It focuses on the Pilgrim history. That sends a shiver though them. No one knows exactly where Robinson's remains lie. Not even Bangs, though he knows almost every meetinghouse, every marketplace and every spot where Pilgrim houses once stood. From his museum in the shadow of the 15th-century Hooglandsekerk, the church where Fletcher's grandchildren were baptized, Bangs talks about the need to preserve tangible evidence of the past in order to understand it.
None is labeled.
Instead, the director himself gives the tour. And with his help, you begin to see yourself wielding the heavy iron utensils and swinging pots over the open fire to heat your food, then serving it on the chunky redware pottery alongside a jug of beer you fetched from the local tavern. He wants to expand his exhibits into the 15th-century house next door. That sticks in the craw of Alexander Pechtold, Leiden's alderman for cultural affairs. One of the things Pechtold objects to is the way Bangs has used the Internet to rally support among historical societies in the United States.