Moesgaard Museum (MOMU) is a Danish regional museum dedicated to

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

. It is located in Beder, a suburb of

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. MOMU cooperates with the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, Medieval and Renaissance Archaeology and Anthropology at

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

. The main part of the museum's archaeological collection is of Danish origin. In addition, the Ethnographical Collections contain almost 50,000 artifacts from all over the world. They are used both for research and exhibitions. The collection also contains photographic material, films and sound recordings. The museum's exhibitions presents several unrivaled archaeological findings from Denmark's ancient past, among others the

Grauballe Man The Grauballe Man is a bog body that was uncovered in 1952 from a peat bog near the village of Grauballe in Jutland, Denmark. The body is that of a man dating from the late 3rd century BC, during the early Germanic Iron Age. Based on the evidenc ...

, the world's best preserved

bog body A bog body is a human cadaver that has been naturally mummified in a peat bog. Such bodies, sometimes known as bog people, are both geographically and chronologically widespread, having been dated to between 8000 BC and the Second World War. Fi ...

and the large ritual weapon caches from Illerup Ådal, testifying the power struggles and warfare of the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. The collection also contains seven local

rune stones A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th century and lasted int ...

. Temporary exhibitions at the museum also display examples of the world's cultural heritage.

Exhibitions

A large new museum building, designed by Henning Larsen Architects, housing both exhibitions for the public and headquarters for academic activities, was inaugurated in 2014. The museum building is constructed around a broad central staircase. The upper levels shows changing exhibits of history and culture from around the world, while the lower levels house the permanent exhibitions on Danish, Scandinavian and European history and culture. The permanent indoor exhibitions comprise the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Viking Age as it unfolded in Denmark and Scandinavia specifically and an exhibition on Medieval Denmark in c. 1050 to 1536. They are highly interactive in several languages, designed to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, without losing academic depth and accuracy. The prehistoric exhibitions includes these notable artifacts: * Model of a large Bronze Age barrow, "'' Borum Eshøj''" * Thousands of items from the Iron-Age votive site at Illerup Ådal * Copies of the Golden horns of Gallehus (''Guldhornene'') *

, a

from Grauballe, Denmark * Various

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic alphabet, runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th centur ...

s, including the Mask stone (''Maskestenen'') * Snaptun stone, often identified as a depiction of

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

* Hørning Church, a reconstructed early Danish stave church

The historical landscape

As an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

, the landscape surrounding Moesgaard Museum displays different epochs and eras of Denmark's past, from ancient to modern times. A larger part of the woodlands represents different prehistoric climatic epochs of the

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

, and a number of reconstructed buildings are strewn across the landscape, stretching all the way to the beach and shores in the east. The buildings include several relocated

tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

and the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, a house from the early

, and several

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

buildings, some of which are still in use.

Stave church

On a small hill just southeast of the new museum building, a reconstruction of Hørning Church, a stave church from the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

, was erected. None of the original stave churches in Denmark have survived, but the floor and post-holes from a Viking Age stave church were excavated under the present Hørning Church near

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark, Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from S ...

. On the outside, the hammer-beam from Hørning was ornamented with writhing serpents, a characteristic of the Late Viking Period. On the basis of the growth-rings in the timber, the stave-church has been dated to about 1060, the transition from the Viking Age Period to the Middle Ages. At the excavation site in Hørning, traces of a bell frame were discovered. This has also been reconstructed just in front of the church entrance. The church bell has been cast at Moesgaard, following a 900-year-old description of bell casting. It is a replica of the almost 800-year-old bell from Smollerup church near Viborg.

Moesgaard Manor and surroundings

The estate of Moesgaard covers 100 hectares of park, forest, open fields and shoreline, and extends from the museum buildings down to the Bay of Aarhus. The former manor house at Moesgaard Manor was constructed in 1780–84 by nobleman and diplomat Christian Frederik Gyldenkrone (1741–1788), based upon plans by architect Christian Joseph Zuber (1736–1802). Torkild Christian Dahl (1807–1872) took ownership of the manor in 1844. In 1960 Århus County bought the manor and estate. The former manor house now houses a department of the Institutes of Archaeology and Anthropology of Aarhus University. In the park is also a house from

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

which was donated to Moesgaard Museum by the

Kingdom of Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

in 1975. The house is around 100 years old and originally from

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

, the old capital of

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, 200 km north of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. The house was once a part of a larger building complex. From the manor park, a 4 km long Prehistoric Track starts off, running through the estate all the way to the sea in the east. A short walk from the park, an

house has been reconstructed. It is a typical farmhouse from 200 to 300 AD, based on a settlement at Tofting near

Husum Husum (, ) is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town was the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". It is also the home of the annual i ...

