Veres László - Viga Gyula szerk.: A Herman Ottó Múzeum műkincsei (Miskolc, 1999)

A HERMAN OTTÓ MÚZEUM 1899-1999

been always published in special volumes. The activity of the Herman Ottó Museum became more and more two-fold because of the change of the system of financing. Budget provided by the maintainance, supplied only the pure ability to function, but conditions for professional work had to be obtained mainly from other sources. The most significant results of the 1990s were provided by outside supporters, sponsors. Between 1993-1996 archaeologists of the museum conducted rescue works on a 80 km long, 70 m wide territory of the track of the motorway M3. They investigated 65 sites on large surfaces. From the profits of this enterprise a 1700 mf big archaeological storage basis was obtained. It became possible to finance long term scientific programs. In 1995 a large scale exhibition presenting the relics of the Hungarian Conquest was arranged. It was on show also in Italy and France. The monography of the famous Hungarian cemetery of Karos and the volume representing the folk art of County Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, richly illustrated with a number of colour photographs were published. Significant research programs have been finished, like the historicalethnographical investigation of the valley of Bodrog, valley of Bódva, or the repertórium of the literary sites of the county. All the results of these research programs have been published by the museum. By 1996, after the motorway rescue excavations and as a result of collecting activities of certain departments, the number new objects acquired by the museum was 180 000. The whole collection now reaches 600 000 pieces. From 1996 economic conditions worstened every year. Thus, the main goal became the conservation of the results of the museum, and keeping the level of the professionalscientific activities. One of the means of this goal is the successful celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Herman Ottó Museum. This volume representing our most precious objects also was published to this occasion. We hope that it helps to attract the public interest to the museum. We also hope that in the future the museum is not going to be purely a vegetating storage, desperately fighting for surviving for the next generation, but a country wide and internationally recognized scientific workshop.