GIFTS FROM THE PAST
Take a journey back 7,000 years in Køge's local history in the exhibition Gifts from the Past.
Who are we today? Who were we yesterday? And why have we become who we are?
These are some of life's big questions that we tackle and try to answer in Gifts from the Past . Here we look at the gifts that we have been given by our ancestors. Whether it is the way we dress, the way we live or the way our brain thinks.
The exhibition ranges from the burial rituals of the Neolithic Age to the wedding dress your great-grandmother wore to her wedding. Three of our best researchers have each been given their own space in the exhibition. Here you can see how they conduct research within their specific field.
INGE CHRISTENSEN
It doesn't matter what kind of clothes you choose to wear when you get married. It doesn't matter today, and it didn't matter when your great-great-grandmother was alive.
That's why I research the clothes we've worn for baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals throughout history. In addition to looking at the clothes themselves and how they were made, I also examine how societal developments in legislation, technology, fashion, trade, economics, medicine, social conditions and local customs have influenced the clothes we wear.
In my research, I get to delve into the museum's large magazines, but you can also help me. Because I'm very interested in seeing how you dressed for your wedding or your great-great-grandmother for hers.
The clothes we make for life's big events say a lot about the times and society we live in. And it always has.
CHRISTOFFER BUCK PEDERSEN
7,000 years ago, 8 people were buried at what is today Strøby Egede. In the grave lay four women and four men aged 0-50 years. The grave was carefully opened all the way back in 1986. Since then, the somewhat macabre grave has lain peacefully in its display case at Køge Museum, and has not told much about its exciting history. Until now. Because in my part of the Gifts from the Past exhibition, I will try to get as much knowledge out of the Strøby Egede grave as possible.
Today it is possible to answer significantly more questions than it was possible in 1986. As in the rest of our society, the development within the natural sciences has been enormous.
How old is the grave? Did the buried people grow up somewhere other than at Strøby Egede? Where are they buried in relation to their place of residence? How are the buried people related to each other? Is it a family that was carefully laid to rest? What did they die of? These are just some of the questions that my collaborators and I will try to answer and publish in scientific journals in the coming years. And you are invited to join in the work.
ANNA SEVERINE BECK
Our homes are not just built of bricks and mortar, but also of the dream of a good and meaningful life. That dream is constantly changing, and has been since man's very first dwellings.
Now that we can't ask the people of the past about their dreams for good reasons, the houses they built become an important source for understanding what they thought and dreamed about. In my research project, I map the houses and settlements of the Viking Age to see how their architecture developed.
My studies of Viking homes will hopefully show us new ways of looking at the Viking Age and not least its people. At the same time, we can also learn more about the way we build and live today by comparing our architecture with that of the Viking Age.
Therefore, among other things, in my part of the exhibition, you can come with me to visit fashion expert and author Jim Lyngvild, who has built his own modern version of a Viking longhouse.