This Frankish pot was discovered in Maastricht, Limburg, a southeastern city in the Netherlands. It dates back to the period of 601-650 CE and was found in 1929. During the Merovingian period, different artisanal activities became quite frequent in Maastricht. In the area on the west bank of the River Meuse, at the Lage Kanaaldijk and in Lanakerveld, and on […]
Read More TextThis jar in the shape of the head of Silenus regroups many characteristics of the Roman Empire such as its mythology and rituals, as well as daily life routines. It was found in a grave in Eijsden, Limburg and is thus believed to have been part of grave offerings, which were part of a funeral ritual in the Roman religion […]
Read More TextThe Frankish necklace as shown below in the 3D model is a significant piece in Maastricht’s history. It signifies a shift in two eras’ namely the Roman and Frankish. This specific necklace was crafted during the 6th century, approximately 1400 years ago (S. Aarts, personal interview, March 1, 2023). It was found in the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht […]
Read More TextThis is a Bartmann jug (German: Bartmannskrug), a type of rheinisch stoneware originating from the Cologne region in Germany during the 16th-17th century. This specific piece was found in the region of Limburg in the Netherlands. The jug shows the bearded face typical to rheninisch stoneware of this kind and often depicted in Renaissance manuscripts, textiles, graphic art, and architecture. […]
Read More TextThe amber distaff modeled below contains 24 discs that make up its mere 20 centimeter length. While it is fragile and small in stature, its history and significance is substantial and rich. Although it was excavated from a Roman burial site, the life of this distaff extends beyond the grave. Its symbolism and genderedness make it a wonderful addition to […]
Read More TextThis is not an object for the faint of heart. Torture instruments are difficult to conceptualise in the twenty-first century. Most of us consider it to be something that belongs in museums or horror movies only. However, torture is unfortunately still used in certain countries and during certain political realities, even nowadays, in the Western world. The artefact we are looking […]
Read More TextThe key of the fortifications was found in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and was used to open a door or a postern to one of the fortifications of Maastricht. This particular key was gifted to the Centre Céramique a couple of years ago (S. Aarts, personal communication, March 1, 2023). In the following blogpost, you will receive more information about the […]
Read More TextIn 1983, a large number of Roman tombs were discovered near Bemelen, and this pot was one of the objects unearthed at that time. It is certain that this Roman pot was buried in the tomb as a burial object, a relatively common custom in Roman death rituals, pouring out Roman beliefs about the afterlife (Toynbee, 1996, p. 12). 3D […]
Read More TextThe history of Maastricht and the areas around it spans thousands of years. This axe dates back to the Bronze Age era of that history, which is a prehistoric period spanning several centuries that can be placed between the year 2000 and 800 B.C.E (Kuijpers, 2008). A time that was an important turning point for human history as a “humanly-ordered […]
Read More Text‘Pecunia non olet‘, meaning ‘money does not smell’, was used by the Roman emperor, Vespasian, as an explanation to his son, Titus, that no matter where money comes from, it has the same value. He imposed the urine tax on owners of public toilets, because the empire had no coins left (Centre Céramique, 2017). Purses in the Roman period were […]
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