As part of the scientific year dedicated to the Bronze Age, the Anne-de-Beaujeu Museum is offering a major retrospective exhibition on the discoveries made in the Allier region between the 18th and 21st centuries during this period.
The Bronze Age (-2500/-800) was a period of significant technical innovation and social change. From this period onward, our current societies began to shift. Economy, crafts, housing, society, beliefs… All life strategies were transformed, just like the metal that gave it its name. Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was invented even though the minerals used to create it were not found in the same place. Exchange and experimentation were the necessary ingredients for its development.
The Allier region already emerged as an economic, cultural, and social crossroads. The presence in the Bourbonnais region of objects made from exotic materials such as Baltic amber, transalpine glass, and manufactured objects from the eastern Mediterranean indicates contact with very distant areas. At the same time, certain motifs, such as the “solar boat,” are found in objects discovered in Charroux and La Ferté-Hauterive, or on the famous Nebra disc discovered in Germany, implying the sharing of beliefs on a European scale.
For this occasion, the National Archaeology Museum of Saint-Germain-en-Laye is lending the deposits discovered in Rongères and Jaligny-sur-Besbre, never before exhibited in the Allier region. The Jenzat site, excavated using the latest archaeological techniques, will be highlighted, with the presentation of previously unseen objects discovered since 2020.
The exhibition is complemented by a “children’s trail” with texts and adapted activities. This exhibition will be extended by a catalog and enhanced with a cultural program (guided tours, a series of lectures, specific workshops, etc.).
The exhibition has been awarded the “National Interest Label” 2025, which allows it to highlight and support remarkable exhibitions organized in the regions. This recognizes the national significance of the exhibition, as well as the exemplary scientific and museographic qualities.
