Durham University Museum of Archaeology facts for kids
 |
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Former name | Durham University Museum |
|---|---|
| Established | 1833 |
| Location | Palace Green, Durham, England |
| Type | University archaeology museum |
| Accreditation | UK Museum Accreditation Scheme, Arts Council England |
| Key holdings | Oswald-Plique collection, Lanchester diploma |
| Collections | Prehistoric, Ancient Greek, Roman, early medieval, medieval, post-medieval |
| Visitors | 30,000 |
| Owner | Durham University |
The Museum of Archaeology is a cool place to discover ancient history! It's part of Durham University in England. This museum was one of the very first university museums in England to welcome everyone, not just students.
The museum mainly shows off amazing finds from north east England. But it also has some cool items from other parts of the country and even around the world. You can see everything from very old prehistoric tools to items from more recent times after the medieval period.
One special collection is the Oswald-Plique collection of Samian ware. This is a type of fancy Roman pottery. The museum also has the first complete Roman fleet diploma ever found in Britain. This was like an official paper for Roman soldiers. The museum also keeps important finds from rescue archaeology digs in Durham City. These digs happen when archaeologists quickly explore a site before new buildings are constructed.
The Museum of Archaeology is part of a bigger group called Durham University Museums, Galleries and Exhibitions. This group also includes the Durham Castle Museum and the Durham University Oriental Museum.
Museum History: A Journey Through Time
The museum first opened its doors in 1833. This was the same year that Durham University itself began! Its first home was a building called the Old Fulling Mill. This mill was right by the River Wear, near the famous Durham Cathedral.
In 1876, the museum moved to a new spot. It went to Bishop Cosin's Almshouses on Palace Green. Back then, the museum had all sorts of things. It had many natural history items, like a huge collection of British birds. It also had Roman artifacts found at a place called Binchester.
During World War I, the university needed its lecture halls. So, the museum building was used as a temporary classroom. Because the building wasn't perfect for a museum, they decided to organize the collections better. Some items that weren't very useful for teaching were moved. The bird collection went to St Hild's College. Other science items went to the science labs. The important Binchester Roman collection moved to a room used for history lectures. Other objects went to the university library.
In 1931, Eric Birley became the first archaeology lecturer at Durham. He added many new items to the teaching collection. These came from his own digs at Hadrian's Wall.
The museum returned to the Old Fulling Mill in 1975. This time, it focused only on archaeology. More display areas were opened in 1986. However, this location had a problem: it often flooded. It was also not in a main tourist area.
So, in 2014, the museum moved again. It went back to Palace Green, inside the Durham University Library complex. This new spot is called the Wolfson Gallery. Since 2021, the museum's research collections are kept in a special storage place away from the main display area.
Amazing Collections: What You Can See
.jpg)
The museum has collections from many different time periods. You can see items from the prehistoric age, Ancient Greek times, and Roman times. There are also objects from the early medieval, medieval, and post-medieval periods.
Here are some of the cool things you can find:
- Houghall Sword: This is a Bronze Age sword. It's a type called an Ewart Park sword. It was made between 700 and 900 BC. It was found in 1996 near Durham.
- Oswald-Plique Collection: This is a very important collection of over 4,500 pieces of Samian ware. This is a special kind of Roman pottery. Eric Birley bought this collection in 1950. It helped experts write important books about Roman pottery.
- Roman Artifacts: You can see Roman items from old digs at Binchester. There are also finds from Eric Birley's work in the 1930s at Benwell on Hadrian's Wall.
- Lanchester Diploma: This is the first complete Roman fleet diploma ever found in Britain. It was discovered in Lanchester, County Durham, in 2016 by someone using a metal detector. It's like an ancient certificate for a Roman soldier.
Most of the museum's collection comes from rescue archaeology digs. These are archaeological surveys done before new buildings are constructed in Durham City. The museum is where all these important finds are kept.
For example, they have bone fragments of Durham's earliest known resident. These bones are carbon-dated to be from between 90 BC and 60 AD. They were found in 2016–17 during a dig for new student homes.
The museum also has one of the largest collections of post-medieval glass in the UK. There are over 100 bottles from the 1600s and 1700s. These were found during earlier digs in the 1990s.
.jpg)
Other interesting collections include:
- Piercebridge River Assemblage: This is a collection of over 4,000 Roman artifacts. They were found where Dere Street (an old Roman road) crossed the River Tees. People think these were mostly offerings thrown into the river from the bridges.
- Durham River Wear Assemblage: This includes over 13,500 objects. They were found in the River Wear below the 12th-century Elvet Bridge.
- The museum also holds archives and finds from the Durham City Survey.
