Since 2009, Dijon has been labeled a City of Art and History, a recognition based on constant research, mediation and restoration work.
After the doors, then the floors, it is now up to the walls to reveal their secrets. The Dijon Architecture and Heritage Interpretation Center, 1204, is hosting for four months a unique exhibition devoted to the archeology of buildings, the result of a partnership between the City and the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP).
“Walls that reveal many secrets to us”
By inaugurating this exhibition, the mayor of Dijon Nathalie Koenders recalled how the city is committed to promoting its heritage in all its forms.
“If the temporary exhibition completed last May invited us to take a fresh look at the doors, and if the Jardin de l’Arquebuse has taken us since April on a fascinating exploration of the floors, today it is the walls which call our attention,” she declared.
“Walls that reveal many secrets to us, as long as we take the trouble to listen to their whispers. »
Designed by INRAP, the exhibition opens the doors to a “rather unexpected” archeology: that of buildings. “Like all floors, walls have a lot to teach us about the societies that preceded us, their beliefs, their habits and their functioning,” continued Nathalie Koenders.
Dijon, an inexhaustible land of history
The mayor wanted to point out that Dijon is constantly exploring its past. “We are tirelessly trying to explore our past, which is very rich,” she insisted, referring to the recent excavations which accompanied major urban development projects: burials near Saint-Jean Park, discoveries at the Joséphine Becker school, or even the restoration of the House with Three Faces, of which “the felling of the trees used for construction could be dated with incredible precision, between 1437 and 1438.
Since 2009, Dijon has been labeled a City of Art and History, a recognition based on constant research, mediation and restoration work. “Preserving and passing on our heritage obviously means maintaining it, restoring it, but not only that,” added the mayor.
“It also means transmitting and promoting the knowledge it contains, bringing it to life, giving it meaning, and opening it to all residents. »
“A shared desire to promote history together”
Speaking in turn, Laurent Vaxelaire, director of INRAP Burgundy–Franche-Comté, underlined the importance of the partnership between the Institute and the City.
“The scientific and cultural valorization of archaeological results, particularly for the general public, is truly part of humanity,” he recalled.
This transmission work, carried out through “workshops, conferences, educational activities and exhibitions”, is based, according to him, on “the partnerships that the Institute forges with communities”.
The cultural and scientific agreement signed in January 2024 with the City of Dijon “takes on its full meaning today”, added Laurent Vaxelaire. “By presenting this exhibition of archaeocapsules at the Architecture and Heritage Interpretation Center, the City and INRAP affirm their mutual trust and their shared desire to promote urban history together. »
An archaeocapsule on the walls… and what they say about us
The archeocapsule system, explained Laurent Vaxelaire, consists of “small traveling exhibitions designed and produced by INRAP”. Each addresses a contemporary issue, health, relationship to death, migration, environment, to “show what we share with the humans who preceded us”.
The exhibition presented in Dijon, entitled Open the walls“addresses the question of constructions” and “shows how they reflect the economies, organizations and beliefs of societies”.
This approach is illustrated locally by the study of the Tower of Bar, carried out during the renovation of the Museum of Fine Arts between 2016 and 2019. “Its analysis revealed a complex building, subject to incessant transformations,” specified Laurent Vaxelaire.
The windows display “objects that are sometimes anecdotal, such as nails or fragments of leather, but which illustrate life on the Tower construction site in the 14th century”.
Before concluding, the regional director wanted to thank “the Dijon teams who participated in this presentation – the heritage department, the city services, the museum – as well as the archaeologists from INRAP, in particular Benjamin Saint-Pontitus, scientific manager of the project”.
The 1204, showcase of a living heritage
Since its opening in May 2022, 1204 has welcomed nearly 180,000 visitors, demonstrating the public’s interest in Dijon’s heritage. “The 1204 carries this vision of culture at the service of society as a whole,” welcomed Nathalie Koenders.
She also announced the next temporary exhibition, scheduled for early 2026: Inner past“which will invite us to go beyond the walls to enter the interiors of Dijon at the end of the Middle Ages”.
And to conclude: “Walls, these essential elements of our urban landscape, demarcate public and private space. They protect at the same time as they hinder. Some say they have ears… Well today, let’s learn to listen to these silent witnesses who keep our history within them. »
Manon Bollery
