New masters of the Pest side – The Sarmatian neighbourhood of Aquincum. Temporary exhibition at the BHM Aquincum Museum from 19 June 2025 to 31 December 2026.
The Budapest History Museum has had a dedicated Migration Period Collection since 1954, but the collection of artefacts goes back almost 100 years. The collection’s twofold mission is to care for and present to the public the archaeological remains and material heritage of the peoples who lived here between the 1st and 9th centuries AD. The time has now come for the latter mission, as until now there has been no dedicated temporary exhibition presenting a people and their artefacts from the Migration Period at the Aquincum Museum.
The exhibition focuses on the Sarmatians, who arrived with the first wave of the Migration Period. It takes visitors to the other side of the river Danube, to the Barbaricum of the imperial period, where the Sarmatians from the eastern steppe constituted a defining political and economic force in the vicinity of the Roman Empire for centuries. The exhibition gives insights into the everyday life of this people, unfamiliar to many, answering questions such as where they lived, how they dressed, what occupations they pursued, or with whom and how they traded and fought. Visitors can also learn about their customs and beliefs, as well as the mysteries of life after death in the world beyond.
The exhibition presents the most revealing and spectacular Sarmatian period artefacts of the past decades. These include gold finds from the earliest horizon, remains from household production and crafts, as well as traded goods and weaponry reflecting periods of peace and war with the Roman Empire. Also presented are rituals and amulets related to the afterlife, as well as artefacts of attires and beauty care.
The use of 21st-century technology makes the transmission of information in varied forms even more enjoyable and tangible, as this allows the visitor to follow the Sarmatians’ migration in the East, to gain insight into the everyday life of a Sarmatian settlement, to meet the Romans in battle or even to participate in a funeral ceremony.
Curators of the exhibition: Boglárka Mészáros and János Olgyay
