In the popular permanent exhibition, visitors feel like researchers themselves. A laboratory allows you to be an archaeologist yourself. Here guests can take a close look at individual layers of soil and analyze the material. An excavation camp rounds off the scientific program in the outdoor area.
Search for clues in ruins. Search foundations for historical treasures. Discover a hand axe made of mammoth bone among the rubble. All this is possible at the LWL Museum of Archaeology. Here, visitors feel like researchers themselves. With the help of amazing exhibits such as hunting utensils and tools, they learn how hard life was for Neanderthals. They are transported to war scenarios when they look at finds such as a doll's head recovered from bomb debris.
On their tour of the permanent exhibition, visitors follow a timeline that takes them through various stages of human history. The chronicle begins 250,000 BC and ends in the present day. Display cases, graves, wells and building remains are set up to the left and right of the path. The motto here is: Track down, examine and decipher history on the basis of finds.
Part of the house lies underground
A special research laboratory allows visitors to delve deeper into the subject matter. Visitors can get a taste of the working world of an archaeologist. The research program ranges from searching for traces in the ground to facial reconstruction, layer excavation and material analysis. How do historical treasures reveal themselves to a team of experts? This question is quickly answered when the apprentices get hands-on and clean objects with a brush.
The archaeological museum in Herne is one of the most modern facilities of its kind in Europe. A large part of the 4200 square meter exhibition area is located underground. Only three buildings protrude from the ground, located next to the Kreuzkirche church in Herne's city center. The pedestrian zone is not far away. A stroll is a good idea after the visit.
But if you can't get enough of old walls and ruins, you can continue your journey of discovery in the museum's outdoor area. A camp regularly opens its doors, where all the steps of a professional excavation can be followed.
