Virtual Vikings and Cleopatra to visit London
Two newly announced exhibitions, set to open in London later this month, will bring the Viking Age and Cleopatra’s Egypt to life through a combination of cutting-edge digital technology, dramatic projections, and displays of replica and real artefacts.
Vikings: the Immersive Experience will open at Dock X in Canada Water on 12 March. Set in the time of Ragnar Lodbrok – a semi-legendary ruler known from Old Norse literature and, more recently, Netflix’s Vikings – its narrative focuses on his wife, Queen Kraka/Aslaug, and their more historically attested sons, who are associated with the Viking Great Army’s invasion of England in the 9th century. The experience will include elaborate full-sized sets, where visitors can enjoy an audio tour and a virtual-reality experience (a ‘Junior VR adventure’ is also available), as well as interactive touchscreens and a reconstructed longship (below) accompanied by a 30-minute cinematic projection.
Cleopatra: the Experience, which will open at Immerse LDN, Royal Victoria Dock, on 26 March, examines the reign of ancient Egypt’s final pharaoh, with nine interactive galleries offering 8m-high (26ft) projections, holograms, virtual reality, and displays of more than 20 Hellenistic and late Egyptian objects.
These exhibitions represent the latest instalments in a series of history-themed spectacles presented by FKP Scorpio Entertainment Ltd; previous themes have included the world of Tutankhamun (see CA 423) and the destruction of Pompeii (running at Immerse LDN until 15 March; see CA 430). See http://www.vikings-immersive.co.uk and http://www.cleopatraexperience.co.uk/london for more details.
Rise of the Romans at Stanwick Lakes
Stanwick Lakes country park in Northamptonshire is set to launch a major heritage programme exploring the Nene Valley’s Roman past, following a £250,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Today a 750-acre (300ha) nature reserve, Stanwick Lakes’ artificially flooded landscape reflects extensive gravel-quarrying that took place between 1985 and 2004: works that were accompanied by archaeological excavations that uncovered Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds, an Iron Age settlement, a Roman villa, and medieval villages (see CA 75, CA 97, and CA 106). The park is already home to a number of heritage initiatives, including a museum, a Traditional Crafts Barn, reconstructed roundhouses, and an Iron Age garden – and now it is the Romans’ turn in the spotlight.
Over the course of two years, ‘From Iron to Empire’ will feature experimental archaeology initiatives including the creation of a working replica of a Roman pottery kiln, and a joint project with the Northants Guild of Spinners, Weavers, and Dyers to reconstruct Romano-British clothing using authentic techniques. New interpretative materials will also be installed on the site of the Roman villa.
Running alongside this work, Dr James Dilley of AncientCraft will lead a second phase of the Big Bronze Age Boat Build (CA 416) at the park, working with volunteers to construct a logboat using replica tools and traditional techniques.
See http://www.stanwicklakes.org.uk/from-iron-to-empire-an-exciting-new-heritage-project-begins for more information.
New exhibitions
Trysor
28 March 2026-4 April 2027
Oriel Mon, Rhosmeirch, Anglesey
http://www.orielmon.org/en/exhibitions/trysor
Un/Common People: folk culture in Wessex
Until 10 May 2026
Salisbury Museum
https://salisburymuseum. org.uk/whats-on/un-common-people-folk-culture-in-wessex/
The Last Princesses of Punjab
26 March-8 November 2026
Kensington Palace, London
http://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/whats-on/the-last-princesses-of-punjab
Last chance to see
Marie Antoinette Style
Until 22 March 2026
V&A South Kensington, London
http://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/marie-antoinette
Images of Authority: portraits between Iran and Europe
Until 15 March 2026
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
http://www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/images-of-authority-portraits-between-iran-and-europe
Treasure: history unearthed
Until 29 March 2026
Museum of Liverpool
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatson/museum-of-liverpool/exhibition/treasure-history-unearthed
