Storage is not simply warehousing, but the preservation of value
Hungarian archaeological collections and repositories
MúzeumCafé 49.
There are about 60 museums and institutes in Hungary which have archaeological collections and exhibition spaces. Today, apart from permanent and temporary displays, new possibilities have appeared for visitors to explore archaeological treasures in museums. Archaeological storage depots preserve a significant part of the collections and in the best cases they are the location of post-excavation work, natural scientific investigations and research relating to archaeological source materials. They are not simply ‘only’ for storage, they also function as archaeological research centres. In their exhibition spaces visitors can inspect some of the archaeological finds. Here, too, the latest results of archaeological work can be displayed, and with the completion of current research an increasing number of temporary exhibitions can be staged. In these new types of museum space visitors can gain an insight into the background work of archaeology and obtain more information about finds than was earlier the case with exhibitions and publications, which could present only
a fraction of the finds. Field work often appears to the public as a delaying factor or a ‘calamity’. Bringing archaeological collections and archaeological research closer to people makes it more understandable that archaeology is an important cultural factor which helps us to become acquainted with our past, and the way of living and customs of our predecessors. In recent decades the demand has arisen in Hungary for archaeological storage facilities to be refashioned. It has become clear for museums that such a development is indispensible for improving the conditions of storing objects.