- Well-known archaeologist Julian Richards of ‘Meet the Ancestors’ is presenting a virtual gallery tour of the new ‘Potted History of Britain’ exhibition at Wimborne’s Museum of East Dorset.
The self-confessed ‘pot-aholic’ who curated the ‘Potted History of Britain’ exhibition at the newly-renovated museum ahead of its relaunch at the end of October will still be sharing the displays with the public – despite the national lockdown.
Julian will be hosting a virtual gallery tour and offering his insights around the origin and meanings of the exhibits, which chart 6000 years of ceramics, exploring pottery’s role in everyday life from prehistoric times to today.
The pots on display include some from the museum’s own stores, highlighting their unique collection of East Dorset ‘Verwood’ pottery while others have been generously loaned by Salisbury Museum. In all, over 80 pots, ranging from 6000-year-old fragments excavated near Stonehenge to a pot made during the Spring lockdown, will be used to tell this fascinating story.
Julian Richards said:
“Pottery has always been a passion of mine, whether it’s muddy broken fragments on an archaeological dig or showing primary school pupils how to make and fire their own pots.
“Pots are part of our everyday life. We eat off them, drink out of them and even sit on something that’s made of pottery in our visits to the bathroom! We can learn so much about people’s day to day lives through their pottery so I would urge people to get online and join me for a Potted History of Britain.’
People can sign up now to join the virtual exhibition and will receive a link to the event, which is being streamed on YouTube at 6:30pm on Thursday November 26. Tickets cost £5 and are available from the Museum of East Dorset website. Following the tour, Julian will be answering questions via a live Zoom call. A select number of spaces are available for the Q&A in which Julian will be answering a selection of pottery-related questions. This event is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Museum of East Dorset, known previously as the Priest’s House Museum, reopened on October 26, following a £1.8 million National Lottery supported Revival Project for the museum and its information centre. The £1.8m Revival Project was made possible with a £982,200 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, along with matched funding from local councils and grants and donations from Trusts, Foundations, organisations, businesses, and members of the local community.
For more information and to book tickets, visit: https://museumofeastdorset.co.uk/project/the-potted-history-of-britain/
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