5. "Architectural archeology" in the XX century. The period after 1917 for the study of monuments of church culture is extremely dramatic and ambiguous. On the one hand, this is the time of severe ideological pressure of atheistic ideology on religion, the time of the destruction of temples, mass

"French Colonial Archeology" The French school went through its own, very different from the "Roman" way of development. Here, from the very beginning, interests in national (that is, medieval) and early Christian (Gallo-Roman) antiquities were closely intertwined. (Early

3. "Archaeology" of relics The story of the mausoleum of Constantine should be addressed not only in order to set ourselves the vague goal of someday touching its remains. There are moments in the history of the temple that are key to resolving the issue of the origin of the transfer tradition.

Faster (French tale) A priest sent a servant to the market to buy fish during fasting, but there were no fish there. Then the priest ordered to buy and fry grouse. - How? the servant wondered. - After all, it's fasting now! - And I'll christen them and call them fish. Judge for yourself: it's harder

Sometimes archaeologists and scientists cannot agree among themselves for a long time. Glozel, sometimes referred to as French Piltdown , caused quite a stir in archaeological circles in the 1920s; a new outbreak of interest followed in the 1970s. and continues to this day.

In March 1924, a cow fell into a hole in a farm belonging to the Froden family. Seventeen-year-old Emil, with the help of his grandfather, dug out a hole and found an oval patch paved with bricks, about three meters long, with a stone border; the bricks had a glassy surface, and one of them showed strange marks. Froden was soon told by a visiting archaeologist that they had discovered a Roman or medieval glass furnace, but a much more exciting theory captured the imagination of enthusiasts.

Clay tablet from Glozel with an inscription in an unknown language

Local teachers have suggested that this site served as a cremation site for the dead, and further excavations will reveal much more than has already been found. One of the teachers, who took the gifted but uneducated Emil under his wing, gave him some books on archeology to introduce him to the basics of the subject. At first, research was carried out by amateurs and enthusiasts, but at the beginning of 1925 a real leader appeared. Albert Morlet, a doctor from the nearby resort town of Vichy, who was interested in the Roman period of French history, arrived at the scene. He informed the Frodens that they had discovered an important historical monument that could bring valuable finds and therefore should be surrounded by a fence.

Morlet acquired exclusive rights to excavate and publish the results, and he and Emile set to work. Their discoveries have sparked heated debate among archaeologists. A huge number of finds were recovered from the shallow soil layer on the hillside, which they dubbed the "field of the dead." There were carved bones, similar to the Stone Age caves in France, drawings of deer and horses, provided with letters, and sometimes whole inscriptions. Other materials clearly of a later period included polished stone axes and crudely molded pots with faces and inscriptions similar to those carved into bones. Among the pottery came across bizarre phallic figures and handprints three times the size of real ones.

The most enigmatic find at Glozel was dozens of inscribed bricks resembling burnt clay writing tablets from the Middle East; however, the inscriptions were in an unknown language. Altogether, about 5,000 objects were discovered and put on display in a small museum set up by the Frodens.

Having assembled this extraordinary collection, Morlet suggested that the Glozel culture flourished after the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago, when early Stone Age artifacts mixed with later archaeological material. The unique nature of the Glozel finds led many French archaeologists to take a cautiously approving stance, but unexpectedly strong support came from Solomon Reinach, director of the National Museum of Antiquities in Saint-Germain. He stressed the importance of the early dating of ceramics and inscriptions, declaring France the center of an ancient civilization.

Glozel became a local landmark, and a stream of tourists rushed there, visiting the Froden Museum and a cafe, which they also decorated with their finds.

However, the skeptical party was also gaining strength. For many, the circumstances of the discovery seemed highly suspicious. The finds were a hodgepodge of material from various archaeological periods. At the same time, all of them were found in a thin layer of soil without signs of stratification. There were no pits or even surfaces where individual objects could be preserved, however, most of the pots were found intact and intact, which is extremely rare in ordinary excavations. The mysterious untranslatable tablets were unlike any archaeological finds made in France. The study of some carved bones and stone axes showed that they were processed with steel tools. Worse, a local museum curator said that when he was sheltering from a thunderstorm in a stable at the Froden farm, he saw several inscribed, but not burnt, tablets.

