EVENTS
Hyde Abbey Community Dig
Hyde, Winchester
18-21 August
www.hyde900.org.uk
Hyde900 will be putting on their annual community dig on the site of Hyde Abbey, the last known resting place of Alfred the Great. Previous digs have uncovered the remains of the church and cloisters in the gardens of willing residents, who live in what was the Inner Close of the abbey. Finds include many materials from the construction of the abbey, which was largely destroyed following the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The dig is open to all, aged 5 and upwards, who can take part in two-hour sessions. Visit the website to book your place or to find out about more events held by Hyde900.
Bosworth Medieval Festival
Bosworth Battlefield, Nuneaton
20-21 August
www.bosworthbattlefield.org.uk/bosworth-medieval-festival-2022
Bosworth Medieval Festival is back after two years. This two-day event will feature battle re-enactments by the Wars of the Roses Federation, including a re-enactment of the Battle of Bosworth as the finale on both days, as well as living history encampments, historical cookery demonstrations, a medieval craft market, talks from several authors, and entry to the award-winning exhibition in the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre. Tickets cost £20 for adults, and concession prices are also available.
PANEL PRESENTATION
Hoarding Histories: beyond the Galloway Hoard
National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
10 September
www.nms.ac.uk/hoardinghistories
A panel of experts will discuss hoarding practices across history, from assembling and burying to curating and displaying. Professor Richard Bradley, Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the University of Reading, will give the keynote address, talking about the phenomenon of hoarding from prehistory to the Viking Age, when the Galloway Hoard was buried. Further talks will include the Staffordshire Hoard and other major hoards. Standard adult tickets cost £20, with concession prices available.
LECTURE
Sixth Annual Pitt Rivers Lecture
Bournemouth University, Poole
25 October
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sixth-pitt-rivers-lecture-excavation- as-experiment-by-christoper-evans-tickets-312789480757
The Sixth Annual Pitt Rivers Lecture, ‘Excavation as Experiment’, will be given by Christopher Evans from the University of Cambridge. The lecture will consider how cross-landscape sampling on a multitude of sites and monuments in unprecedented detail allows unique insights into prehistoric communities and their riverine land-use. The lecture is free and open to the public, and will also be available to view live online via Zoom.
EXHIBITION
Gold
British Library, London
Until 2 October
www.bl.uk/events/gold
Discover how gold has been used to elevate art in manuscripts and books around the world in this new exhibition at the British Library. Featuring 50 spectacular manuscripts, ranging from examples of the Qur’an written in gold to diplomatic treaties inscribed on gold plates, this display highlights the masterful techniques used to handle the precious metal, and explores the connection between gold, the sacred, and the royal. Tickets cost £10, with concession prices available, or book your ticket in advance to save £2.
Heritage from home
VIRTUAL VISITS
• Nara to Norwich: art and belief at the extremities of the Silk Roads AD 500-1100, UK
This online exhibition from the Sainsbury Institute explores the influence of the Silk Roads and the role of religion and art at a time of great change throughout Asia and Europe.
• Vikings Live, UK
www.britishmuseum.org/vikings-live
Discover the British Museum’s 2014 exhibition Vikings: life and legend with a video tour of the displays featuring appearances from guest experts and curators. First broadcast in cinemas, the film is now available online.
• Pyramids of Meroë, Sudan
https://artsexperiments.withgoogle.com/meroe/#top
Find out more about Meroë, the ancient capital of the Kushite Kingdom in Sudan’s Nile valley – today home to the remains of more than 200 Nubian pyramids – with this online resource from Google Arts & Culture.
• Tomb of Menna, Egypt
Explore the Tomb of Menna, one of the best-preserved 18th Dynasty elite tombs in the Theban necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, with this 3D model from the American Research Center in Egypt.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
• MAP Academy
Explore this new cultural resource delving into the history of South Asian art, with blog posts, online courses, and an encyclopaedia of essays and articles on historical trends, techniques, materials, and more.
• Art Unlocked
www.youtube.com/c/ArtUKdotorg/playlists
Listen to museum and gallery curators and directors from across the UK discuss selected works from their collections in this online talk series by Art UK in collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies.
• For Arts’ Sake
Enjoy this weekly podcast interviewing professionals in museums and the heritage sector around the UK, and find out more about the groundbreaking work that they do.
• #TombTuesday
https://twitter.com/hashtag/TombTuesday
Discover burial structures from around the world under this weekly trend on Twitter, with pictures of everything from Neolithic chambered cairns to ancient Egyptian tombs.
FAMILY FUN
• Lucy Worsley Investigates
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0bvhjgp/lucy-worsley-investigates
Join Lucy Worsley as she sheds new light on some of the most infamous parts of British history, from the Witch Trials and the Black Death to the mysteries of the Princes in the Tower and the ‘madness’ of King George III.
• Tutankhamun: Secrets of the Tomb
www.channel4.com/programmes/tutankhamun-secrets-of-the-tomb
Find out more about the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 with this new show in which Ella Al-Shamahi investigates the tales of the ‘Pharaoh’s Curse’ that surrounded this famous event.
• Back in Time for Birmingham
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0018ljt/back-in-time-for-birmingham
Discover more about Birmingham’s past through this living history series in which a family experiences what life was like for the South Asian inhabitants of the ever-changing city, from the 1950s to the present day.
• Puzzle Party, Palace Museum
Solve jigsaw puzzles of objects and locations from the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City in Beijing, and find out more about their history, with this online game from Google Arts & Culture.
• American Museum of Natural History
www.amnh.org/explore/ology/games
Enjoy a wide variety of online activities from the American Museum of Natural History and test your knowledge in a fun and educational way, with connect-the-dots, puzzles and quizzes, games, and more.
