27 November 2025 – 31 May 2026
Temporary exhibition
Ten years is a long time in a person’s life — students become colleagues, colleagues retire. In the medieval history of the capital, however, a decade is barely perceptible: our finds can rarely be dated more precisely than within a quarter or half a century, and only coins offer closer reference points.
In the tenth, jubilee Mainly Medieval exhibition we present not only the most beautiful and most interesting medieval finds and excavations unearthed in Budapest over the past year, but we also look back on the previous nine exhibitions and the objects displayed there. The task was not easy for our colleagues when they were asked to review their excavations from 2015 onward and choose the few finds they found most interesting. The display cases have limited space, and so does the number of exhibited objects — but the memories and stories connected to them are endless. This is why the exhibition is titled Ten Years, a Thousand Stories.
The structure of the exhibition is partly thematic, partly chronological. Following the introductory panels, we first present research related to settlements. Objects from Árpád-era villages are displayed in a dedicated case, while the finds from later periods are shown separately. Through ceramics, metal tools, millstones, and animal bones, visitors can learn about the lives of people living in former settlements. We display ceramic cauldrons — well-known pieces of Árpád-era rural material culture — whose distinctive rims clearly set them apart from other types of vessels.
Across the past nine exhibitions, visitors have frequently seen dress accessories and jewellery recovered from graves, so the next section is dedicated to the archaeology of cemeteries. Here too, different periods are shown in separate cases. Cemeteries from the Hungarian conquest are rarely uncovered, but their finds allow us to reconstruct former clothing. Early Árpád-era bracelets with animal-head terminals are as exceptional as the carnelian rings from Ottoman-period graves. Although dating to the early modern era, one of the most challenging finds from the perspective of restoration and reconstruction is the bonnet, which can be viewed both in its original and reconstructed form.
The third and largest theme focuses on urban research. During the Middle Ages, the areas of present-day Óbuda, Pest, and Buda were separate towns. In recent years we have carried out relatively few — but highly significant — excavations in Óbuda and Pest. Leather shoes, carved bone objects, and medieval jewellery are among the curiosities. Naturally, the finds from Buda and Buda Castle area dominate the exhibition, as many of our excavations and archaeological observations since 2015 have taken place there. It is difficult to determine which find from this area is the most exciting. The processional cross dating from before the construction of Buda Castle, the painted Venetian glass beaker, or the Ottoman porcelain cups? All of them testify to the former importance and wealth of Buda.
Every excavation and every artefact has its own story. How could a food offering end up in a grave in a period well after Christianisation? Who drew the scribble on the small white jug — a completely unusual form of “decoration”? Why does a ceramic cauldron have such a peculiar rim? Some questions we can answer, others still require research, and some may remain shrouded in mystery for a long time.
We strive to make the finds and the questions they raise accessible to as many people as possible with increasingly refined methods each year. The exhibition’s written content is presented in an easy-to-understand, playful format and is also available as audio via QR codes. Using object replicas, visitors can explore the material and form of the most interesting finds through touch as well. Our commitment to social responsibility is supported by solutions aimed at minimising ecological footprint, such as the use of recycled display cases and installations, and by working exclusively with local contractors during exhibition construction — reducing emissions from travel and transportation.
Ten years is a significant period in the life of a museum as well. It is a moment to assess our achievements, celebrate our successes, and draw the necessary conclusions where we encountered difficulties. Through these finds we remember not only the excavations themselves but also former colleagues who can no longer be with us.
Curators: László Daróczi-Szabó, Dorottya Mézes, György Terei, Anikó Tóth
Exhibition Design and Graphics: Dorottya Mézes
Visual Identity Design: Judit Czefernek
