With the eyes of the world’s media currently focussed on the momentous events unfolding in Egypt I thought it would be interesting to see how this country is represented in Wiltshire’s museum collections.

Museums across the county exist to preserve and display the history of Wiltshire and its people as seen through objects, images and documents.

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Mere Museum is celebrating the start of 2011 with their new conservation themed exhibition entitled ‘Preserving the Past for the Future’ and staff from the Wiltshire Council Conservation and Museums Advisory Service teams were privileged to be invited to the opening on 4 January for a sneak preview.

A Gladstone Bag, c.1882

The exhibition shows the range of objects conserved by the Conservation team for the museum over the years with photographs showing the objects before treatment alongside the actual objects after treatment, together with informative panels about the conservation treatments used.

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The Objects Conservation lab at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre is an exciting and consistently intriguing place to be with the diverse range of unique objects that come through the doors.

 
Detail during treatment of Indian talwar sword shown with silver and gold inlay from the Rifles Museum. The cleaned surface, right side, shown in contrast with the left side’s yellowed lacquer coating.

            My name is Drew Karnoski, and I’m a student of conservation at Cardiff University, currently completing a work placement in the Objects Conservation Laboratory at the WSHC. To find out more about the objects I have had the pleasure to work with, please 'read more'...

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Many of the objects that come into the Conservation labs are from Wiltshire Museums.

This month conservators have been working on a glass sign belonging to Mere Museum. The sign, advertising ‘Attaboy Hats’, came to the labs in several pieces. The museum would like to put it on display as part of an exhibition about local industry in Mere.

The sign before repainting
To find out more please 'read more'...
 

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10 am - 4 pm, Free Admission

Hello, my name is Terry Bracher and I am the Archives and Local Studies Manager at the History Centre. This month some of my time has been spent preparing for our annual Open Day on Saturday 26^th September. This will be our third Open Day; the first two saw over 1300 visitors come to the Centre to enjoy looking behind the scenes and take part in our family activities.

 
This Deed of Properties given to Jane Seymour by Henry VIII will be one of those on show 

So what is happening this year? Well, there will be lots of fun activities with a Tudor theme. Find out about life on Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose. Members of the crew will be on hand to tell you about life onboard and there will be lots of objects and costume to see (and try on!).  Will you hit the target at one of the king’s favourite pastimes, shooting with a longbow? (Small charge for this activity). See real Tudor documents from our archives, including the marriage deed of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, and a family tree of the Seymour family twenty feet long (Steve, one of our archivists, has the job of unfolding this!). How much do you know about Henry’s Wiltshire connections? Try our quiz and find out. Can you identify Tudor objects with our Museums Advisory Team?

Take a behind the scenes tour of our strong rooms to see how the archives are stored. Visit the labs to watch objects and archives being conserved. Have a go at glass painting or writing with a quill pen, or some of our other craft activities for children. Read on to find out what else is happening....

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We thought it was time for another update on the grave burial from Bognor Regis as yet more exciting finds have been uncovered.

The Helmet
 

The latest stage of the excavation has seen the helmet completely uncovered with the discovery of an attachment that would have held a chin strap in place. Although damaged the helmet is in one piece and, thanks to the painstaking work of our contract conservator Kelly Abbott, is ready to be lifted free of the surrounding soil. Read on to see some additional images of the helmet attachments........
 

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Would the life of a Roman soldier suit you - free uniform, good rations, chance to travel? Perhaps you would prefer the life of a mosaicist, travelling from villa to villa to complete mosaics of the latest fashion for the owners? What if you were a household slave travelling with her mistress to Bath to take the waters - would a life of servitude be a good choice? Come to our Roman Family Fun day on Monday 27^th July 2009 and you can find out what it was like for people living in Wiltshire when it was part of the Roman Empire. Read on to find out more......

Excavation at St. Laurence School, Bradford on Avon

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The news from the Objects Conservation labs this week is that work is about to get underway on an exciting project from Bognor Regis. Archaeologists have discovered a burial containing a number of finds which x-rays have so far revealed to be a helmet, shield boss and several ornate copper fittings.

 X-ray image of the shield boss

The burial is thought to date to the late Iron Age or early Roman period and is believed to be unique to the area.

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