Roman-Germanic Central Museum

The Roman-Germanic Central Museum, with three large permanent exhibitions on prehistory, the Roman period and the early Middle Ages, is housed in the Electoral Palace in Mainz. On the basis of originals and replicas, a unique survey is offered of the prehistory and early history of Europe, the Near East and Egypt, from the end of the Neolithic period down to the early Middle Ages.

Among the highlights of the Prehistory Department are the reconstructions of ceremonial wagons from the Hallstatt period as weil as a copy of the renowned crater of Vix. This wine-mixing vessel holds 1200 liters, weighs 208 kg and is the largest metal vessel from Antiquity known up to now. Also unparalleled is the collection of ancient heimets, in part, it is true, replicas, but not to be seen together in one place anywhere else.

One showpiece of the Roman Age Department is a complete Roman celestial globe, the oldest complete one known. The globe is the work of a craftsman from Egypt of the period between 50 and 220 AD. The globe shows 48 constellations of both hemispheres. What is particularly remarkable is that it offers the oldest representation of our Milky Way.

The Early History Department shows more than 3100 exhibits, predominantly original finds from the whole of Europe and the Near East. Among the items on display are splendid belt buckles and Byzantine gold jewellery, as weil as replicas of the partially missing funerary objects of the Frankish king Childeric (582 AD). In addition, copies are to be seen of a bishop's ivory throne, from the 6th century, and of the Cathedra Petri, the famous papal throne from the 9th century.

The highly specialised restoration workshops and the laboratories working with state-of-the-art scientific methods are one of the cornerstones of the international reputation of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum. The most important archaeological findings from all over the world have been restored, conserved and copied here since 1852. In addition, one of Europe's largest archaeological specialist libraries is to be found in the Roman-Germanic Central Museum.

Address
Roman-Germanic Central Museum Electoral Palace
55116 Mainz
Tel. +49(0)6131 - 9124 - 0
Fax +49 (0) 6131-9124-199
 info[at]rgzm.de
www.rgzm.de