Current Archaeology’s August Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home

This article is from Current Archaeology issue 414

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EVENT

Heritage Open Days

Various locations, 6-15 September, http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk

England’s largest festival of history and culture returns this September, brought to you by the National Trust, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, and run by thousands of local organisations and volunteers. From historic houses to factories, museums to music halls, and formal gardens to graveyards, a variety of places and spaces across the country will again open for free this autumn. Throughout the ten-day festival, hundreds of events and experiences will explore this year’s theme: ‘Routes – Networks – Connections’. Visit the website to find out what is happening near you.

CONFERENCE 

• Artefacts, Landscapes and Collaborative Research 

British Museum, London, 21 September, http://www.medievalarchaeology.co.uk/events/conferences

This conference, hosted jointly by the Society for Medieval Archaeology and the Portable Antiquities Scheme, will explore the theme ‘Artefacts, Landscapes and Collaborative Research’. Keynote lectures are to be given by Roberta Gilchrist (‘Medieval Ritual Objects in the Landscape: mapping meaningful deposition’) and Annemarieke Willemsen (‘Daily Life, Disaster and Discovery: small metal finds from the drowned land in the Netherlands’), with other speakers covering a wide range of subjects, sites, and regions. Tickets cost £20 for members of the Society for Medieval Archaeology and £45 for non members. 

• Illuminating the Past: science in archaeology 

Welton Village Hall, Ryland Road, Welton, Lincoln LN2 3LU, 28 September, http://www.slha.org.uk/events/index.php

The Society for Lincolnshire History & Archaeology presents a conference on the uses of science in archaeology. The talks include ‘Recent innovations in archaeological assessment and prospection’, ‘DNA and the genetics of past human populations with specific reference to Roman Britain’, ‘Ageing markers in teeth and their use in archaeology and forensics’, and ‘Alive and well in Lincoln: mitochondrial DNA and descendants related to Richard III in Lincolnshire’. Tickets cost £25 for SLHA members and £32 for non-members, and can be booked online through Eventbrite.

LECTURE

Leicester’s Lost Medieval Churches 

Leicester Cathedral, 12 September, http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leicester-uncovered-talk-leicesters-lost-medieval-churches-tickets-902161157307

In the medieval period, there were 17 churches and religious houses in the borough of Leicester. Today, only six survive. Join archaeologist Mathew Morris from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services for a Leicester Uncovered talk about excavations over the past 40 years that have rediscovered the buildings and graveyards of seven of these missing sites, providing a unique insight into the lives of the people who used them. Tickets cost £5.50, or £3.50 for concessions. 

EXHIBITION 

Tower Bridge at the Heritage Gallery

Guildhall Art Gallery, London, Until 19 September, http://www.thecityofldn.com/event/heritage-gallery-exhibition-tower-bridge

To celebrate the birthday of Tower Bridge, the London Metropolitan Archives presents a new free display that marks 130 years of its history. In this mini-exhibition, you can dive into the bridge’s story – from humble beginnings in the imagination of City Architect Sir Horace Jones, all the way to becoming one of London’s most visited heritage attractions – and explore behind-the-scenes stories unearthed among previously unseen Tower Bridge archives. Entry is included with a free general admission ticket to the Guildhall Art Gallery.

HERITAGE FROM HOME

VIRTUAL VISITS

• Acropolis Museum, Greece

https://artsandculture.google.com/story/oQVxg4AKI5I7sA

Take a virtual tour of the Acropolis Museum in Athens, learn more about the artefacts it holds, and discover the ancient neighbourhood that lies beneath it with these resources from Google Arts & Culture.

• National Napoleonic Museum of Aix Island, France 

http://www.zooomez.fr/MC/musee-napoleonien-aix

Learn about the house where Napoleon spent his last days on French soil, now home to the collections of Baron Gourgaud, great grandson of General Gaspard Gourgaud, who was a companion of Napoleon on St Helena.

• Warkworth Castle, UK

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/warkworth-castle-and-hermitage/history/virtual-tour

Discover the Great Tower of this spectacular medieval fortress in Northumberland, once home to the powerful Percy family, and find out more about its history. 

• Tomb of Seti I, Egypt

https://mused.com/en/guided/926/tomb-of-seti-i-valley-of-the-kings

Explore the tomb of Pharaoh Seti I of the 19th Dynasty, one of the largest and most richly decorated in the Valley of the Kings, with this new virtual tour. 

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Maritime Archaeology Trust

http://www.maritimearchaeologytrust.org/discovery-hub

Explore an array of audio and video media, booklets, interactives, and educational resources on the Maritime Archaeology Trust’s Discovery Hub.

• Native Knowledge 360°

http://www.americanindian.si.edu/nk360

The Smithsonian presents a collection of educational resources associated with the National Museum of the American Indian, providing new perspectives on Native American history and cultures.

• History’s Secret Heroes 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001mcbp

Discover extraordinary stories of deception, and acts of resistance and courage, from the Second World War with this BBC Radio 4 podcast presented by Helena Bonham Carter.

• #ScotlandDigs2024

http://www.x.com/hashtag/ScotlandDigs2024 

Find dig diaries and updates about the discoveries being made at excavations across Scotland this summer under the #ScotlandDigs2024 hashtag on social media.

FAMILY FUN

• ArcVenture Online – The Romans Chapter One 

https://arcventure.online/downloads/arcventure-online

Try out this game (download for £6.99) to learn more about Roman Britain as you explore Bancroft Villa, solve puzzles about archaeological discoveries, and go back in time to meet the people who lived there.  

• Mysteries of the Pyramids with Dara Ó Briain

http://www.channel5.com/show/mysteries-of-the-pyramids-with-dara-o-briain 

Dara Ó Briain and a team of experts investigate some of the most intriguing questions surrounding the pyramids of Egypt in this two-part series.

• Puzzle Party – Guangzhou Museum Collections

https://artsandculture.google.com/experiment/puzzle-party-%E2%80%94-guangzhou-museum-collections/XAEXrP-meIeVZw

Choose from pictures of hundreds of artworks and artefacts that are held in the collections of Guangzhou Museum in this special edition of Google Arts & Culture’s ‘Puzzle Party’ online game. 

• Easter Island Origins 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0020545/easter-island-origins 

Find out about new research that is changing our understanding of the famous giant stone statues of Easter Island and of the people who made them.  

Go digging!
We are always glad to hear from projects offering digging opportunities to the public. If you would like 
to highlight an upcoming excavation to our readers, please get in touch at cp@currentpublishing.com.