1,000+ Years of History at the Grenoble Archeology Museum

Entrance:

The museum is at the foot of the Bastille hill, very easy to walk to from the city center. The walk is really pretty with a lot of nice buildings and views of the river and alps.

The staffers working the counter were friendly and set us up with our English-language audio guides. Everything was free so we just walked in.

The Museum:

What makes this museum especially cool is how its layers peel back to show different parts of the site’s history.

The outer-most shell is a 19th century church, but inside there are excavations from a 4th century Gallo-Roman necropolis, a 12th century monastery, and more.

There were so many archeological finds at the site that the church was deconsecrate and made into a museum in the 1980’s.

One large area covered by a glass roof is an on-going archeological dig site, with exposed graves. Over 1,500 graves and 3,000 objects have been found at the site!

The audio guides do a good job of explaining both the forensic science of the sites and the the history of the time. I was confused at some stations though because I didn't realize the audio guides need a few seconds to sync before they play, so be aware of that!

There were also a few interactive exhibits to watch video clips or learn in a more hands-on way.

The 6th century St. Oyand Crypt is considered the gem of the museum. Only three such Merovingian crypts survive to the present, and the re-discovery of the St. Oyand Crypt made the site one of France's first "Historic Monuments."

The crypt features an exhibit where you could listen to the acoustics and vibrations of early Christian music as they might have been heard when the crypt was in use.

Activities:

Outside there were a few different stations set up to help visitors imagine life in prehistoric France.

I did not partake, but my nieces got to make bread by grinding grain, mixing it with fruit and water, and putting it on a rock over a fire.

They also made cute seashell necklaces using prehistoric tools.

I did watch a guy explain how to make fire using a flint, iron, and mushroom fiber, which was really cool.

Everyone working there was extremely nice. I was really impressed with how friendly and patient all of the staff were.

Conclusion:

We spent two hours here, with about 45 minutes on the activities. I got to see awesome stuff and learn new things. For free! Can’t do much better than that on a trip to Grenoble.