Most people see the medieval period as an era of unsophisticated squalor, but it was in reality a period of great creativity and development. During the period many of the basic technologies which underpinned the renaissance and later the industrial revolution were first developed, while at the same time innovations from Roman times were rediscovered and refined. Some of them are so fundamental today that we hardly realise they were once major technological advances.
By giving people a hands-on opportunity to explore these technologies first-hand the exhibition is intended to give people an insight into the roots of modern technology and allow them to better appreciate the inventiveness of our ancestors. It will also help them gain a better understanding of history by letting people explore medieval innovations and get an idea of how these would have affected peoples lives in the period and after.
