The LWL-Archaeology Museum in Herne in Germany is, with its unique concept and design, one of the most modern archaeological museums in Europe and the premier shop window for archaeology in Westphalia.
Approximately 10,000 finds reveal the history of mankind in this area of Germany, from hand axes made from mammoth bones to dolls’ heads made using the remains of bombs from the Second World War; from traces of the earliest settlements to ruins of castles and palaces and the industrial archaeology of the surrounding Ruhr area.
Exhibition concept
Just like visitors to an actual excavation, here you stand on a footbridge looking down on the evidence of human history in the earth below, such as Bronze Age graves and Roman wells, Neanderthal caves and a medieval town.
Here you can experience for yourself the cold of the ice ages, the turmoil of the wars between France and Germany, and what life was like in a besieged city.
The existential areas of human life – such as climate, time, writing and sexuality – are given their own rooms, modelled on the tents at an excavation.
In the award-winning research laboratory, young visitors can take their own scientific journey of discovery, while the cinema shows short films and documentaries about Westphalian history.
More information about the museum and the changing exhibitions can be found here – https://www.lwl-landesmuseum-herne.de/en/
Translation Alun Harvey
