GOING BACK IN TIME #2

The Palais Rohan, sits elegantly alongside the Cathedral & it is here that 3 museums are housed, one floor above the other; the Archaeology Museum, the Museum of Decorative Arts & the Fine Arts Museum.  Jeff would love to be an archaeologist in another life, so with a spare hour, it was to the archaeology museum that we went one afternoon.

The first thing that struck us was how big it was.  We'd thought it would consist of a couple of galleries, but it was huge! The exhibits were numerous & from different eras.  Me being me, I wasn't so good at remembering time periods or dates, I was more interested in shape, decoration & quirkiness!

The beautifully shaped jugs above, were used in the potters 'studio' (sometime in ancient history) & was filled with slip, the liquidy clay that is used to join handles to vessels.

I apologise profusely for the quality of this photo, but I had to share it.  These were one of my favourite items, they are key-rings...quite literally.  The ring included a key to a trunk where the owners treasures would be contained.  They are decorated rather simply, but the key part provides additional decoration.  These are from the Roman period.

This unusual stone is covered in slashes. It is from the bronze age & is where men sharpened their axes.  Jeff is giving us a demonstration in the photo above. :-)

This lovely couple are also from the Roman period.  This is a funeral stelae.  Both would have been buried beneath it.  There were a few of these, but this was the most complete & we were both quite moved by it.

My final photo may be a little hard to see, but can you just trust me....it is STUNNING.  It is a relief sculpture of a dancer, she is flinging her scarf up above her head & the clothes sway around her, showing her shapely legs. She is also of the Roman period & appears on a Mausoleum type structure.

When I chose this selection of photos, I sincerely didn't realise that the majority were Roman!  My wannabe archaeologist tells me they are though!

Amazing to think that there has been such a range of peoples living & working in what we know as 'Strasbourg' .  Even in Neolithic times, there were people in this area, hunting mammouth, bison and even hippopotami & rhinos!  It was a fascinating walk through history & we stayed longer than we had expected...in fact...I think the guards were all waiting for us to leave!