The Hôtel Cujas, which is a listed historical monument, has housed the Berry Museum since 1892.
The ground floor is occupied by the archaeological collections, with protohistoric (locally-found bronze Etruscan artefacts) and especially Gallo-Roman finds. Bourges-Avaricum was the capital of the ancient province of Aquitaine.
The lapidary section includes a large number of funeral items (220 steles), as well as fragments of religious architecture and sculptures.
Sculptures from the Holy Chapel of Bourges, mourners from the tomb of Duke John of Berry, as well as stained glass windows and precious objects are exhibited in another aisle of the museum.
Paintings and drawings by Jean Boucher, a particularly active artist in Bourges during the first third part of the 17th century, can also be seen in the same aisle.
On the first floor, rural life in Berry in the 19th century is brought to life through everyday items, furniture, costumes, tools used by farmers and craftsmen. A room is devoted to the works of the famous 19th century potters from the village of La Borne : the Talbot family.
Finally, another small room exhibits Egyptian funeral objects, including a mummy in its sarcophagus.
References:The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.