Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
Worthing Museum reopens
Worthing Museum has reopened to the public following a year-long transformation. The building closed in March 2025 to allow it to be connected to the Worthing Heating Network, and this period offered the opportunity to give the museum a makeover, including the installation of a whole new lighting system and improved environmental controls, as well as refreshing its interiors and updating its displays.
New additions to the archaeology galleries include a Roman wagon axle from Edburton (one of only two known from Britain), the Lyminster Hoard of 12 well-preserved 4th-century siliquae (silver coins), and recently acquired late Iron Age or early Roman figurines depicting two boars and a dog (see CA 430).
See http://www.wtm.uk/museum for more information about Worthing Museum (entry is free), and watch this space for a fuller review of the archaeology displays in next month’s CA.
National Museums Liverpool at 40
In 1986, the Merseyside Museums and Galleries Order brought together seven Liverpool museums and galleries to form England’s only national museum group located outside London.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this milestone moment, a new, free exhibition at the World Museum draws together objects from each venue in the network, showcasing the diverse range of items cared for by National Museums Liverpool and sharing stories from across the city’s history. They range from tickets and telegrams relating to the Titanic and Albert Einstein’s landing card, to masterpieces by world-famous artists and everyday items with powerful tales to tell.
National Museums Liverpool at 40 runs until 28 February 2027; for more information about the exhibition and its programme of associated events, see http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/NML-40-exhibition.
Bronze Age shields on show
Six Bronze Age shields (below) have been brought together for the first time ahead of a major exhibition opening at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh this summer.
Dating from c.1300 BC to 1500 BC, five were discovered in the Borders and Aberdeenshire in the 19th century, and have long been part of the NMS collections; the sixth, found in North Ayrshire in 1779, has been loaned by the Society of Antiquaries of London, marking its first return to Scotland in more than 200 years.
Museum experts are currently examining the group, comparing evidence for how they were made, decorated, used, and damaged. Four of the shields will then be displayed as part of Scotland’s First Warriors, a free exhibition exploring fighting techniques and the impact of conflict from the Neolithic period to the coming of the Romans. It will also include other significant discoveries, such as the recently acquired Carnoustie Hoard (CA 428).
Scotland’s First Warriors will run from 27 June 2026 to 17 May 2027; for more details, see http://www.nms.ac.uk/ScotlandsFirstWarriors.
New exhibitions
Chariots, Treasure and Power: Secrets of the Melsonby Hoard
15 May 2026 – summer 2027
Yorkshire Museum, York
http://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/exhibition
Following the Eagle
Until 3 October 2026
Segedunum Roman Fort, Wallsend
http://www.northeastmuseums.org.uk/segedunum/whats-on/following-the-eagle
After the Fire
Until 27 September 2026
Arbeia Roman Fort, South Shields
http://www.northeastmuseums.org.uk/arbeia/whats-on/after-the-fire
Last chance to see
Fen to Fire
Until 15 May 2026
March Library, March, Cambridgeshire
http://www.collusion.org.uk/projects/fen-to-fire-2025
Hawai‘i: a kingdom crossing oceans
Until 25 May 2026
British Museum, London
http://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/hawaii-kingdom-crossing-oceans
Uncovering Roman Carlisle: where worlds met
Until 31 May 2026
Tullie, Carlisle
http://www.tullie.org.uk/events/uncovering-roman-carlisle-where-worlds-met
