Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Jun 29, 2010
Tagged in:
Wroughton ,
Wiltshire County Archaeologist ,
Wiltshire Archaeology Service ,
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre ,
two ,
the Ridgeway ,
telephone ,
talk ,
Swindon ,
Sunday 1st August ,
SN15 3QN ,
single day ,
Saturday 31st July ,
Roman Villa ,
ramparts ,
promote ,
prehistoric features ,
Orpheus mosaic ,
nationwide ,
Nancy Jane Danks ,
Melanie Pomeroy-Kellinger ,
Marlborough Downs ,
Littlecote Roman Villa ,
Iron Age Hillfort ,
Hungerford ,
http://festival.britarch.ac.uk/. ,
guided walk ,
guided tour ,
free ,
Festival of British Archaeology ,
excavations ,
event ,
e-mail ,
David Vaughan ,
countryside ,
Cocklebury Road ,
Chippenham ,
Britain ,
Barbury Castle ,
Assistant County Archaeologist ,
archaeology@wiltshire.gov.uk ,
archaeology ,
annual ,
actively involved ,
2pm ,
01249 705504
The Festival of British Archaeology is a nationwide, annual event that aims to promote archaeology. It has been running for twenty years, and has evolved from a single day to two whole weeks. As in previous years the Wiltshire Archaeology Service are actively involved and this year we will be doing not one but two exciting days out. Both events are free!
Aerial view of Barbury Castle
The first event is an exciting guided walk around Barbury Castle followed by a walk down the Ridgeway (approximately 2.6 km) to see some of the amazing prehistoric features of the Marlborough Downs. Barbury Castle is an impressive Iron Age Hillfort with enormous ramparts that overlooks Wroughton, Swindon and the surrounding countryside. David Vaughan, Assistant County Archaeologist will be leading this walk at 2pm on Saturday 31st July. To book your place or to find out more information see the contact details below via 'read more'.
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on May 7, 2010
Tagged in:
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre ,
Walcot Street ,
treatment ,
teeth ,
St Swithuns' Yard ,
skull ,
skeleton ,
Sellotape ,
Roman earthenware ceramics ,
Roman coffin ,
Roman Baths Museum ,
reinterpret ,
redisplay ,
reconstructed skull ,
reconstructed ,
Project ,
physical features ,
Osteoarchaeologist ,
opaque wax ,
Museum of London ,
muscle tissue ,
microscope ,
Meet the Ancestors ,
map ,
mandible ,
lower jaw ,
lead piping ,
Julian Richards ,
Japanese tissue ,
excavated ,
display ,
Death ,
Conservators ,
conservation ,
collection ,
bronze statuettes ,
bones ,
Blu-tack® ,
BBC ,
baths ,
5 year development plan ,
4th century ,
2009-2010
Wax visible inside the skull before treatment
Background
The 2009-2010 project to conserve 300 items for the new display at the Roman Baths Museum included a variety of materials from Roman earthenware ceramics to bronze statuettes. Some of the larger objects were made of lead and included lead piping from the baths themselves and a Roman coffin. The coffin was the feature of our last blog and we’d like to follow on from this with details of the conservation of the coffin’s contents.
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Oct 27, 2009
Tagged in:
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre ,
waterlogged wood ,
visitors ,
Tudors ,
Tudor badge making ,
thousand people ,
The Other Boleyn Girl ,
technology ,
strong rooms ,
Stone Age hand axes ,
signed letter from Elizabeth I ,
shoot arrows ,
Science Museum; giant interactive Tudor Quiz ,
school ,
recent events ,
rarest documents ,
quill pen ,
original artefacts ,
naval ship ,
Mary Rose ,
Mary Queen of Scots ,
marriage deed of Henry VIII to Jane Seymour ,
magnetic wall ,
longbow ,
King Henry VIII ,
ideas. ,
Great Chalfield Manor ,
glass painting ,
fun ,
freeze dry ,
film ,
emergency car-park duty ,
dressed as Tudors ,
dress up ,
crew ,
craft activities ,
courtiers ,
Conservators ,
conservation laboratories ,
comment ,
children ,
celebrate ,
26th September ,
2010 Open Day
Wow, what a day! Over a thousand people came along to meet the Tudors at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, on Saturday 26th September. King Henry VIII and his courtiers were on hand to greet visitors as they joined in the fun, meeting the crew from the Mary Rose and looking at original artefacts from Henry’s great naval ship; learning how to shoot arrows with a longbow and dress as a Tudor; and viewing some of the History Centre’s rarest documents from the Tudor period including the marriage deed of Henry VIII to Jane Seymour and a signed letter from Elizabeth I about her cousin Mary Queen of Scots, just some of the thousands of historic documents about the county contained in the History Centre.
