduced by the Romans for moving goods were mules and
camels.
In Aquincum, people mostly butchered and consumed older animals at the
end of their working lives. Only the rich could afford to buy the meat
of young animals. Animals must have been slaughtered at the western edge
of the town where they were skinned and their bodies divided up. Hides,
meat, and bone were processed industrially in the towns by specialist
artisans. Animals like dogs, cats and horses also fulfilled the role of
companion, receiving special treatment in burials.
Celtic peoples living in the surrounding villages continued to butcher
animals within the village itself, breaking their bones for marrow according
to the old traditions.
There is evidence for hide working and horn extraction from Aquincum itself
while half-finished objects attest to the presence of numerous small workshops
specializing in producing bone and antler ornaments and fittings.
Because we know so much more about the Roman world view through written
texts and inscriptions, we also have insights into the way their ideas
about certain animals were woven into spiritual and imaginative life.
By this time, deities were often accompanied by particular animals as
identifying attributes. The bull was a key symbolic figure in the cult
of Mithras. There were often representations of fantastic animals, with
composite or half-human bodies such as centaurs and satyrs. For the Romans
these creatures were just as real as dogs or cattle. Animals, such as
bears, bulls and wild boar were also important players in the late Roman
amphitheater spectacles.
The exhibit dealing with animals in Roman life may be seen at the Aquincum
museum until October 30 of this year. Another exhibit concerned with animals
in medieval life will open in October in the Budapest Historical Museum
building in the Buda castle.
Treasures under the city
Survey of the archaeological heritage of Budapest, 1989-2004
Temporary exhibition at the Budapest History Museum.
27 May - 20 August 2005
Finding a consensus between the protection of the archaeological heritage
as decreed by law and the interests of town development is a difficult
task in most European cities. The number of investments including construction
work has increased exponentially in Budapest over the last 15 years. Beside
state financed investment, which was the only form until recently, private
developments have appeared. The Budapest History Museum, which brings
to light the archaeological heritage of the capital, has conducted excavations
on about 600 construction sites in the recent period.
A characteristic group of archaeological excavations is connected with
the construction of linear construction projects. The continuous renovation
and enlargement of the road and street systems around and across the town
and the public utilities beneath them are necessary for the city to function.
The construction of a long stretch of road may cross dozens of sites,
while excavations in broad bands can provide a cross-section of the former
settlement structure of a region from prehistoric times through the Middle
Ages.
Some of the excavations conducted in the capital are linked with the development
of the increasing number of shopping centres, industrial parks, communal
establishments etc. The majority are so-called green field investments.
The excavations have shown that the territories, previously vacant, were
occupied by settlements in historical times. The minority of the developments
is connected with the reconstruction or renovation of already existing
establishments, which often offers the last opportunity to unearth the
preserved archaeological remains.
Residential districts, which have become so popular today, are often built
on territories that were the scenes of human settlements in earlier times
as well. The quasi-continuous settlement evidences the favourable environmental
conditions in the region. Other territories became suitable for human
settlement only as a result of modern environmental improvements.
A special feature of Budapest is that the city was born from the joining
of a number of settlements. Thus, the capital does not have one single
but rather three historical centres which have all preserved their specific
characteristics. The demolitions and constructions, the result of the
town development, open a window onto the past for short periods. New details
come to light recalling the town structures of the Middle Ages and the
Roman period. Nearly every investment in the three historical centres
of Budapest - Óbuda, the area of Castle Hill and the city of Pest - has
to be preceded by archaeological investigation. In lucky instances, the
excavations can contribute to the townscape as well.
The oldest city centre lies in Óbuda. Its street system still mirrors
the settlement pattern of Aquincum, the former provincial centre. With
the assembling of the small details uncovered during the course of rehabilitation
projects in the districts, a more complete picture can be drawn of the
Classical town.
The extreme richness of finds displaying the continuity of settlement
through thousands of years from the Palaeolithic to the early modern period
evidences the favourable environmental conditions in the area (Víziváros)
between the Castle Hill of Buda and the Danube. Most of the finds came
from the Middle Ages. Nearly every new development brings to light a new
detail about these once independent settlements on the outskirts of Buda.
The castle complex and the adjoining Castle District has preserved the
largest amount from the medieval past both in its buildings and the atmosphere.
Being a part of the World Heritage it lies in the focus of international
interest. Any investment planned here can be realised only in conjunction
with strict archaeological and monumental regulations. In recent years,
the uncovering of the vicinity of the Buda Castle and the environs of
Szent György Square have been among the greatest archaeological excavation
sensations in the capital.
On the left side of the Danube, in the old city of Pest only the rehabilitation
or reconstruction of blocks of flats permits archaeological excavation
in the densely built in district. The excavations often conducted in the
cellars of functioning buildings have brought to light the most important
buildings from medieval Pest. The most spectacular result of the recent
years was the excavation of a stretch of the town wall of Pest.
The construction work can usually be started after the termination of
archaeological excavations, yet the archaeologist has not yet finished
his work. After restoration and inventorizing the finds, scientific analysis
follows as well as publication. The finds, mostly ceramics, brought to
light during excavations of the last 15 years fill several depots.
The smallest pottery or bone fragment found at an excavation can be important
and valuable for an archaeologist. The find units, however, often contain
real treasures. This is the case of the coin finds of precious metals,
jewellery or even luxury ceramics, glass or metal objects and textiles.
Once special attention was paid to these objects and their exquisite materials
or high standard
elaboration, and this has won the admiration of posterity as well.