Archeological permanent display

Opened: 2017.
Authors: Ivo Pavlović, Ana Grbeša, Jelena Boras
Artistic and urban design: mr. sc. Mario Beusan, prof.
Curator: Jelena Boras, mag. archaeol.

The permanent archaeological display is located on the first floor of the museum building. It consists of seven exhibition rooms, divided into three time blocks. The items exhibited are arranged chronologically, from the prehistoric period and the oldest findings preserved by the Museum, through the ancient period, ending with the medieval and early modern archaeological material found throughout the Đakovo region.

Items from the prehistoric era, with the oldest dating back to around 5000 BC, from the New Stone Age, are exhibited in the first and part of the second room. In addition to archaeological objects, a paleontological collection of fossil remains of marine organisms, estimated to be approximately 17 million years old, is displayed. Along with the New Stone Age finds, there are also Copper Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age finds on display through ceramic vessels or various useful items. Visitors have the opportunity to see the Bronze Age hoard of Punitovci, an arson grave from Štrosmajerovac, and as a special feature, a reconstruction of a prehistoric house from the Tomašanci-Palača site was created with illustrations of the different stages of construction.

After the prehistoric exhibits, the second and third room contain finds from the ancient period from the ​​Đakovo region, namely grave finds from the Štrbinci locality and settlements from the Ivandvor locality. Apart from the only stone monument on which the ancient name of Đakovo, Certissia, is carved, the gilded glass bottoms are on display, which are of inestimable historical value for the entire ​​Đakovo region.

The last time unit concerns the medieval period. The beginning of that turbulent period of our past is shown in the fourth room – the corridor, where finds from the 8th century are displayed, when the settlement at the location of Đakovo-Parish Church is dated. In addition to the settlement that lasted for several centuries, a large medieval cemetery was explored at the same location, where the population settled until the 16th century, and the finds from that necropolis are distributed through phases in the fifth and sixth rooms. The medieval part, as well as the overall exhibition, ends with exhibits from various medieval localities from the entire Đakovo region, among which the collective find of Queen Mary’s and King Sigismund’s silver denars from Drenje stands out.

The permanent exhibition was realized through funding from the Croatian Ministry of Culture and the City of Đakovo. Professional collaborators are dr. sc. Krešimir Filipec (Faculty of Philosophy Zagreb, Department of Archaeology), dr. sc. Branka Migotti, dr. sc. Tino Leleković (Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Department of Archaeology), dr. sc. Jacqueline Balen (Archaeological Museum Zagreb), Tomislav Hršak and Dragana Rajković (Museum of Slavonia Osijek). Some of the exhibited material is borrowed from the Museum of Slavonia Osijek, thanks to the understanding and friendliness of colleagues.