Archeological museum Rijksmuseum voor Oudheden (RMO) in Leiden has started a project to return 150 artefacts to the places they were found so more people can enjoy them.

The museum is using a €1 million lottery grant to finance 10 exhibitions at museums across the country between 2023 and 2027.

Like big archaeological museums everywhere, the RMO used to take any find of importance, usually because local museums lack the resources to exhibit them properly and safely.

Since 2015 it is up to the culture minister which museum is allocated an important artefact but the Leiden museum still holds  many finds.

“The national collection belongs to everyone and that is why we want these finds to be admired across the country,” RMO director Wim Weijland told the NRC.

The project, dubbed Onder Ons (amongst ourselves) can also count on a €200,000 investment from the museum itself,  the use of the artefacts and display cabinets as well as money to pay for the lay out and publicity around the exhibitions.

The Stadsmuseum in Rhenen is one of the museums to benefit from the scheme. The museum chose to highlight a treasure trove of jewellery found locally 75 years ago at an early medieval burial site.

“We are very happy about the cooperation with the RMO, ” director Maike Woldring told the paper. “Visitor numbers have doubled since April and we are starting special educational programmes for primary schools,” she said.

Some of the finds, such as an iron age sword found in Oss in 1933, which was shown at the local Jan Cunen Museum, have prompted calls to return the object for good.

Woldring said he hoped that some of the objects, such as the Rhenen exhibits, can stay there for longer. “I have no problem with long-term loans. Last year, 1,500 objects were loaned long-term.”