To settle this unpleasant conflict, the International Anthropological Congress sent a commission of archaeologists in 1927 to study the site. They picked sites at random and started digging, but found nothing on the first day. From the second day, familiar archaeological materials began to come across, which they suspected had been planted - in particular the inscribed tablet found at the bottom of a "pocket" of loose brown soil, completely different from the gray soil around it. In an attempt to protect themselves from night forgeries, the archaeologists who were part of the commission sprinkled the excavation site with gypsum chips.

The young French archaeologist Dorothy Garrod, who was checking the condition of the protective coating the next morning, met with Dr. Morlet, who accused her of trying to fabricate the finds to discredit his work. Relations between them finally deteriorated; Morlet and his supporters were sure that the commission was opposed to them. Therefore, they were not surprised by her conclusions: "Based on joint observations and discussions, we came to the conclusion that all the materials studied by us in Glozel are of no archaeological value."

Offended, Reinach and Morlaix set up their own commission the following year, which (not surprisingly) delivered a favorable verdict. However, in the meantime, the police raided the Froden farm and took the finds from the farm and the museum. Their tests showed that the pottery was soft and soluble in water, that the clay from which some of the pots were made contained bits of cotton cloth and pieces of moss so they could not be fired, and that many bone and stone artifacts were created using metal tools.

The French Prehistoric Society sued for fraud by an "unknown person" and won, but when Émile Frodin was directly accused of fraud, he counterclaimed for moral damages and won. However, according to the court decision, the amount of compensation amounted to only one franc, so his victory can hardly be called a triumph.

By 1950, archaeologists had come to the general consensus that the "Glozel case" was a hoax, supported by inexperienced and overly gullible researchers, and it was forgotten for a long time.

In 1974, the finds made in Glozel suddenly emerged from oblivion. A number of objects have been dated using the relatively new thermoluminescence (TL) method, which measures the accumulation of radioactivity in heated materials after the first firing. The spread of dating ranged from about 600 BC. e. before 200 AD e. These dates were much later than those proposed by Morlet and Reinach, but in any case not modern. The analyzes were performed in several laboratories, so that a common error seems unlikely.

But could archaeologists admit they were wrong?

There was no such possibility, since the Glozel finds seemed even less plausible after half a century of intensive research. Nowhere in France were found inscribed tablets or pottery similar to Glozel's, so they seemed like a clear anomaly. Moreover, the new dates were even more discouraging than the old ones. The archeology of Celtic and Roman Gaul (modern France) is very well studied, and the objects from Glozel have nothing to do with it. Alvin Brogan, a leading archaeologist of the period, confirmed this opinion after studying the Glozel collection: “I cannot understand the following: according to the dates of the TL analysis, we should have found fragments of Celtic and / or Gallo-Roman ceramics or other objects during excavations , but in the collection of this museum I did not find a single artifact of the Gallo-Roman or Celtic period.

Despite the fact that the French were engaged in further research on this problem, the contradiction between archeology and exact science was never resolved. After 70 years of heated debate, "French Piltdown" is still a complete mystery.

The Museum of National Antiquities (Musée des antiquités nationales) was established by decree of Napoleon III on March 8, 1862. It is located in the old Saint-Germain castle, restored by the architect Eugene Millet. Since 2005, this institution has been called the Museum of National Archeology (Musée d'archéologie nationale). Five years after the publication of the imperial decree, the former palace of Saint-Germain received visitors for the first time. May 12, 1867 […]

Museum of National Antiquities was created by order Napoleon III dated March 8, 1862. He is located in old Saint-Germain castle restored by an architect Eugene Millet. Since 2005, this institution has been called Museum of National Archeology (Musée d'archéologie nationale).

