Musec Ampus
The fascinating history of the Museum of World Writing: from the origins of writing to a collection of groundbreaking artefacts
The museum offers a unique opportunity to discover the importance of writing in conserving history, knowledge and culture. The creation of the Museum of Writing thus serves to promote and raise awareness of the rich written culture of different peoples around the world.
AN HISTORIC SITE IN AMPUS
A dynamic and ambitious project in a rural and cultural environment
The remarkable building is next to a recognised geological curiosity, “La Roche Aiguille.” Known as “The Scriptorium,” the Museum covers an area of 230 m² and is designed in accordance with conservation and security standards to house museum-quality works: the Musec collection as well as exhibits and loans from other museums.
Over time, the Musec aspires to incorporate the whole village into a museum dedicated to writing; a true outdoor space with its streets, squares, washhouses, a garden with the Stations of the Cross, and its viewpoints.
The Museum focuses on writing systems across space and time: from proto-writing to our contemporary writing systems.
The village museum Musec offers content that is relevant, innovative, stimulating and surprising, both in terms of substance and form.
Writing opens up areas of exploration in multiple scientific disciplines, whether we consider the act of writing to be the creation and recognition of meaningful symbols, whether we reduce it to its fundamental aspects related to gestures, tools and media, or whether we approach the vast universe of textual creation or that of books. It can also be considered from the perspective of graphic design, advertising, calligraphy, and even art…
The writings highlight the rich diversity of forms and invite us on a journey through a world as vast as ancient and future eras.
The history of these different writing systems, now well documented, readily reveals the complexity of the mechanisms that led to their invention. The integration of writing into a global conception of the world and the relationships that humans have with it is equally evident across all cultures.
This is precisely why institutions such as Musec are so important: to show the public the diversity and richness of the issues raised by the invention of writing.
Musec will establish its own unique identity, complementing the Champollion Museum in Figeac, which is represented on MusEc’s scientific committee by its director.
The distinctive feature of our museum is that it presents historical elements, but above all new forms of writing: computer language, pictograms, logos, emoticons, Braille, etc.
A Talisman full of character
Our heartfelt thanks go to Mr Jean-Paul ITIÉ and his team at the SOLEIL Synchrotron, who rapidly put their scientific knowledge and expertise in high-tech facilities to work to explore the secrets of the talisman, the subject of an exemplary multidisciplinary meeting (high technology, physics, historical sciences, archaeology, philology).
Come and discover its secret essence.
Episode 1: Discovery of the Talisman Roll
Episode 2: Presentation of the scripts and their translation
Episode 3: A voyage through writing with Luc Bachelot
The Village of Writing
Open-air urban exhibition spaces
Writings will be displayed throughout the village, on its streets, squares and heritage sites – including along the water trail and the Stations of the Cross – as well as at its panoramic viewpoints, bringing a dynamic feel to the village.
The development of outdoor spaces will enable the rollout of a rich and demanding programme of cultural activities in terms of scientific, recreational and educational quality.
Rencontre avec le Musée d'Anthropologie Préhistorique de Monaco
Nous tenons à exprimer notre profonde gratitude pour ce premier contact avec le musée d’Anthropologie préhistorique de Monaco, représenté par sa directrice, madame ROSSONI-NOTTER, et son équipe : Olivier Notter – Chargé de recherches Jérôme Magail – Chargé de recherches et Abdelkader Moussous – Chargé de Médiation scientifique
Accompagné par le Pr Denis ALLEMAND membre du comité scientifique du musée des écritures, l’accueil chaleureux et l’échange constructif ont été des moments précieux, nous permettant d’explorer les possibilités de collaboration à partir de ses réserves exceptionnelles, qui s’étendent bien au-delà de la période préhistorique.
Nous sommes impatients de poursuivre cette collaboration fructueuse et d’explorer ensemble de nouvelles perspectives.
AMPUS, the Village Museum of Writing
A full review of a scientific and cultural project
December 2025
A site meeting with our architect Maddalena Giovannini took place this afternoon. There are still some adjustments to be made, but the insulation, cladding and ducts are now in place.
The renovation of the façade, with the stone joints left exposed, is almost complete, perfectly conserving the historic character of the building.
Beautiful spaces to house the Musec’s collections.
October 2025
A very important milestone in the construction process with the installation of the magnificent roof structure covering the 200 m² of the future permanent exhibition space.
Congratulations to Dragui Construction, who are carrying out this structural work efficiently.
September 2025
A new partner for the Musec’s immersive space.
We are delighted to announce the arrival of a prestigious new partner: the Crédit Agricole Provence Côte d’Azur Corporate Foundation. Thanks to its generous support, the MusEc’s immersive space project is taking on a whole new dimension.
This partnership marks a key step in the creation of an innovative cultural venue, where the history of writing comes to life to offer you a unique experience.
A big thank you to the Foundation for its trust and commitment to our project. Together, we are preparing a cultural adventure that you will be able to discover very soon.
July 2025
The Musec was recognised by the Institut de France, specifically by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, a prestigious institution dedicated to the study of human sciences and writing since its foundation in 1663.
J-P Itie, A. King and M. Gorea presented the virtual reconstruction and decipherment of the Mandaean lead talisman scroll, one of our museum’s most significant artefact, to the Academicians and the Musec team, including C. Chilli, L. Bachelot and F. Pizzorni.
This outstanding presentation provided an exceptional interdisciplinary experience, combining high-tech physics (the Soleil synchrotron) with archaeology and epigraphy. It revealed fascinating insights into practices of writing and beliefs in magic in ancient Mesopotamia.
