Forum @museum.de

M: You’re now in the Forum – you’ll remember that we saw it earlier from above, at our first stop. In 1988, the museum was remodelled based on plans by local architect Hartmut de Corné. In the process, what had been the school’s inner courtyard became the Forum by lowering the floor level. In here, we’ll be showing you various archaeological finds from that period.

F: If you look straight to your right, you’ll see a bell-casting pit. It was used to re-cast one of the bells for the church of St. Servatius. They’d been destroyed in the great town fire of 1647.

M: On the left, you can see the exterior of a well shaft. You’re welcome to take a look inside, if you like. As you can see, the stones on the inside are cut to shape, while the exterior was left unfinished. If you’re wondering why –? It’s because the shaft was underground.

F: If you step through the opening in the wall next to the display case with the historical finds...

M: ... you’ll find yourself standing in the cellar of another town house, which was in the immediate vicinity of the market square. The house was clearly owned by a wealthy individual – you can tell from the fact that the cellar has a stone floor. Ordinary folk were only able to afford a rammed earth floor. The three amphorae from Elmpt suggest that the cellar was used to store household provisions.

F: If you go up the three steps, you’ll come to a room with a display of finds from another well shaft on this site. The vases, cups and glass bottles either fell into the well by accident – or the residents disposed of them in there.

M: Take as much time as you like to look around – the tour will continue on the first floor.