Heavy Metal at the Yper Museum

The exhibition runs from September 17, 2022 to January 29, 2023 and is a collaboration between the museum and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Heavy Metal is not about archeology itself but focuses on metal finds. Large and small metal objects from medieval city excavations in Mechelen, Antwerp, Ghent or Ypres come together here for the first time. Thanks to a grant from the Immovable Heritage Agency, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel was able to make an inventory of all excavated metal objects from Flemish cities. The project database contains information on more than 11,000 individual objects from nearly 200 recent excavations. Part of it is now being shown for the first time in Ypres and will be touring Flanders from January.

Utensils

Heavy Metal also shows a lot of metal utensils: crockery, tin plates, candlesticks, keys or chest fittings. They teach us how medieval people eat, live or write. Until the 15th century, for example, people write on wax tablets with a stylus or stylus with one pointed and one flattened end. These styli are not only found in religious contexts such as monasteries, but also among wealthier families. Many archaeological metal finds are iron tools such as hammers, axes and wedges intended for the processing of wood. That is the main building material in the medieval city. For smaller tools such as knives and awls, it is often a matter of guessing what they are used for.