Connecting Early Medieval European Collections Project

Avar-period round fibula from Kölked (Hungarian National Museum)

Connecting Early Medieval European Collections (CEMEC) is an EU-funded cooperation project that aims to create a collaborative network, and a cost-effective business model, between eight European museum collections and six technical partners. The goal is to examine both the connections between Early Medieval collection objects (300-1000 AD) and the objects’ regions of origin with the aid of innovative IT solutions.

Drawing on objects from participating museum collections, the project will produce ‘CROSSROADS’, a travelling exhibition focusing on connectivity and cultural exchange during the Early Middle Ages (300 -1000) in Europe. The ’CROSSROADS, Europe (300-1000)’ exhibition will focus on the Early Middle Ages in Europe. This period is often defined as ‘the Dark Ages’, however the exhibition will shed new light on this misconception, presenting the period as a time of exchange, in objects, people and ideas. The exhibition will open at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam (October 2017-March 2018). It will then move to the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens (April- September 2018) and end at the LVR Landesmuseum in Bonn (October 2018- April 2019).

The Hungarian National Museum is a partner in the project, and already staged a small display about Avars in the Early Medieval Carpathian Basin. The exhibitions Avars Revived was on view during March 2017.

You can read more about the CEMEC project on their website. On the website of the Hungarian National Museum, you can see one of the 3D models created in the framework of the project.

View of the exhibition Avars Revived (Photo: Hungarian National Museum, Budapest)

Remains of Bonyhád church covered over

Virtual reconstruction of Bonyhád church 

I wanted to give an update about the situation with the excavation of the medieval church of Bonyhád. Unfortunately, the excavations could not be completed fully. Once the very short-term permit ran out, work on the excavations had to stop on October 7th. More than a month passed until the possibility of continuation was debated - a precious month with good weather, during which a lot of progress could have been made. Starting from mid-November, 2015, the excavated ruins of the medieval church were covered up and filled with concrete, so the new road could be built over them. As a results of this, unfortunately a lot of the questions surrounding the church could not be answered. I talked to the chief archaeologist, Géza Szabó, and he provided some information about the church. He explained to me that it is plain to see - even without a full excavation going down to sufficient depth, that the church had at least two phases of construction. The earlier phase can be dated to the period of King Sigismund, and is probably connected to the men found buried in front of the main altar. He was a strong, well-to-do man. Although no tombstone was found, a coin from the rule of Wladislas I. dates the burial to this period (1440-1444), and places the construction of the church to the Sigismund period. The church was later rebuilt, most likely in the early 16th century - this is the date of the late gothic net vault, the fragments of which were found during the excavations. Unfortunately, earlier phases of construction could not be adequately explored, and the area of the church also could not be excavated.

The excavation site during my visit in late October

Because of the very short period available for archaeological excavation, and the impossibility of examining the site in the future, documentation was of paramount importance. In the following, I would like to illustrate some of the techniques used during the work carried out. The site itself was documented in a 3D photogrammetric survey, recording all details by Interspect Research Group. 3D modelling company Pazirik also scanned the site, and carried out 3D scanning of the architectural fragments, which then served as the basis of a theoretical 3D reconstruction of the early 16th century phase of the building. 

Virtual reconstruction of the church at Bonyhád

Based on a keystone and several vault fragments, the intricate late Gothic net vault of the church was also reconstructed. These reconstructions, and initial results of research were published by Archeologia.hu. The articles published in this collection not only make preliminary results and wonderful illustrations available, but also reveal that there are still several questions surrounding the remains - questions, which largely could have been answered via a thorough and complete archaeological excavation. Current legislation in Hungary unfortunately makes it possible that the construction of a road could proceed, without the completion of this archaeological survey.

The site being covered over (mid-Novermber, 2015)

Sources:

A középkori templom feltárása Bonyhádon - article (pdf, in Hungarian), Archeologia - Altum Castrum Online Magazin. 

Photo documentation of the excavation

Virtual reconstruction of Simontornya castle

The virtual reconstruction of the castle of Simontornya - a project, which has been in the making for several years - has now been presented with a series of innovative solutions. The castle, which was originally built in the late 13th century, was extensively rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century, and survived in fragmentary form. The virtual reconstruction was carried out by Pazirik company.  They made virtual reconstruction of the exterior and the interior of the castle, where it is possible to change the timeline and explore the reconstruction of various periods. There is also a virtual time-travel feature, where you can enter a virtual panorama of the present building, going back and forth from the present to the medieval period.

You can reach the reconstructions here:

Reconstruction of the interior courtyard of the castle (various periods)
Simontornya in the early 16th century (with interior reconstructions)
Virtual tour of Simontornya castle, with time-travel feature (click on the clocks to go back in time)

Most recently, a video was presented about the history of Simontornya castle, utilizing the results of all these reconstructions.

You can read more about the castle and the virtual reconstruction on the Sírásók naplója blog and in Altum Castrum Online Magazin (both in Hungarian). More information is available on the website of the museum working in the castle today.

Virtual visits to Transylvanian medieval churches

Gelence (Ghelinta)

A new website provides a number of very-well done virtual visits (360° panoramas) to Transylvanian sites. The site, called Treasures of Szeklerland introduces monuments and sites from the eastern part of Transylvania, the territory of the Szeklers. Several of the medieval churches on the site contain important fresco cycles - including some of my favorites. 




These are all small village churches, and in most cases the 14th century decoration of the naves survives. The cycles occupy the uninterrupted north wall of these churches, painted in several rows. Generally the upper row on the north wall is dedicated to the legend of King Saint Ladislas (ruled 1077-1095), more specifically the story where he frees a Hungarian girl abducted by the invading Cuman warriors.


Other cycles generally include the Passion of Christ, and often the Last Judgment. On the Treasures of Szeklerland website, some of the most important such cycles can be studied. I cannot provide direct links to different parts of the flash-based site, but upon starting, you will land inside the church at Gelence (Ghelinta). I also recommend the virtual visit of the following churches: Bögöz (Mugeni), Székelyderzs (Dirjiu, with frescoes from 1419), and Kilyén (Chilieni). Csíkrákos (Racu) has fewer frescoes, but here the entire western tower is decorated, probably from the 16th century. The Apor-mansion at Torja (Turia) preserved interesting secular painting from the mid-17th century. Inside the (virtual) churches, be sure to look up at the 17th-18th century painted coffered ceilings! A great advantage of the website is that it provides succinct information on the sites in English (as well as in Hungarian and Romanian).

Late antique and medieval buildings at Pécs in 3D reconstructions

The town of Pécs is one of Europe's Cultural Capitals in 2010. Not much in terms of new buildings was completed by this year - but Pécs has a 2000 year old history, with remains of a number of very important Early Christian and medieval buildings. The early Christian necropolis of Sopiane (Roman name of Pécs) is in fact a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The early Christian buildings survived in the level below the medieval ground-level, thus a number of burial chambers have been preserved, with their decoration more or less intact. Buildings above ground did not survive, but can be reconstructed based on archaeological excavations. In preparation for an exhibition, the company SketchUcation Hungary prepared a number of 3D reconstructions.

Below you can see how a late Roman basilica was reconstructed (video showing steps of the reconstruction):