The archaeological collections

From the Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic

The Paleolithic is the first and longest period of prehistory. It begins with the appearance of Man, about 2.6 million years ago in Africa and ends around 10,000 years before Christ.

Neolithic

The Neolithic period developed very gradually in the Near East, between about 12500 and 7000 BC.

The Neolithic is a period of rupture. Having become a producer of his own subsistence, and no longer a predator, man now influenced his environment and became sedentary. He built the first villages and necropolises, erected megaliths, the world's first great architectures. A number of technical innovations were born: polished stone, ceramics, weaving. The first long-distance trade networks were established.

The Bronze Age

The Bronze Age marks an evolution rather than a break with the Neolithic.

The Bronze Age marks an evolution rather than a break with the Neolithic. There was a diversification and even an increased social hierarchy, largely due to the appearance and development of bronze metallurgy. Bronze was easy to hoard and recycle, and was a source of rivalry and conflict.
Bronze is an easily hoarded and recycled resource, but it is also a source of rivalry and conflict. Ores and metal objects were part of various supply and exchange networks that crossed the whole of Europe.

Craftsmen became specialised, and the man-at-arms and the warrior chief asserted their pre-eminence in a society that was still rural. The struggle for social and economic supremacy led to sumptuous production for the use of the powerful or the gods, but also to the multiplication of warehouses, symptoms of insecurity and instability.

The Iron Age

The appearance of iron was accompanied by population movements and profound economic and social upheavals.

The appearance of iron was accompanied by population movements and profound economic and social upheavals. The possession of iron, which was still quite rare, was a sign of wealth and power. The tombs of chiefs symbolise this power, particularly in the centre-east and east of France. These inhabitants settled mainly where there was an abundance of ore. Citadels were built on the trade routes with the Etruscans and Greeks.

The Princes who controlled the long-distance trade lived lavishly. They were buried with their chariots and their most precious objects.

These aristocratic burials are associated with the construction of monumental burial mounds. The volume of these mounds can reach several tens of thousands of cubic metres of material.

The deceased are buried inside wooden burial chambers, in which a four-wheeled chariot is placed. A metal drinking vessel, which could hold several hundred litres of drink, was usually associated with the grave.

The Gauls (450 BC - early AD)

This was a war-oriented society that grew in power from the 5th to the 3rd century BC.

High-ranking warriors are buried, armed, accompanied by their two-wheeled war chariot. Their women wear metal torques, often with very elaborate decoration. The craftsman was no longer simply a worker, but an initiate who knew the secrets of the material. The Gauls excelled in the arts of fire - such as pottery, glassmaking and metallurgy - and above all in bronze and iron work, which they were able to chisel and assemble with the precision of a watchmaker.

Roman Gaul

Julius Caesar's conquest of Hairy Gaul at the beginning of the second half of the 1st century BC is considered to be the starting point of a profound political, economic and social transformation: its Romanisation.

The early Middle Ages

From the 4th century onwards, many foreigners whom the Romans called "Barbarians" immigrated to the Empire. Most of them were Germanic.

From the 4th century onwards, many foreigners whom the Romans called "Barbarians" immigrated to the Empire. Most of them were Germanic. Their migration intensified in the 5th century and when the last emperor was deposed in 476, these Barbarians became the masters of Western Europe.

Among the Barbarians was Clovis, the Frankish king of the Merovingian dynasty, who reunited Gaul: it gradually became Francia. The Middle Ages began, but in the 6th century ("Early Merovingian"), the way of life was still very much influenced by Antiquity, although the Germanic contribution was visible in many areas. The situation changes in the 7th century ("Late Merovingian") when medieval society really emerges: funeral practices and costume reflect this.

On the contrary, from the end of the 8th century, the Carolingian dynasty (751-987) sought to revive Antiquity within the framework of a "Renaissance" that was clearly visible in art.

However, in the daily life of the Franks, the difference between the Merovingians and Carolingians was hardly visible.

Comparative archaeology

The Comparative Archaeology room presents archaeological or ethnographic objects of foreign origin, from the Palaeolithic to the early Middle Ages, offering a panorama of archaeological cultures from around the world.

Most of the collections entered the museum before the First World War. They are composed of archaeological or ethnographic objects of foreign origin in order to offer the visitor a panorama of archaeological cultures from all over the world and to put the material cultures of the French territory into context.

Along the length of the room, we have chosen to evoke the passage of time (from the Palaeolithic to the beginning of the Middle Ages) and the succession of technical inventions: stone cutting, terracotta work, metallurgy.

Across the width of the room, the geographical zones (Africa, Asia, Near East, Europe, America) are presented opposite each other. This layout highlights the similarities or differences in the evolution of cultures in different regions of the world.

The comparative archaeology room was designed at the beginning of the 20th century by Henri Hubert and Marcel Mauss, who wanted to illustrate the "ethnographic history of Europe and humanity" based on the study of the "total social fact" from the origins of man until the very beginning of the Middle Ages.

Article co-authored by Marcel Mauss and Henri Hubert: "The Outline of a Theory of Magic".

Histoire de l'archéologie

Répliques en plâtre et en galvanoplastie, maquettes historiques, peintures et sculptures datant du 19^ème siècle, une vaste collection qui témoigne de l'histoire du musée et de la discipline archéologique.

Nouvellement créée, la section d’Histoire de l’archéologie s’attache à la conservation des témoignages de l’histoire de la discipline qui ont jalonné les évolutions du musée.

Maquettes, moulages historiques, galvanoplasties, statuaire, peintures ont été créés pour montrer au public les sites des grands événements, compléter les séries du musée, faire connaître les objets prestigieux des autres institutions ou pour remettre en contexte des objets aujourd’hui dispersés ou mal conservés.

À ce titre, certaines réalisations préfigurent l’expérimentation en archéologie, tandis que d’autres constituent de véritables tentatives d’enregistrement des collections. D’autres reproductions ont fait appel à des artistes de leur temps et sont en soi des œuvres d’art.

La section conserve également les vestiges recueillis sur le site du château et du domaine : restes architecturaux d’avant les restaurations du XIX^e siècle, ou mobilier muséographique conçu selon les conceptions de l’époque de la création du musée.