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Strike gold with A History of the World at Harborough Museum
Posted on 11/03/2010
Community Services
Visitors to Harborough Museum will be invited to take up the tools of a Celtic coin minter on Saturday 20 March and make their own treasures to take home. Neil Burridge, a craftsman specialising in Iron Age technologies will be taking part in the special event as part of the BBC and British Museum’s ‘A History of the World’ project. Neil will be helping visitors to make coins almost identical to some of those found at Hallaton, near Market Harborough, using the same methods that our ancestors employed 2,000 years ago.
As well as this unique opportunity, visitors to this free event between 11am and 4pm will meet Celtic warrior, Cunogenos and Roman soldier, Nigrinus who will be showing off their Iron Age and Roman objects and talking about life 2000 years ago. Children will be able to make their own coins, Roman helmets and Iron Age torcs to take home. Those eagle-eyed visitors who can find Harborough Museum’s gold coin made famous by the “A History of the World” project will be rewarded with some special “gold” coins.
The day is also an opportunity to get involved with the landmark project, ‘A History of the World’. Bring in your objects that tell a story about the history of Leicestershire and they will be photographed and added to the BBC Leicester website http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/leicester/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8353000/8353069.stm.
David Sprason, County Council Cabinet Member for Adults and Communities, said: "The Hallaton Treasure is a very exciting find from an early part of the history of the East Midlands but it is just the beginning. Leicestershire has a vibrant and fascinating past and this is a great opportunity to discover just how colourful a history it really has through the stories and objects of its people. This event will also be a great day out – seeing and speaking to experts and having a go at an ancient craft – so get involved!’
Neil Burridge, based in Cornwall, is an expert on ancient crafts and is an authority on the production of Iron Age coins. He has recently been working alongside leading Iron Age academics continuing to develop our knowledge and appreciation of our Iron Age ancestors.
For further details about the Treasure Project and Harborough Museum, see the following background details.
- To contact Harborough Museum phone (01858) 821085 or email harboroughmuseum@leics.gov.uk
- Please visit our website www.leics.gov.uk/HarboroughMuseum
- www.facebook.com/HarboroughMuseum
- http://twitter.com/LeicsMuseums
- http://leicestershiremuseums.wordpress.com
Harborough Museum is operated in partnership by Leicestershire County Council, Harborough District Council and the Market Harborough Historical Society.
The Southeast Leicestershire Treasure is the archive of material produced by several stages of archaeological work undertaken by local community archaeologists and University of Leicester Archaeological Services. The site proved to be an internationally important ritual site dating mostly to the generations before and after the Roman Conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD.
The purpose of the project is purchase, conserve, interpret and promote the Southeast Leicestershire Treasure. The cost of the project is £933,872 which includes purchasing the finds, conserving the finds, displays at Harborough Museum and at Hallaton Museum, two touring exhibitions, web based resources, workshops for schools and community groups, and events for the public.
The project is supported by grants from The Heritage Lottery Fund of £650,600, £100,000 from The Art Fund, the UK’s leading independent art charity, £35,000 from the Museums and Art Galleries Improvements Fund, £35,000 from the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, The Headley Trust, Renaissance East Midlands and local contributions from the Friends of Leicester and Leicestershire Museums, the Leicestershire Museums Archaeological Fieldwork Group and the County Council, as well as private individuals. The support of Harborough District Council is also gratefully acknowledged.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From our great museums and historic buildings to local parks and beauty spots or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up our nation’s heritage for everyone to enjoy. Since its conception, HLF has supported 26,000 projects allocating over £4 billion across the UK.
The Art Fund is the UK’s leading independent art charity. It offers grants to help UK museums and galleries enrich their collections; campaigns on behalf of museums and their visitors; and promotes the enjoyment of art. It is entirely funded from public donations and has 80,000 members. Since 1903 the charity has helped museums and galleries all over the UK secure 860,000 works of art for their collections. Recent achievements include: helping secure Titian’s Diana and Actaeon for the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery, London in February 2009 with a grant of £1 million; helping secure Anthony d’Offay’s collection, ARTIST ROOMS, for Tate and National Galleries of Scotland in February 2008 with a grant of £1million; and running the ‘Buy a Brushstroke’ public appeal which raised over £550,000 to keep Turner’s Blue Rigi watercolour in the UK. For more information contact the Press Office on 020 7225 4888 or visit www.artfund.org.
The Art Fund is a Registered Charity No. 209174
The MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund is a government fund, established at the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in 1881 as part of its nationwide work. The annual grants budget, currently £900,000, is provided by the Museums, Libraries, Archives Council (MLA). The Fund supports the acquisition of objects relating to the arts, literature, and history by regional museums, record offices and specialist libraries in England and Wales. Each year it considers some 250 applications and awards grants to around100 organisations, enabling acquisitions of over £4million to go ahead.
Visit the website at www.vam.ac.uk/purchasegrantfund
The Headley Museums Archaeological Acquisition Fund has been established by the Headley Trust, one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts. Its trustees realise the great difficulties many regional and local museums find in raising the money to buy archaeological artefacts. They are also aware of the proliferation of finds as a consequence of the success of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The Headley initiative is intended to help museums secure and display notable finds. The Headley Scheme runs alongside and in collaboration with the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund.
- Further details about the Treasure Project:
- For more information about Harborough Museum and the Southeast Leicestershire Treasure Project, please contact Helen Sharp, Project Officer, at Harborough Museum, on 01858 821087 or email helen.sharp@leics.gov.uk, or Frank Hargrave, Temporary Keeper of Harborough Museum, also on 01858 821087 or email frank.hargrave@leics.gov.uk