, just south of the Danish border. This house-type was common throughout Northern Europe in its day. The building is 16 m long and both humans and cattle lived under the same roof. The open fields and slopes below the manor are grazed by sheep, goats and horses, and present a handful of ancient tumuli. In the forest of Moesgaard Skov further east, it is possible to visit the old timber-framed Medieval

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

Moesgård Forest Mill Moesgård Forest Mill ( or just ') is a mill and a Listed buildings in Aarhus Municipality, listed building in Aarhus, Denmark. The mill was built in 1785 and was listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places by the Danish Heri ...

(''Skovmøllen''), powered by the stream of

Giber Å Giber Å is a long stream in Aarhus Municipality. Giber Å and surroundings is a protected Natura 2000 site. The protection is mainly located in the Marselisborg Forests approximately 4 miles south of the city of Aarhus. Course Giber Å spri ...

. The first reference to the mill dates from 1590 but all the buildings were rebuilt and an overshot mill-wheel was installed in 1785. An extra story was added to the mill house in 1852. Production ceased in 1910, but the mill is still in full working order as both a saw and granary mill. The milling business was initiated again by a team of volunteers in 2000 and guided tours are held throughout the year. There is a restaurant in the attached buildings and Skovmøllen has a long history of recreational activities. Near Moesgaard Beach is a reconstruction of a Stone Age cult-building from the Funnel Beaker Period, around 2500 BC. The original house was located near two dolmens and a

passage grave A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or stone and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age and are found largely in Western Europ ...

at Tustrup in Northern Djursland. It is believed that the building served religious ceremonies – perhaps as a resting place for the dead, until the flesh had decayed and the bones could be moved into surrounding graves. The original wooden building burnt to the ground at some point, and parts of the roof sheeting of birch-bark with turf cover collapsed inwards with the burnt wall planking. 26 richly decorated offering vessels and pottery ladles representing the golden age of pottery in Danish prehistory were found inside the collapsed building. The ceramics can be seen on display at the Moesgaard Museum. Further east, at the mouth of the

stream on the beach, is an old fisherman's house from 1856. The residents used to serve the estate until 1935, when Aarhus Municipality acquired the land. Moesgård beach is popular in the summer with people looking for a sunbath, recreational watersport activities or a place for picnics. Public toilets and a kiosk selling ice-cream and fast food can be found here. In 2019, the landscape around Moesgaard Museum was used for the IAAF 2019 Cross Country World Championships. The route included the museum buildings grass covered roof.

Prehistoric Trail

The Prehistoric Trail is a 4 km trail that runs from the Moesgaard Manor to the beach and back transecting most of the 100 hectare area of garden, park, forest, fields and beaches that is owned by the Moesgaard Museum. Along the route are several reconstructed prehistoric buildings and burial mounds. The trail also passes through the Prehistoric Forest, an area divided into sections representing the successive forest types of Denmark since the ice sheets of the last ice age retreated. Points of interests – both historical and biological – are explained on information boards. For the most part the trail is marked by large white stones adorned with a red dot. The Prehistoric Trail leads visitors through the baroque-styled Manor Park, laid out around the same time Moesgaard Manor was constructed (in the 1770s) down to the field shown on maps as "Jens Michelsens toft". Here are several stone burial chambers from various parts of Denmark illustrating how traditions of burial changed over time during the Stone and Bronze Ages. These were relocated here and carefully reconstructed when their original sites were lost to development. The field is grazed by Gotland sheep in the summer to keep the vegetation around the burial chambers down.Forhistorisk Museum Moesgård: Moesgaard : Oldtidsstien, 1973. The next points of interest along the trail include the old watermill, which today also houses a restaurant, and the ruin of a

long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repres ...

