EXHIBITIONS
Gold of the Great Steppe
Until 30 January 2022
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/visit-us/exhibitions/gold-of-the-great-steppe
This new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum presents artefacts from the Iron Age Saka culture of East Kazakhstan. Recent excavations led by archaeologists from Kazakhstan have revealed more information about this complex, advanced society, and how they understood the world around them, as well as the objects they produced, including many examples of beautiful gold work. Entry is free but booking is required.
Wood of the Well: imagined carvings for Coventina
Until April 2022
Chesters Roman Fort
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/chesters-roman-fort-and-museum-hadrians-wall/
Inspired by offerings to the goddess Coventina found in Coventina’s Well, this new exhibition features contemporary woodwork that offers an artistic interpretation of the Roman wooden objects that may have been lost. Using patterns and imagery from the Roman objects that have survived, Philip Luscombe has created pieces that are evocative of the shrine to help visitors reimagine Roman life along Hadrian’s Wall. Entry is included with tickets for Chesters Roman Fort.
EVENTS
Hidden London
Multiple dates November-December 2021
London
www.ltmuseum.co.uk/hidden-london
London Transport Museum’s Hidden London tours, which offer exclusive access to London’s underground network, have returned after 18 months. Visitors can explore disused tunnels, platforms, and lift shafts, go behind the scenes at some of the city’s busiest stations, and discover ‘forgotten’ parts of the Tube network. Virtual tours are also available. Tickets for in-person tours cost £41.50 for adults, and £36.50 for concessions.
Ancestors: an evening with Alice Roberts
November 2021
Multiple locations
www.alice-roberts.co.uk/tour
In this touring series of talks celebrating her new publication, Ancestors, Professor Alice Roberts explores the history of the earliest humans in Britain, focusing on seven burial sites around the UK and the new technology used to analyse ancient DNA. She will also discuss her journey as a broadcaster, historian, and archaeologist, offering behind-the-scenes insights from digs and filming. Ticket prices vary depending on location.
LECTURE
Culduthel: an Iron Age craftworking centre in north-east Scotland
8 November 2021
National Museum Scotland
www.socantscot.org/event/november-lecture-culduthel-an-iron-age-craftworking-centre-in-north-east-scotland
This event, hosted by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, will take place both in-person and online. Dr Candy Hatherley will present the results of excavations at the Iron Age craftworking site of Culduthel near Inverness, where iron, bronze, and glass objects were being produced between the late 1st millennium BC and the early 1st millennium AD, with discussions about what the site means for Iron Age studies in Scotland and beyond. Entry is free but pre-booking is required.
HERITAGE FROM HOME
Virtual visits
• Art Institute of Chicago, USA
www.artic.edu/visit-us-virtually
Explore the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago with written offerings, behind-the-scenes videos, audio tours, highlights from the collections, and interactive features that explore objects and artworks in more detail.
• National Museum Bangkok, Thailand
www.virtualmuseum.finearts.go.th/bangkoknationalmuseums/index.php/en/virtual-museum.html
Take a virtual tour of the National Museum Bangkok to discover more about Thailand’s past with this interactive view of the museum, offering additional information about highlights in the collections.
• Al-Hijr (Madâin Sâlih), Saudi Arabia
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/hegra-the-archaeological-site-of-al-hijr-madâin-sâlih/xAIixatmfRWQLQ
Explore the first UNESCO World Heritage site to be inscribed in Saudi Arabia, with this Google Arts & Culture page. Al-Hijr is the Nabataean settlement that was formerly known as Hegra, founded in the 2nd century BC.
• Experience Versailles, France
https://en.chateauversailles.fr/news/life-estate/ experience-versailles#let-yourself-be-guided
Take a virtual visit to the Palace of Versailles with this VR experience that allows you to travel around the palace and relive the visit of the Ambassador of Siam in 1686 or the Yew Ball in 1745.
Learning in Lockdown
• Florence As It Was
https://florenceasitwas.wlu.edu
Explore the medieval city of Florence with this digital project that aims to reconstruct the city in AD 1500 through images, maps, literary sources, and much more.
• Getty Publications Virtual Library
www.getty.edu/publications/virtuallibrary/index.html
Discover more than 300 books from Getty Publications, covering a range of subjects including Antiquities, Architecture, Art, and Conservation.
• The PastCast
https://anchor.fm/the-past/episodes
The podcast from The Past, the website from the team behind CA and its sister-magazines, returns for a second season. Find out more about recent features and enjoy interviews and discussions about a variety of archaeological and historical subjects.
• #MysteryObjectMonday
https://twitter.com/hashtag/MysteryObjectMonday
Search the Mystery Object Monday hashtag on Twitter to find new posts every week from museums and institutions around the world highlighting curious objects in their collections, and get involved in guessing their functions.
Family fun
• The Great Fire of London
www.fireoflondon.org.uk/game
Find out what it was like to live through the great fire that struck London in 1666 and help the inhabitants prevent its spread in this educational online game.
• National Museum of Australia
www.nma.gov.au/learn/diy
Discover a variety of ideas for crafts and at-home activities from the National Museum of Australia, ranging from curating your own collection of objects to making an extinct animal from recycled materials.
• Why We Dig
https://digventures.com/watch/why-we-dig/
Enjoy this new docuseries, featuring archaeologists from DigVentures, which follows real excavations and talks to members of the team about how the world of archaeology has shaped their lives.
• Inside Culture with Mary Beard
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000mz1w/inside-culture
Mary Beard returns for a fourth season of Inside Culture, in which she explores how art and culture reflect the times we live in, through interviews with experts, creators, and audiences.
• Know Your Numerals
www.romanbaths.co.uk/know-your-numerals
Test your knowledge of Roman numerals with this twist on the traditional game of bingo from the Roman Baths, complete with a guide explaining the numeral system in case you get stuck.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, SammySix; Wikimedia Commons, Peter Teoh; Wikimedia, Alix Clinkingbeard.
