AN OPEN-AIR archaeological museum will soon rise on the premises of the former military barracks under Zobor hill in Nitra. The Archaeological Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) has received part of the premises in a transfer from the Defence Ministry and work has already started, the SITA newswire reported.
The area under Zobor hill is part of an important archaeological locale called Martin Hill. It is here that a Great Moravian church from the 9th century, as well as other Slavonic and Celtic settlements, were found. The archaeologists plan to open the first part of the open-air museum, including the Great Moravian church, to the public as early as this year.
The experts are considering two possible approaches for the museum: either presentation of archaeological findings from just this locality or a broader display of significant objects from all over Slovakia. The latter could include, for instance, the noteworthy House of Lužica Serbs’ culture in Dolný Kubín, said Matej Ruttkay, the head of the Archaeological Institute of the SAV.
The Archaeological Institute acquired 11 buildings in the barracks’ complex; the others will be used by the town of Nitra.
“We will establish laboratories and depositories here, with one part that could be accessible to the public,” Ruttkay said, as quoted by SITA. They also plan to create a museum with artefacts from excavations in Nitra, Bojná, and from the dispersed treasury of Bratislava Castle. Visitors will be able to see various items of golden and silver jewellery from the Great Moravian period, coins, and other excavated items.
According to preliminary plans, a preservation workplace could also be established at the site.
“So far in Slovakia, there is no place of work that can reliably preserve archaeological findings; we have to send them abroad,” Ruttkay observed.
