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.

Comment (1) Read More...

The coffin lining was discovered in 1999 at the St Swithuns' Yard site on Walcot Street, Bath. The original excavation and conservation work was undertaken by the Museum of London and the project was filmed as part of the BBC series ‘Meet the Ancestors’ with Julian Richards.

Two coffins were found at the site. They were buried by the side of an alley way in the late 4th century. One coffin belonged to a male, 45 years of age and a height of 5”8. He was buried next to a female who was local to the area. She was approximately 25 years old and had been buried in a wooden coffin. Unfortunately the female skeleton was not well preserved.

Coffin lining before treatment

The coffin lining and the skeleton were taken to the Museum of London where a number of tests were carried out. Analysis revealed that there was no obvious cause of death. DNA results showed that his maternal ancestors came from the eastern Mediterranean and further analysis of his bones and teeth suggested he had probably spent his youth in Syria.  Please 'read more' to find out about the conservation work taking place...
 

Comment (0) Read More...

Hello, I am Terry Bracher, Archives and Local Studies Manager here at the History Centre.  Browsing through part of photographic collection I came across a photo of elephants bathing in the River Avon in Chippenham town centre in 1906. The elephants were part of a travelling circus and the Avon at Chippenham clearly provided a welcome break for the elephants as they walked to the venue for their next performance. Now I have always had an interest in historical curiosities and this led me to ask colleagues if they had come across any other curious animal related tales throughout Wiltshire, with the aim of creating our top ten animal tales, so long as they followed a simple rule - the animals could not be farm animals (unless they did something especially curious) and they had to have been see alive and well at some point in Wiltshire’s history.

The Elephants in Chippenham, 1906

But let’s start with animals that do not count. I would have liked to include the dancing bears of Lacock. They were a familiar site in the nineteenth century, being led into the village along with musicians and other entertainers. Looking through the book “Chippenham and Lacock in Old Photographs” I was astonished to see a picture of a dancing bear in the late 1930’s. Sadly, on closer inspection this was a photo of the 1938 pageant with a Mr Bob Vines in convincing pose playing the part of the bear, together with his “handler” his brother Eric Vines. This could be a whole new category in itself. 'Read more' to find out about some dramatic events involving animals in Wiltshire....

Comment (0) Read More...

Objects conservator Sebastian Foxley has recently been working on a mystery object from Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre.

Object before cleaning

The object was received completely obscured by corrosion and soil but an x-ray revealed that it is circular and has a trailed decoration on the top surface. It is hollow inside and initial cleaning also showed that the object is made from iron and copper. Please 'read more' to see the object at the end of the cleaning process.....

Comment (1) Read More...

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........
 

Comment (0) Read More...

Hello - my name is Rachel and I am the Administrator for Heritage Services. When the History Centre was opened we were set the target of attracting 20,000 visitors in 2008/9. This challenging target was based on previous visitor numbers to the various Heritage Services, previously  in different locations around the county.

Folk Arts Launch  

We are delighted to report that not only did we reach the target, we exceeded it with 20,206 visitors recorded from April 1 2008 - March 31 2009. This is a fantastic achievement and offers an opportunity to share some details of our success. 

Comment (1) Read More...