Artefact

This article is from Current Archaeology issue 418

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REVIEW BY CH

Corinium is how the Romans knew Cirencester; today it is the name of the Cotswold town’s museum. Its displays include a wealth of Roman finds, as well as artefacts spanning prehistory to the present day – and these objects have now inspired 27 different writers in an absorbing, eclectic anthology of poems, short stories, and autobiographical writings.

Among the artefacts selected for immortalisation in text are such diverse items as a cockerel figurine from a Roman child’s grave, an Iron Age brooch, a medieval birthing chair, a Minoan pendant, an ammonite fossil, and an 18th-century mourning ring – as well as a rather cheeky address written from the perspective of a gold coin, and a deeply poignant poem inspired by an unfinished Klimt painting.

With writings ranging from humorous and relatable themes to haunting and lyrical explorations of human experiences across time, this curious collection is a delight to dip into; reading its eclectic entries feels like browsing a display case packed with intriguing objects.

Artefact
Carlos Almonacid et al.
Crumps Barn Studio, £10.99
ISBN 978-1915067654

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Michael J Jones
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ISBN 978-1803278476

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Wordwell, £40
ISBN 978-1916742086

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Oliver H Creighton et al. (eds)
Liverpool University Press, £50
ISBN 978-1836243359

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Sidestone Press, £45
ISBN 978-9464263268

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ISBN 978-0691222516

Plymouth’s Military Heritage
Ernie Hoblyn
Amberley, £15.99
ISBN 978-1398120327

Embers of the Hands:  hidden histories of the Viking Age
Eleanor Barraclough
Profile Books, £11.99 
ISBN 978-1788166751