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

This article is from Current Archaeology issue 417

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EXHIBITION

The Great Mughals: art, architecture, and opulence

Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 9 November 2024-5 May 2025, http://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/great-mughals-art-architecture-opulence

A major exhibition opening soon at the V&A South Kensington will celebrate the remarkable creative output and internationalist culture of the ‘Golden Age’ of the Mughal Court (c.1560-1660), during the reigns of its most famous emperors: Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan. Rarely seen objects from the V&A collection will be featured alongside national and international loans, including paintings, illustrated manuscripts, textiles, architectural pieces, and vessels made of a variety of precious materials. Tickets cost £22, with concessions available. Advance booking is recommended. 

Medieval Women: in their own words  

British Library, London, 25 October 2024-2 March 2025, https://medievalwomen.seetickets.com

Discover the women of medieval Europe through their own words, visions, and experiences. This new exhibition, open now at the British Library, explores the rich and complex lives of women in the Middle Ages, with over 140 objects that highlight their artistry, resourcefulness, courage, and struggles. Among the items on display are the first work in English definitely authored by a woman, a 15th-centry birthing girdle, and a rare surviving painting from a medieval English nunnery. Adult tickets cost £17, with concession prices available. 

Waters Rising 

Perth Museum, Perth, 8 November 2024-16 March 2025, https://perthmuseum.co.uk/inside-the-museum/watersrising

This upcoming exhibition at Perth Museum will explore stories and objects connected to flooding in Scotland and further afield. Putting the local experience in a global context, Waters Rising will feature an Egyptian sarcophagus with Nile flood damage, a rare illuminated Bible from the 13th century, and ceremonial brass bowls commemorating the Hindu flood myth of Vasudeva and Krishna, among other artefacts and more contemporary artworks, as well as photos, memories, and stories from local people. Tickets are available using a ‘Pay What You Choose’ model. 

CONFERENCE

Pots, Coins, Artefacts, and Archives 

King’s Church Hall, Lewes, Sussex, and online, 9.15am-5.15pm on 16 November 2024, http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/931983336247 

The Sussex School of Archaeology & History, in association with CBA SE, presents this memorial conference in honour of Dr Malcolm Lyne, an exceptional scholar who made many contributions to the archaeology of south-east England, particularly in the field of Roman pottery. Expert speakers will cover a wide range of topics, including Malcolm’s life and work, Roman pottery, coins of Carausius and Allectus, the Richborough archive, Pevensey Castle, Lewes Priory, and Roman and early Saxon place-names. The event can be enjoyed either in person (£25 full price, concessions available) or online (£15). 

Theoretical Archaeology Group 45th Annual Meeting

Talbot Campus, Bournemouth, 13-15 December 2024, https://tag2024.wordpress.com

The Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Bournemouth University are hosting the annual meeting of the Theoretical Archaeology Group. This year, the over-arching theme of the event is ‘Evolution?’, with an emphasis on the interrogative framing of the title. Among other things, the theme prompts the question of whether evolutionary models are still relevant for understanding culture-change through archaeology, and raises the matter of changing archaeological practices and current trends in the field. Tickets cost £60 (students and unwaged) or £100 (waged). 

HERITAGE FROM HOME

VIRTUAL VISITS

• National Museum of the American Latino, USA

https://latino.si.edu/exhibitions/presente

Delve into the history and legacy of US Latinas and Latinos with online resources from the Smithsonian, and take a virtual tour of the ¡Presente! exhibition at the Molina Family Latino Gallery.

• Museum del Prado, Spain

https://bibliotecadigital.museodelprado.es/pradobib/en/home/home.do

Discover thousands of publications from the late 15th to early 20th century, including rare books, magazines and prints, in the Prado Museum’s new digital library. 

• Blaenavon, UK 

http://www.visitblaenavon.co.uk/en/visit-blaenavon/virtual-blaenavon

Explore the Blaenavon World Heritage Site and find out more about the industrial history of Wales through a range of online collections, virtual tours, articles, quizzes, videos, and more. 

• Talayotic Menorca, Spain

https://artsandculture.google.com/story/talayotic-menorca-spain-unesco/9QVRvLeQ3poYKQ

Find out more about the archaeological sites of the island of Menorca and the prehistoric communities who built them with this online resource from Google Arts & Culture.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Museum of Looted Antiquities

https://mola.omeka.net

Explore hundreds of objects from around the world with this virtual gallery that collects, displays, and studies looted antiquities that have been repatriated since 1950. 

• Greater London Historic Environment Record

https://glher.historicengland.org.uk

Discover thousands of London’s archaeological discoveries, historic buildings, and heritage sites with this new GLHER online platform, created by Historic England in collaboration with Getty. 

• Stone Me

http://www.stonemepodcast.com

Find out about some of Scotland’s most important and interesting Neolithic sites with this podcast from Matthew Magee, featuring interviews with experts. Series 2 kicks off with a visit to the Ness of Brodgar. 

• Art Institute of Chicago 

http://www.instagram.com/artinstitutechi

Enjoy photos and videos highlighting objects and art in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, encompassing 5,000 years of art and culture.

FAMILY FUN

• ChronoPhoto

http://www.chronophoto.app/game.html

Test your knowledge of 20th- and 21st-century history with this game, which requires players to guess which year photos were taken based on contextual clues. 

• Hatfield House: a royal residence

http://www.channel5.com/show/glamis-castle-a-royal-residence   

Discover the history of Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, one of Britain’s most impressive stately homes, and its estate, including the remains of Elizabeth I’s childhood home. 

• Living in Ancient Scotland

http://www.kilmartin.org/learning

Download these activity resources from Kilmartin Museum to teach children about Scotland’s archaeological landscapes and prehistoric past in a fun and engaging way.

• Iarsmaí

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00243ks/iarsmai

This new feature-length documentary explores the issues around decolonisation in Ireland through objects and artefacts housed in some of the country’s museums and institutions.

• A House Through Time

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002389m

A House Through Time returns for a fifth season. This time, David Olusoga follows the lives of residents of two apartment blocks, in London and Berlin, to tell the story of the Second World War.