Although the EU co-funded project CEMEC – Connecting Early Medieval European Collections ended officially on 30th September 2019, the farewell meeting in Brussels (attended among others by Hungarian National Museum colleagues) involved the beginning of something new: on 26th September the fourth venue of the travelling exhibition Crossroads. Travelling through the Middle Ages was inaugurated in the Art & History Museum, Brussels.

The exhibition, produced in the framework of the CEMEC project, is quite a spectacle. Beside valuable Avar Period artefacts from the Migrations Period Collection of the Hungarian National Museum it includes an almost life-size Viking boat and the reconstruction of a Meroving house. Visitors can also admire one of the greatest treasures of the Art & History Museum: the 6th century AD Egyptian Coptic mummy of ’Euphemia’ with her beautifully preserved embroidered clothes. The show sheds a new light on the period between 300-1000 AD, often referred to as ’Dark Ages’, by emphasising its cultural, political, religious diversity and its inevitably important role in the later history of Europe.

More abot the exhibition at the Art & History Museum’s website.

The opening ceremony of the Crossroads exhibiton was not the only forward-looking element of the CEMEC farewell meeting. Partners discussed the sustainability and reusability of project outputs. For example, the 3D digital models of key artefacts, produced in the framework of the project will be great assets for all partners for educational, scientific and general audience purposes. The international museum community will benefit from the online study compiled of CEMEC best practices on joint exhibition organization.

Last but not least, the successful cooperation established between the CEMEC partners may be the basis of a new EU co-funded project. With the success of the MATCH – MuseumCamp Approach To Cultural Heritage initiative, the Hungarian National Museum as well as several partners from the CEMEC consortium will have the opportunity to further develop and test the Cross Cultural Timeline, a state-of-the-art digital curation tool produced in the framework of CEMEC.