Five years after the publication of the imperial decree, the former palace of Saint-Germain received visitors for the first time. On May 12, 1867, seven halls were opened. The first director and founder of the museum was an archaeologist Alexander Bertrand. He led the institution for 35 years. During this time, French archaeologists have made a significant contribution to the collection of antiquities. The museum has become a unique repository of archaeological finds.

According to the exhibits of the museum collection, one can trace the history of the peoples and civilizations that lived on the territory of the French state from primitive times to the beginning of the reign Charlemagne. The true antiquity of the human race was reliably estimated all over the world thanks to the discoveries of French scientists. The names of several prehistoric periods and ancient cultures were formed from the names of places in France marked by important archaeological finds.

The first traces of ancient people who used stone tools belong to the era of the early (lower) Paleolithic. This period is about seven hundred thousand years. Man has been learning to work stone for a long time.

Based on the finds, one can trace the evolution of the oldest flint tools - from rough hand axes to carefully crafted stone scrapers, gimlets and knives. In the era of the Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian period), new ways of working stone appeared using animal bones as an auxiliary tool. Bone processing at this time is not yet available to a person.

For 30,000 years BC. began the longest period of ancient human history in France. The Aurignacian and Perigordian cultures are marked by the first works of applied art. Figurines made of bone and limestone belong to this time.

The ancient creators of the Upper Paleolithic era used various visual means: painting, sculpture, engraving. The Saint-Germain Palace Museum has the largest collection of art works of this period.

The climate on earth was changing, it was getting warmer. The life of primitive tribes has also changed. People learned about agriculture and animal husbandry. The period has begun Neolithic.

Man has learned to create dishes and figurines from clay and burn them in a flame; tried to grind the stone. The Neolithic period in France is characterized by a certain decline in the development of art. A new rise is observed with the advent of metal products.

The first copper objects found by scientists date back to the period of the 1900s BC. Copper fossil finds are gradually replaced bronze. Metals give humanity new opportunities. There are more advanced tools and weapons. The first gold jewelry also belongs to this period. They are heavy and massive - there was a lot of gold in France.

Iron ore is being mined in many parts of the country. Bronze products are being replaced iron. The first Iron Age is called the Hallstatt era. This is the period 750-450 years. BC. The excavations of the graves of that time testify to the trade relations of the inhabitants of the French territories with Greece and Italy. Attic vessels made of ceramics and bronze are often found in ancient cemeteries.

Time from 450 to 52 years. BC. called the Laten culture period, or the second Iron Age. The art of the ancient Celts has flourished over the years. Curvilinear ornaments appeared in the decoration of ceramic dishes, bracelets, and weapons.

In 52 BC conquered Gaul Julius Caesar. The Roman invasion brought development to the Gallic tribes. The centuries-old enmity of nationalities was liquidated. The Gauls learned from the Romans the technique of building with stone. Civil strife ceased, and a network of new roads stretched across the country.

It would be unfair to talk about the colonization of Gaul by the Romans. The cooperation was mutually beneficial and fruitful. Gallo-Roman culture combined different types of art. Industrial production of ceramic products was established; the famous workshops of Grofesank and Lesu were created, producing magnificent, richly decorated vessels. Other crafts also developed.

Gallo-Roman period existed for several centuries. In 272-276 years. AD began raids and robberies of the barbarians. The cities of France had to be surrounded by defensive structures.

The barbarian tribes: Burgundians, Vandals, Allemanni and Franks - gradually penetrated the Gallic territory and settled down on it. They also contributed to the local culture. Over time, a merger of peoples took place, and a new cultural era was called "Merovingian era". The Merovingian dynasty was overthrown with the beginning of the reign of Charlemagne.

The National Museum of Archeology presents the richest collection of exhibits. More than 30 thousand archaeological finds are stored in seven sections of the exposition. The museum collection offers visitors the most interesting finds and curious facts. Scientists turn to museum funds for invaluable materials for research.

Museum of National Archeology (Musée d'archéologie nationale)
Place Charles de Gaulle 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
musee-archeologienationale.fr‎

Take the RER A train to Saint-Germain-en-Laye station

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