Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
Virtual Vikings and Cleopatra to visit London
Two newly announced exhibitions, set to open in London later this month, will bring the Viking Age and Cleopatra’s Egypt to life through a combination of cutting-edge digital technology, dramatic projections, and displays of replica and real artefacts.
Vikings: the Immersive Experience will open at Dock X in Canada Water on 12 March. Set in the time of Ragnar Lodbrok – a semi-legendary ruler known from Old Norse literature and, more recently, Netflix’s Vikings – its narrative focuses on his wife, Queen Kraka/Aslaug, and their more historically attested sons, who are associated with the Viking Great Army’s invasion of England in the 9th century. The experience will include elaborate full-sized sets, where visitors can enjoy an audio tour and a virtual-reality experience (a ‘Junior VR adventure’ is also available), as well as interactive touchscreens and a reconstructed longship (below) accompanied by a 30-minute cinematic projection.
Cleopatra: the Experience, which will open at Immerse LDN, Royal Victoria Dock, on 26 March, examines the reign of ancient Egypt’s final pharaoh, with nine interactive galleries offering 8m-high (26ft) projections, holograms, virtual reality, and displays of more than 20 Hellenistic and late Egyptian objects.
These exhibitions represent the latest instalments in a series of history-themed spectacles presented by FKP Scorpio Entertainment Ltd; previous themes have included the world of Tutankhamun (see CA 423) and the destruction of Pompeii (running at Immerse LDN until 15 March; see CA 430). See http://www.vikings-immersive.co.uk and http://www.cleopatraexperience.co.uk/london for more details.
Rise of the Romans at Stanwick Lakes
Stanwick Lakes country park in Northamptonshire is set to launch a major heritage programme exploring the Nene Valley’s Roman past, following a £250,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Today a 750-acre (300ha) nature reserve, Stanwick Lakes’ artificially flooded landscape reflects extensive gravel-quarrying that took place between 1985 and 2004: works that were accompanied by archaeological excavations that uncovered Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds, an Iron Age settlement, a Roman villa, and medieval villages (see CA 75, CA 97, and CA 106). The park is already home to a number of heritage initiatives, including a museum, a Traditional Crafts Barn, reconstructed roundhouses, and an Iron Age garden – and now it is the Romans’ turn in the spotlight.
Over the course of two years, ‘From Iron to Empire’ will feature experimental archaeology initiatives including the creation of a working replica of a Roman pottery kiln, and a joint project with the Northants Guild of Spinners, Weavers, and Dyers to reconstruct Romano-British clothing using authentic techniques. New interpretative materials will also be installed on the site of the Roman villa.
Running alongside this work, Dr James Dilley of AncientCraft will lead a second phase of the Big Bronze Age Boat Build (CA 416) at the park, working with volunteers to construct a logboat using replica tools and traditional techniques.
See http://www.stanwicklakes.org.uk/from-iron-to-empire-an-exciting-new-heritage-project-begins for more information.
New exhibitions
Trysor
28 March 2026-4 April 2027
Oriel Mon, Rhosmeirch, Anglesey
http://www.orielmon.org/en/exhibitions/trysor
Un/Common People: folk culture in Wessex
Until 10 May 2026
Salisbury Museum
https://salisburymuseum. org.uk/whats-on/un-common-people-folk-culture-in-wessex/
The Last Princesses of Punjab
26 March-8 November 2026
Kensington Palace, London
http://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/whats-on/the-last-princesses-of-punjab
Last chance to see
Marie Antoinette Style
Until 22 March 2026
V&A South Kensington, London
http://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/marie-antoinette
Images of Authority: portraits between Iran and Europe
Until 15 March 2026
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
http://www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/images-of-authority-portraits-between-iran-and-europe
Treasure: history unearthed
Until 29 March 2026
Museum of Liverpool
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatson/museum-of-liverpool/exhibition/treasure-history-unearthed
