In connection with the renovation of the Castle District, there has been a lot of talk recently about the former Teleki Palace on the corner of Szent György Square. However, the archaeologists of the Budapest History Museum have been conducting excavations the area, which is under archaeological protection due to its proximity to the Royal Palace, for more than 20 years.

In October 1999, during archaeological excavations in the area, a well was found dug into the rock. The muddy layer, which filled the bottom 5 metres of the well and contained a rich assemblage of artefacts, had probably been filled in during a clean-up. Fortunately, the absence of air and the constant supply of water preserved the organic material (leather, wood, textiles).

The tapestry with the Hungarian-Angevin coat-of-arms was excavated in the form of a crumpled mudball at a depth of about 10 m. The date of the burial of the tapestry in the ground at the bottom of the well, recovered from the silt fill, dates back to the reign of King Sigismund of Luxembourg (1390-1427). The excitement over the find began to build when recognisable textile fragments began to unfold under the hands of the restorers, and reached its peak when our colleagues determined that these textile fragments could be pieced together into a marvelous silk tapestry presumably belonging to the royal court. This find is now one of the most precious relics of medieval Hungarian history.

Visitors can see objects of daily use (e.g. medieval shoes) that recall an exciting past and still raise many questions, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the excavation with the help of Dorottya B. Nyékhelyi, the archaeologist in charge of the excavation.

Duration: 60 minutes
Max. number of participants: 15

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Please note that the program is in Hungarian.