Watch the videos of the experiment on this website: A talisman full of character(s). 1-2-3.
July 2025
Doriane Boilly and Pierre Osenda from the Club Photo du Dragon took photographs of the items in the collection: scientific photographs for the appraisal of the objects, as well as artistic photographs for the general public.
A huge undertaking carried out with skill and expertise.
A big thank you from the whole Musec team.
June 2025
Video conference meeting of the restructured scientific committee
The following were among the members of the scientific committee:
- Ms Marianne Simon-Oikawa: Japanese Script Assistant Professor, Department of French Language and Literature, University of Tokyo, Japan. Member of the CEEI (Centre for the Study of Writing and the Image) and GreJa at Paris Diderot University – Paris 7.
- Ms Marie LAURELLIARD: Chinese writing. Senior Lecturer in Chinese Language and Civilisation, Lumière-Lyon 2 University, Institute of Transtextual and Transcultural Studies, affiliated with the CEEI and the IAO (Institute of East Asian Studies).
- Ms Hye-Gyeong KIM-DE CRESCENZO (Aix-Marseille University, Department of Asian Studies, Korean Section, Statutory Member of IrAsia) Korean writing.
- Ms Rina VIERS (Chair and Founder of the Alphabets Association) Senior Lecturer in Modern Hebrew and Lecturer in Hebrew at the Faculty of Arts, University of Nice.
- Mr Maxime ADEL (Aix-Marseille University) – Arabic script – calligrapher; Research Associate at IREMAM (2017); Senior Lecturer.
- Ms Florence PIZZORNI, Chief Curator of Heritage and Co-Chair of the Musec Scientific Committee.
- Mr Luc BACHELOT Former researcher at the CNRS – Joint Research Unit (UMR) No. 7041, Archaeology and Ancient Sciences Director of the Centre for the Study of Writing and the Image (CEEI) in Paris Co-chair of the scientific committee of the Musec.
- Mr Christian CHILLI, Chairman of the Friends of the Musec Association.
Start of construction work
After more than three years of work and planning, we are delighted to announce that construction work on the Museum of Writing is set to begin with the removal of the building’s roof.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to the departmental council for its unwavering financial support. A special thank you goes to our councillors, Ms Nathalie Perez-Leroux and Mr Louis Reynier, for their commitment and support throughout this project.
Stay tuned to follow the progress of the work and the next stages of this exciting adventure.
March 2025
Meeting with the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology in Monaco
We would like to express our deep gratitude for this initial meeting with the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology in Monaco, represented by its director, Ms ROSSONI-NOTTER, and her team: Olivier Notter – Research Fellow, Jérôme Magail – Research Fellow, and Abdelkader Moussous – Science Mediator.
Accompanied by Professor Denis ALLEMAND, a member of the Scientific Committee of the Museum of Writing, the warm welcome and constructive discussion were invaluable moments, enabling us to explore opportunities for collaboration based on the museum’s exceptional collections, which extend well beyond the prehistoric period.
We look forward to continuing this fruitful collaboration and exploring new avenues together.
February 2025
Friday 28 February: first meeting in the town hall and on site.
The project is finally underway.
November 2024
A video conference with Mr Mansour Ahmed, Director of the Centre for Writings and Scripts at the Library of Alexandria, to discuss a promising future partnership.
October 2024
Article in the Paper Var Matin on the Scientific Committee meeting.
October 2024
We are grateful for the wonderful support provided by Ms Nathalie Perez Leroux, a member of the departmental council, and DPVA.
October 2024
Meeting of the Scientific Committee to discuss the museum’s exhibition layout and the restructuring of the Scientific Committee and the Steering Committee. The session was recorded as part of the filming of a documentary on the creation of a museum in a rural area.
April 2024
Visit by Ms Myriam Garcia, sub-prefect, to the site of the future museum: “A highly original and appealing project.”
March 2024
The project has been very well received by the public.
February 2024
The talisman scroll and its Mandaean inscriptions are currently the subject of research by the team at the Centre for Research and Conservation of the Museums of France at the Louvre.
January 2024
The talisman scroll from our collection, studied by the team at the SOLEIL Synchrotron in Paris-Saclay, was virtually unrolled to reveal inscriptions in the Mandaic script.
November 2023
The Museum of Writing in Ampus is featured in an article in the November 2023 edition of the Var-Matin newspaper: ‘A major project in Ampus’.
October 2023
First meeting of the scientific committee on 26 October in Ampus.
August 2023
First version of the scientific section of the PSC.
July 2023
First draft of the Science and Culture Project – Cultural Component.
July 2023
Consultation meeting to develop the Scientific and Cultural Project.
June 2023
Florence Pizzorni, Chief Heritage Curator, joins the Scientific Advisory Board and launches the drafting of the Scientific and Cultural Project.
April 2023
Our webmaster, Ambre Ha Phuoc, was appointed to design the museum’s future website
July 2022
Maddalena Giovannini, a DPLG-qualified architect specialising in exhibition design and museography, was appointed.
March 2022
The Town Council approved the commissioning of the architectural and scenic design study for the Museum of Writing, as well as the creation of the presentation dossier by Ms Maddalena Giovannini, an architect and scenographer.
August 2021
Establishment of the Association of the Friends of the Museum of Writing .
June 2021
Luc Bachelot – Archaeologist, CNRS, Centre for the Study of Writing and Images.
May 2021
The Scientific Advisory Board was established.
March 2021
The town council approved plans to build a museum of writing.
The Var Council for Architecture, Urban Planning and the Environment was commissioned to provide advice.
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