Jüngste Zeiten. Archäologie der Moderne an Rhein und Ruhr

Archaeology is not only concerned with the distant past epochs of human history. Today, archaeological finds from the industrial age, the period of the last 250 years or so, are increasingly being recognised as socially and scientifically significant cultural monuments. The exhibition and accompanying volume have been produced in collaboration with Essen's city archaeology department and are dedicated to the still young discipline of "modern archaeology".

On display are archaeological finds that have been recovered over the last two decades in Essen, the Ruhr region and the Rhineland. The spectrum of exhibits ranges from the industrial remains of the Krupp cast steel factory and traces of man's impact on his environment to artefacts from the personal possessions of individuals, evidence of the National Socialist era and finds from the final phase of the Second World War. Through the contribution of archaeological research, all these finds shed light on the cultural and event history of the late 18th to 20th centuries. The exhibition and catalogue have an interdisciplinary approach and were created with the collaboration of archaeologists, historians, numismatists, photographers, natural historians, anthropologists and archaeozoologists.