The Musée départemental de l'Oise (MUDO, Museum of the Oise Department) is a museum in the former bishop's palace in Beauvais. The museum is housed in the former palace of the Bishop of Beauvais, who was also the Count of Beauvais and a peer of France. The original palace was built on a Roman wall below the Beauvais Cathedral by Henry of France (c. 1121–75), son of King Louis VI of France and Bishop of Beauvais from 1149 to 1161. Following a riot in the 14th century the bishop built a fortified entrance guarded by two towers. In the 16th century Bishop Louis Villiers de l’Isle Adam (1497–1521) rebuilt the palace in Renaissance style with Gothic decoration. The clock tower in the facade holds a stairway leading up to a belfry with three bells, one of them made in 1506.
After the French Revolution the palace was made the seat of the prefecture in 1800, then returned to the bishopric in 1822. In 1846 it became a courthouse. In 1848 Prosper Mérimée had the building placed on the list of historical monuments. The court moved out of the building in 1973, and renovations were made between 1974 and 1981, when the museum opened. The building began to show structural problems caused by the many visitors, and was closed to the public in 1997. Temporary exhibitions were given in the structurally sound sections of the building. A renovation project was started in 2013 and the museum reopened in 2015.
In the center of the renovated Bishop's Palace the '19th Century Tour' leads past works by artists such as Camille Corot, Alfred Sisley, Paul Huet, Prosper Marilhat and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. There are decorative works by Alexis-Joseph Mazerolle and Pierre-Victor Galland, and ceramics by Jules-Claude Ziegler. The huge unfinished canvas Enrôlement des volontaires de 1792 by Thomas Couture is displayed in the old courtroom, along with many preparatory sketches. The museum puts on temporary exhibitions several times each year dedicated to specific artists or artistic movements, stages lectures and holds children's workshops.
The important Art Nouveau potter Auguste Delaherche was born in Beauvais, and later worked in the region. The museum has his bust by Pierre Félix Masseau, and also claims to have the 'most important' collection of his ceramics.
References:Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.
The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.
The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.
Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.
The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.
The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.