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Following the Eagle, After the Fire, and Treasure: Hidden, Lost, Found
CA recently visited exhibitions at three sites in the care of North East Museums, with displays exploring Roman military life and ideas of ‘treasure’.
Festival of Archaeology
This July, the Festival of Archaeology returns with an exciting mixture of digital and on-the-ground events, as well resources and activities, all centred around ‘Exploring Local Places’. Here is a taste of just some of the options.
Last supper in Pompeii
The Romans’ passion for fine dining is well known – now a mouth-watering new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum shows how the production, distribution and consumption for food and wine coloured every aspect of Roman life, as its curator Paul Roberts explains
On show: exhibitions from around the world – June 2021
Many museums and galleries around the world have recently reopened with safety measures in place, including compulsory booking and limits on visitor numbers. Closures are still a possibility, and the dates listed below may have changed since we went to print. Check the websites and social-media accounts of the institutions for the most up-to-date information, bookings, and, in many cases, a chance to explore their collections online.
Heritage from home: June
As museums and heritage sites reopen, we’re looking forward to visiting our favourite spots as soon as possible – but there are still plenty of resources available online from historical, archaeological, and cultural institutions and sites around the world, as well as podcasts, TV shows, social media content, and more. Current World Archaeology’s Amy Brunskill has put together another selection of options, as well as summarising some of the places that have recently reopened.
‘Who will deliver me from this turbulent priest?’ How two Henrys failed to erase the memory of Thomas Becket
The story of Thomas Becket’s murder in AD 1170 still resonates after 850 years, despite the attempts of Henry VIII to eradicate all memory of the man that Henry II reportedly called ‘this turbulent priest’. Henry VIII called for the destruction of his shrine and the defacing of prayer books referring to his martyrdom. Even so, the Becket cult refused to die, and the British Museum has brought together an array of pilgrim badges and reliquaries, medals, paintings, and stained glass to show us why so many people in medieval Europe flocked to his Canterbury shrine. Current Archaeology’s Chris Catling reports.
Nero’s Britain: rebellion, reconstruction, and a revised reputation
The Roman emperor Nero has long been reviled as a notorious tyrant, prone to lavish and often murderous excesses, who headed a chaotic regime that saw Britain erupt into open insurrection led by the rebel queen Boudica. A new exhibition at the British Museum presents a more nuanced picture, however, and Current Archaeology’s Carly Hilts spoke to the curator, Thorsten Opper, to find out more about what Nero’s reign had meant for Roman Britain.
Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard: secrets of a Viking Age collection from south-west Scotland
Buried c.AD 900, the Galloway Hoard is thought to be Scotland’s earliest-known Viking Age hoard. In the years since its discovery in 2014, wide-ranging research has illuminated its eclectic and often unique contents. As a new exhibition opens, exploring the story so far, Martin Goldberg takes us through some of the latest findings.
Interview: how the British Museum brought Becket back to life
Bringing together more than 100 objects from museums, churches, and private collections across Europe, ‘Thomas Becket: Murder and the making of a saint’ powerfully evokes the medieval era as it explores the life, death, and legacy of Henry II’s ‘turbulent priest’.
Baalbek Reborn: Temples
A new app offers an opportunity to experience an ancient site in its Roman heyday.
Museum – 1066 Battle of Hastings Abbey and Battlefield
Reviewing the best military history exhibitions with Calum Henderson.
Disney goes to war
More than 90% of the Disney company’s wartime output was dedicated to assisting in the struggle against Japan, Nazi Germany, and their allies.
Military History Events, Lectures, and Exhibitions – May
The best military history events, lectures, and exhibitions in May 2021, including an online course delving into the discovery of King Richard III in a car park, and an exhibit on Disney wartime propaganda.
Aircraft at RAF museum get a spring clean
The annual high-level cleaning took place at the end of April and was conducted by specialists from ArcoServices. The team also carried out various safety checks on the suspension cables which keep the aircraft in ‘flight’.
Thomas Becket: Canterbury Tales
In 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket was killed in his cathedral by knights linked to his former friend King Henry II. But how did Becket become a revered saint and protector of the king?
The Mary Rose Museum
The Mary Rose museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard was reopened 471 years to the day since the sinking of Henry VIII’s flagship – for the first time giving the public a clear view of her hull
Museo Nazionale: An Etruscan Renaissance in Florence
While there are impressive artefacts from all periods within, including a fantasy courtyard made from sculptural fragments of Roman Florentia, its glory is really the series of Etruscan antiquities.
Virtual visit to Wahtye’s tomb
A digital 3D model offers a new way to visit this remarkable ancient Egyptian site.
Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome
Proudly claiming to be ‘Europe’s largest surviving World War I aerodrome’, the museum welcomes visitors to an impressive, hundred-acre site.
New Welsh home confirmed for military medical museum
A new home in Cardiff Bay for the Museum of Military Medicine has been given the green light by the local council. Currently based in the village of Mytchett, Surrey, where it
The Dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo
Oliver Gilkes contemplates an ancient masterpiece plucked from the sea.