Remains of Roman temple found beneath Glasspalace • Schunck* Museum/ Glasspalace • Heerlen • 2004

Background of the situation:
The Glasspalace in Heerlen was built in 1935. It has been fully renovated for some years, and was re-opened in 2004. Some people think that the costs of the renovation got out of hand. The building houses various cultural institutions like the library, a cinema and, in the cellar of the building, the Schunck* museum. The museum asked for a special project during the events of the re-opening.

Project – Fictional discovery
The fictional discovery of a Roman temple beneath the building was presented in various ways:
• a series of interviews with stakeholders was presented on screens throughout the building
• the outlines of the temple were depicted on the floor of the museum
• the statue of Minerva, found close to the Glasspalace, was borrowed from the Thermenmuseum and installed inside the outlines
• guided tours were offered along the outlines
• visitors were given a questionnaire about their ideas for the future of the temple and the Glasspalace

With every part of this work, a clear statement was made about the fictional character of the findings.