A large brown building stretches a few meters from the shores of Lake Paladru in Isère. It evokes a canoe and it is the brand new archaeological museum of Lake Paladru (MALP.) The project had been on the table since 2014 and after two years of work, it is almost ready to open its doors. The public will be able to discover everyday objects, tools and weapons that date back to from the Neolithic and the year 1000, from the Middle Ages from June 7.
– Noemie Philippot
A few paint strokes and some explanatory texts are still missing, but the 600 chosen objects to discover the underwater heritage discovered at the end of the 19th century are in place. They are all rare, protected by the waters of the lake. They “have made it possible to preserve the objects made of organic materials”of wood, bone or leather, “exceptional things that are not discovered in the context of earthly excavations” explains Isabelle Dahy, the director of the museum.
Rare objects, protected by the waters of the lake
But once out of the water, these objects degrade very quickly. A conservation technique has been developed from the 1970s with the CEA in Grenoble and the creation of the Arc-Nucléart laboratory, which continues its work with the museum to ensure that the conditions of exposure in the showcases are optimal. “It is a continuous work to stabilize the climatic environment, the hygrometry, the temperature as well as possible… so that these objects are kept in the most stable possible space” details Isabelle Dahy.
– Noemie Philippot
The objects come from different museums, notably the Dauphinois museum and the Savoy museum, they do not belong to the MALP. By walking from one window to another, visitors will learn more about the daily life of the men settled on the shores of Lake Paladru in the Neolithic and on that, years and years later, of those who came there as warriors in the Middle Ages. The objective is to initially attract 20,000 visitors per year.
Cultural wealth is important and a tool was needed that was up to this challenge.
For the president of the agglomeration community of the Voironnais country Bruno Cattin, this museum is iimportant for the attractiveness of the territory and finally highlights the excavations of the lake. “There was a dedicated place above the town hall of the Charavines commune but which did not have this magnitude there” he explains. This presentation had been put in place at the time of the excavations, which lasted from 1972 to 2009. “Cultural richness is important and we needed a tool that was up to this challenge and I think we succeeded.”
The construction of this new museum cost 6 million euros shared between the urban community, the State, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and the Department of Isère.
– Noemie Philippot