DORSET.- An exhibition celebrating the search for antiquities and the visceral thrill of finding objects that connect us with our ancestors will open at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery this summer.
Featuring finds from momentous events in prehistory, Roman, Viking and Anglo-Saxon times, Treasure! will also highlight the rich archaeology of Dorset, telling the remarkable and fascinating stories behind the objects on display.
The exhibition will look at how treasured possessions of communities and individuals became buried and lost to us for centuries, sometimes millennia, before being discovered and recovered - either by archaeological excavation or the work of metal detectorists.
New scientific research will be revealed that changes our thinking about the early peoples of the Britannic islands.
Alongside the collection of Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, major loans from prestigious British museums will feature, including The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery and Lancashire County Museum Service, providing a national context.
Some items will be on display for the first time such as a deliberately damaged prehistoric gold hoard from Crichel comprising a torc and bracelets that date around 1400-1150 BCE and were acquired with funding from The Headley Trust, The Robinson Trust and V&A Purchase Grant Fund.
Also seen for the first time will be a uniquely preserved Middle Bronze Age rapier buried with an axe head and a beautifully incised bronze bracelet from a Stalbridge field dating around 1400-1275 BCE.
Visitors will have the chance to see significant recent finds, such as a gold and garnet encrusted sword pommel and hilts dating from 570-630 CE as part of the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire hoard discovered in 2009, and Viking treasures including intricately decorated silver bracelets and rare silver coins dating from 880-900 CE that were found in Lancashire in 2011 and prove to the links with the Frankish empire and the Arabic world.
The exhibition will tell the discovery stories of all these objects and more, explaining how they enhance our understanding of the past and connecting them with the significant finds loaned from the other museum collections.
The show will have four distinct sections. The first explores how ancient objects ended up in the ground, such as grave goods or being lost due to violent historical or natural events. The second will focus on how these objects were brought to light, either through archaeological excavation or metal detecting. Next, visitors will be able to explore how the definition of ‘treasure’ has changed through time. For example, the famous Anglo-Saxon ship discovered at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, was not considered a ‘treasure’ under the Treasure Trove law of the time (1939) because it was technically a burial and had not been put into the ground with the intention of retrieving it at a later date.
Visitors will be presented with uplifting stories of finders who followed the law and declared their finds, allowing us to admire ancient treasures and learn about our past. This is contrasted with tales about treasures lost to public view, depriving us all of part of our shared heritage and history.
The exhibition concludes with a focus on why it is important for archaeological finds to enter museum collections, showing how continued research and new technologies are allowing experts to reconstruct ancient lives, allowing us all to continue learning about our past.
Although it features several beautiful items of jewellery, such as a bejewelled gold pendant found in Charminster, or the ornate craftsmanship displayed in the silver adornments amongst Lancashire’s Silverdale Hoard, the exhibition is not all about ancient bling, but also the more prosaic, everyday artefacts of life, such as a candle holder, whistle and posy ring alongside rare evidence for prehistoric woven cloth. All these lost items represent moments and fragments from our past and the exhibition does much to explain why modern techniques are allowing them to be found and no longer left to rot, be broken up and disappear.
Cutting-edge creative work developed by students from Arts University Bournemouth will bring a first-century Roman soldier to life alongside weapons from Dorset landmark Hod Hill, creating a new and engaging experience for visitors. Using digital tools such as a Holobox, projections and holograms, combined with sensory elements including smell, touch and audio, the students have designed immersive interventions that reimagine Dorset’s historic treasures in fun and interactive ways. One installation will also tell the story of a young late Iron Age woman buried with wealth around 82 BCE – 60 CE, using creative interpretation and emerging technology to bring her story to life for modern audiences.
The Iron Age, Roman, Saxon and Viking items on display evoke the past lives of our ancient predecessors, whose lost objects are ours to enjoy today.
Claire Dixon, Executive Director of Dorset Museum says: “Dorset Museum & Art Gallery has been actively acquiring Treasure since its early origins, and we are excited to be displaying so many of our internationally significant artefacts, many of which have never been seen before. This would not have been possible without the support of funders. I would like to thank the NLHF, V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the Headley Trust, The Robinson Trust and our many generous donors, who have made it possible for DMAG to acquire these artefacts for the nation. We look forward to sharing them with our audiences, both during the exhibition and afterwards, when they will be incorporated into our displays.”
