EXHIBITIONS
Labyrinth: Knossos, myth and reality
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
10 February-30 July
www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/labyrinth-knossos-myth-reality
The Ashmolean Museum presents the first UK exhibition focusing on the Bronze Age palace of Knossos on Crete – home to the Minoan civilisation – and its discovery and excavation more than a century ago, as well as the search for the legendary labyrinth that held the Minotaur. The exhibition will present more than 100 objects that have never before left Crete and Greece, as well as artefacts from the Ashmolean’s Sir Arthur Evans Archive, including excavation plans, artwork, and records from the site. Tickets cost £15.30, with concession prices available. Pre-booking is recommended.
Conserving Scotland’s Art
Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh
Until 16 April
www.nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/conserving-scotlands-art
The Scottish National Gallery is currently undergoing refurbishment in advance of the creation of new gallery spaces this year, and this informative display offers an overview of how conservators and conservation technicians are preserving art, objects, and cultural heritage at the National Galleries of Scotland. As well as giving visitors a peek behind the scenes of this ambitious conservation programme and spotlighting some of the methods and technical activities involved, the display poses the question: what does conservation mean to you? The display is free and open 10am-5pm daily.
EVENT
Staffordshire Archaeology Day 2023
The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent
18 March
www.stokearchaeologysociety.org.uk/pages/events/staffsarchday/sad2023/index.html
The Stoke-on-Trent Museum Archaeological Society and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery present Staffordshire Archaeology Day, featuring six illustrated lectures on the latest archaeological work in the region. Confirmed speakers include County Archaeologist Shane Kelleher on recent discoveries in Staffordshire, John Thomas on the Rutland Villa Project, Dr Nigel Baker on excavations at Shrewsbury Castle, Winston Hollins on a complex of 16th-century cruck buildings at Hilderstone, and Teresa Gilmore on new finds reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme. This is a free event, open to SoTMAS members and non-members alike, but attendees are advised to reserve a ticket online.
LECTURES
Traditions of Death and Burial
Highgate Cemetery, Swain’s Lane, London
23 February
www.highgatecemetery.org/events
In this talk organised by Highgate Cemetery, Dr Helen Frisby will explore the range of traditions surrounding death and burial customs throughout English history, from the Norman Conquest right up to the present day. From winding-sheets and funeral bells to the Alexa Ghostbot, this event will examine how ritual continues to help us relate to the dead in ways that are both innovative and longstanding. Tickets cost £10 and include a glass of wine. Doors open at 7pm, with the event starting at 7.30pm.
Rethinking the bog bodies of later prehistoric Europe: evidence for trauma and physical injury in context
University of Birmingham Guild of Students
7 March
www.bwas-online.co.uk/lecture-programme-2022-23
The Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society’s March lecture, presented by Professor Henry Chapman from the University of Birmingham, will explore the physical injuries found on later prehistoric bog bodies and consider the extent to which these patterns of trauma support popular interpretations connected to human sacrifice. The lecture is free for members of the BWAS and of affiliated societies. Non-members are welcome but are required to book tickets in advance (£5 plus booking fee). Under-16s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
VIRTUAL VISITS
• Colour: Art, Science & Power, UK
www.museums.cam.ac.uk/story/colour-art-science-and-power
Enjoy a virtual version of the exhibition currently on display at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge, which examines the different ways in which colours are experienced and given meaning.
• Zeguma Mosaic Museum, Turkey
https://fromhome.turkishmuseums.com/museums/Zeugma/
Take a 360° tour of the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep, Turkey – the largest mosaic museum in the world – which includes more than 2,000m2 of mosaics from the Roman and Late Antique period.
• Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt
https://giza.mused.org/en/guided/266/inside-the-great-pyramid
For the first time ever, visit the full interior of Pharaoh Khufu’s pyramid online, with this resource from Digital Giza. Step inside the famous Giza monument, and find out more about the site as you explore.
• Notre-Dame de Paris, France
www.friendsofnotredamedeparis.org/virtual-tour-notre-dame
Explore Notre-Dame Cathedral, from its galleries to its flying buttresses, with this virtual tour created before the fire of 2019, and find out more about its history and construction.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
• Legend of Alderley Edge
www.invisibleworlds.ac.uk
Explore the history and storytelling surrounding Alderley Edge in Cheshire with this new app from the Invisible Worlds research project, which offers an augmented reality view of the landscape, specially commissioned soundscapes, and more.
• Rhyd-y-car: Miner’s Homes Through Time
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/GwWhwQqgrbN8mA
Travel back in time and see how miner’s cottages in Wales changed from 1805 to 1985 with this resource, created by National Museum Wales and now available on Google Arts & Culture.
• The Museums That Make Us
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0015474
In this series for BBC Radio 4, art historian Neil MacGregor visits local, regional, and city museums around Britain to find out more about the highlights of their collections and the work they are doing.
• Oxford Museum Natural History TikTok
www.tiktok.com/@morethanadodo
Explore the Oxford University Museum of Natural History with short, informative, and entertaining videos featuring highlights from the collection, from dinosaurs to the famous dodo.
FAMILY FUN
• The Argo Odyssey
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z7nrydm/articles/z2ngf82
Learn about life and culture in ancient Greece with this online history game from BBC Bitesize, which allows you to explore the Minotaur’s maze, train with the Spartan army, participate in the Olympic Games, and more.
• Hnefatafl
www.english-heritage.org.uk/members-area/kids/saxons-vikings/hnefatafl-viking-board-game
Try your hand at the tactical Viking board game of Hnefatafl, or ‘The King’s Table’ in Old Norse, with this English Heritage resource that provides everything you need to make and play it at home.
• Digging for Britain
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b014hl0d
Discover the latest archaeological work being carried out across the UK as Alice Roberts visits a previously unknown Roman town, an Elizabethan ship buried beneath a quarry, and much more.
• Why We Dig
www.digventures.com/watch/why-we-dig
In Season 2 of Why We Dig, the DigVentures team explores archaeological work at five sites around Britain, from the first Romans to cross the Humber to the last mammoths to live in Britain.
• Shackleton’s Cabin
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001grr7
Follow conservation expert Sven Habermann as he painstakingly restores Ernest Shackleton’s cabin aboard the Quest and finds out more about the life and final days of the famous Arctic explorer.