King Henry VIII looking at his marriage deed
They were also able to check out Tudor technology with the Science Museum; have a go at our giant interactive Tudor Quiz; see how the film ”The other Boleyn Girl” was made at Great Chalfield Manor; write with a quill pen and find out how conservators freeze dry waterlogged wood. Glass painting, Tudor badge making and other craft activities were also taken up with enthusiasm by our younger visitors. Another popular attraction and predating the Tudors by a few hundred thousand years was the Stone Age hand axes. Visitors were also able to gain exclusive behind the scenes access to conservation laboratories and strong rooms.
One of the strongrooms only accessible during the Open Day
We were really pleased that more than 400 of the visitors were children, some came dressed as Tudors. Many were learning about the Tudors at school, so hopefully we were able to bring a little bit of it to life. Everyone was encouraged to post a comment on our magnetic wall so please take time to read them all if you are visiting the Centre in the near future. We also asked people what they did not enjoy (we are always looking to improve) and one young visitor told us that he or she “didn’t enjoy nuffing”. So there you have it! How did our staff feel about the open day and what do you think would be a good theme for next year? Please 'read more' to find out and have your say....
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Oct 13, 2009
Tagged in:
Wiltshire College ,
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre ,
Wiltshire ,
unhallowed grounds ,
thirty thousand people ,
students ,
Rebecca Smith ,
public search room ,
public execution ,
prison diaries ,
prison chapel ,
poisoning her baby ,
open coffin ,
newspaper accounts ,
letters appealing innocence ,
investigating ,
display ,
Devizes prison ,
December ,
crowd ,
Crime and Punishment ,
creative writing ,
court room scripts ,
burial ,
Bratton ,
1849
In 1849 a crowd of 30,000 people gathered outside the imposing gates of Devizes prison to watch the public execution of Rebecca Smith of Bratton for poisoning her baby. Rebecca spent the night before in the prison chapel with her open coffin for company. After her execution her body is taken for burial in unhallowed grounds within the prison wall.
Devizes Prison Gate, 1889
Students from Wiltshire College have been investigating crime and punishment in the county as the basis for their creative writing. You can find out more by reading the prison diaries, letters appealing innocence, court room scripts and newspaper accounts that they have written. Their work will be appearing here soon and will be on display in the public search room at the History Centre in December.
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Apr 23, 2009
Tagged in:
York ,
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre ,
Wilts Rgt of Militia ,
Wilton House ,
Westminster ,
West Africa ,
trumpeter ,
The Wiltshire Black History Project ,
slave trade ,
Shakespeare ,
Septimus Severus ,
SEE ME ,
Sarum ,
Salisbury Journal ,
royal courts ,
Roxburgh ,
Roman Emperor ,
Roman ,
Robert Pearson ,
privateers ,
Pedro Negro ,
parish register ,
parish of St Paul ,
oral testimonies African-Caribbean ,
Numerus Maurorum Aurelianorum ,
Moors ,
mineral Ethiopia ,
marriages ,
Marlborough ,
Maria Mandula ,
Libya ,
Leonora Casey Carr ,
knighted ,
John Hawkins ,
John Blanke ,
inter-generational ,
Henry VIII ,
Hadrian’s Wall ,
Guinea coast ,
Great Tournament Roll ,
gravestone ,
George Sydown ,
Footman ,
engraving ,
Elizabeth I ,
East Tytherton Moravian Graveyard Restoration Proj ,
duke of Somerset ,
Drummer ,
community history project ,
Catherine of Aragon ,
Calne Parish Register ,
burials ,
British Black History ,
Black History ,
Antiguan ‘Mostee’ ,
Africa ,
aethiops ,
advertisement ,
adult baptisms
Hello, I am Terry, Archives and Local Studies Manager. In my last blog I wrote about a document from the English Civil War, a particular interest of mine. Recently, a researcher at the History Centre gave me a reference to an entry in a parish register that relates to another interest of mine, that is British Black History. It was from the Calne Parish Register of burials and dated 10th December 1586 and notes the burial of “Maria Mandula advena et aethiops (stranger and AEthiops).” Is this the earliest reference to a Black person in Wiltshire?
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Jan 26, 2009
Dear Readers,
On behalf of all of us at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre I'd like to welcome you to our new blog. We want to tell you more about what we do here and give you the opportunity to comment and ask questions.
Our big news this week is the grand opening of the Blog and the official launch of our new websites 'Wiltshire Treasures' and 'Wills Online'; please read on.