. The route then leads into the ancient woodland, the forest swamp, which is crossed on a footbridge. Among the

Red Alder ''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana). Description ''Alnus rubra'' is the largest species of alder in ...

s are tussocks rich in

herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

. The trail continues through The Prehistoric Forest, which the museum planted in 1964 to illustrate the

ecological succession Ecological succession is the process of how species compositions change in an Community (ecology), ecological community over time. The two main categories of ecological succession are primary succession and secondary succession. Primary successi ...

in the forests of Denmark from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

until today. Thus the forest is divided into the periods Birch and Pine period (9550–8250 BC), Hazel and Pine (8250–7500 BC), Early Lime (7000–3800 BC), Late Lime (3800–700 BC) and Beech (700 BC – today). The trail exits the Beech period close to the beach. From the beach the trail leads back west through the forest past reconstructed houses including The Tustrup House. The original house was located in the town of Tustrup on the peninsula of Djursland north of

. This house was probably used for religious ceremonies and perhaps for storing dead bodies until all that remained was bones, which could then be placed in a

or stone barrow. The Prehistoric Trail ends back at the Manor, which nowadays houses the museum administration,

offices and student facilities. There is no public access to these buildings. However just across the road is the last point of interest on The Prehistoric Trail, the reconstructed stave church from a town about 35 km to the north of Moesgaard.

Gallery

File:Moesgård hovedbygning.jpg, Moesgaard manor house File:Moesgård park.jpg, The park at the manor house. File:Moesgård Rostrupkisten.jpg, Stone cist from the Late Stone Age reconstructed in the field "Jens Michelsens toft." File:Karlstruphøjen hellekiste.jpg, Flag-stone cist from the Late Stone Age. File:Moesgård Skovmølle møllehus.jpg, The old water mill "Skovmøllen." File:Oldtidsskoven Moesgård.jpg, Information board in the Prehistoric Forest. File:Fiskerhuset Moesgård.jpg, Giber Å outlet at the Fisherman's House. File:Tustruphuset.jpg, The Tustrup House File:Oldtidsstien Giberå.jpg, The Prehistoric Trail by the Giber Å. File:Moesgaard Jernalderhus.jpg, The Iron Age house File:Alle Moesgård.jpg, The trail is marked by large white rocks with a red dot. File:Moesgård Museum, Stavkirken2.JPG, The stave church File:Oldtidsstien rute.png, Route map

Gallery

Wiki P 20160803 20 06 21 Pro.jpg, Museum display case Baldric components, Moesgaard Museum.jpg, Baldric components Sheild boss detail, Moesgaard Museum.jpg, Shield boss detail Stone age clay pot, Moesgaard Museum.jpg, Stone Age clay pot Maskesten, Moesgård.jpg, Aarhusstenen (The Aarhus Stone), a late Viking Age mask stone that inspired the Moesgaard Museum logo Lokistone.jpg, Snaptun stone, another mask stone depicting Loki File:Moesgård Manor elm avenue.jpg, Avenue in the manor park File:Moesgård park.jpg, The manor park Thaihuset Moesgård.jpg, Thai house File:Cattle Moesgaard.jpg, Grazing cattle File:Moesgård Skov (juli).jpg, Forest path Giber å i Moesgård Skov.JPG, Giber Å stream Skovmøllen.JPG, Skovmøllen medieval water mill

Directors

Directors of Moesgaard Museum have included: * Peder Mortensen (1982–1996) * Jan Skamby Madsen (1996–2016) * Mads Kähler Holst (from 2016)

References

Other sources

*Skriver, Jens B. (2001) ''Moesgård – historien om en herregård'' (Moesgård Museum)

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moesgard Museum Archaeological museums in Denmark History museums in Denmark Viking Age museums Museums in Aarhus Tourist attractions in Aarhus Cross country running venues Museums established in 1970 1970 establishments in Denmark Henning Larsen Architects buildings

Exhibitions

The historical landscape

Stave church

Moesgaard Manor and surroundings

Prehistoric Trail

Gallery

Gallery

Directors

See also

References

Other sources

External links