L'époque mérovingienne

The Merovingian period

First in the centre of the Provincia Belgica, Andenne is now situated in the heart of the Frankish kingdom. Under the Merovingian, between the accession of Clovis (482) and the one of Pippin the Short (751), the centre of gravity changed. So the management of all the territories moves from the Mediterranean along the river Seine to the valley of the Meuse.

The showcase expresses 3 influences that the Merovingian art has undergone: a barbaric one, a Roman and a Christian one.

The copy of a manuscript tells us how Begga, the great-great-grandmother of Charlemagne, had a monastery built in Andenne around 690.

The small hanging reliquary (a copy) contained the ashes of different saints.

The Merovingian pottery is relatively simple compared to that

the Romans but their ovens are similar.

A board explains the art of damascening: a decorating technique on metal like iron or steel by the inlaying of more flexible metal wires like gold or silver. In the same showcase you can also see objects found during excavations in Andenne and Sclayn.

The sarcophagus was dis-covered under the national road not far from the Saint Maurice church in Sclayn.

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