Two striking photographs of our museum as it begins to emerge from the scaffolding in all its restored glory.
Inside, the new display in the temporary exhibition room has been up and running for three weeks already. It is quirky, interesting, made up of old and new and recycled, and is proving to be a draw. well done all concerned.
And not be missed…
New Fieldwork at Hinton St Mary, Dorset: The Mosaic in Context – Talk by Peter Guest
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Location: Lecture Hall £9 Members; £12 Non-members
The mosaic from Hinton St Mary is one of the most celebrated and iconic survivals from Roman Britain. Discovered (accidentally) in 1963, its central roundel features the bust of a man with the Christian Chi-Rho symbol behind his head, which most scholars have concluded is among the first representations of Jesus Christ from the ancient world. This talk will present some of the ground-breaking results of The British Museum’s on-going archaeological excavations at the site and explore what these tell us about one of the earliest Christian communities in Britain.
This is a fundraising talk for Salisbury Museum (registered charity no 289850)
EXHIBITION CLOSING SOON! Salisbury On Camera: 50 Years of the Salisbury Journal Archive 29 Apr 2023- 29 Oct 2023 Make sure to head down to Salisbury Museum over the next month so you don’t miss out on this fascinating exhibition, Salisbury On Camera: 50 Years of the Salisbury Journal Archive.
This exhibition celebrates the first fifty years of this significant archive which starts in 1953 and runs through to 2003. Providing an incredible record of life in the city and surrounding area. This exhibition focuses on major events, fashion, sport, music, environment, buildings, famous visitors, local interests and social history.
244 images have been selected by museum volunteer Ken Smith which have been arranged according to the decade they came from.
COMING SOON! The Art of Wessex Exhibition 11 Nov 2023- 28 Jan 2024
In the build up to the opening of the new museum this exhibition will explore all the different Wessex artists represented in the museum’s collection.
Our collection includes over 5,000 paintings, prints and drawings. This careful selection will look at artists connected with the Wessex area from 18th century to the present day, ranging from the oil paintings of George Beare to the wood engravings of Howard Phipps. It will include well known pieces as well as hidden treasures and new acquisitions not seen by the public before.
THE ANNUAL CLARENDON LECTURE 2023
Politics as Recreation – The Annual Clarendon Lecture, from Professor Chris Given-Wilson, St Andrews University.
This year’s Annual Clarendon Lecture will focus on three separate occasions at Clarendon palace in the fourteenth century, in 1317, 1355 and 1370 when the English kings hosted their European contemporaries for talks – a medieval camp David. The main characters being discussed will be Edward II of England, along with King Charles II of Navarre and his brother Philip of Navarre during periods of conflict and especially the Hundred Years War in the later fourteenth century.
Clarendon provided a different setting for these meetings away from London and Westminster. This talk will consider the role of the palace in these international diplomatic events.
Speaker: Professor Chris Given-Wilson
Chris is a professional Emeritus in Late Medieval History specialising in fourteenth and fifteenth century history. He grew up in the New Forest. Recent works includes a biography of Henry IV and as a general editor of the acclaimed Parliament Rolls of Medieval England online.
Tickets £12 or £9 for Friends of Clarendon Palace or Museum Members. This lecture will be held at Salisbury Methodist Church, Thursday 16 Nov 7pm Pre-booking essential – book here
The Spectacular Ambitions of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury – A Talk by Tony McAleavy
One of the most extraordinary characters associated with the history of Salisbury was Bishop Roger (1102–1139) who controlled the diocese in the early 12th century and was also the chief advisor to King Henry I.
In today’s terms, Roger was the prime minister and was, after the king, the most powerful person in the country. In this talk Tony McAleavy will describe the life and colourful character of Roger. He will explain the latest research concerning Roger’s role in the building of the Romanesque work at Malmesbury Abbey and his plan to turn Malmesbury into a second cathedral for the bishops of Salisbury which led to a bitter conflict with the Malmesbury monks.
Tony McAleavy studied history at Oxford. He was for many years the schools history adviser for Gloucestershire County Council. In this talk he will draw upon the findings about the career of Roger recently published in a new book about the history of Malmesbury Abbey in the Middle Ages.
This is a fundraising talk for Salisbury Museum (registered charity no 289850)
£9 Members; £12 Non-members
This lecture will be held in The Salisbury Museum Lecture Hall 18 Jan 7.30pm Pre-booking essential – book here
On 30 August 1826, William Cobbett, one-time soldier, and by then a political figure, and an advocate for the poor, was on his rural rides*. Having ridden from Milton near Marlborough, he wrote of that day:
“I got in to Salisbury about half past 7 o’clock, less tired than I recollect ever to have been after so long a ride; for, including my several crossings of the river and my deviations to look at churches and farm yards and rick yards, I think I must have ridden nearly forty miles….
When I came down to Stratford Dean I wanted to go across to Laverstock , which lay to my left of Salisbury; but just on the side of the road here, at Stratford Dean, rises the Accursed Hill**. It is very lofty. It was originally a hill in a sort of sugar loaf shape; but it was so altered by the Romans, or by somebody , that the upper three quarter parts of the hill now, when seen from a distance, somewhat resemble three cheeses laid one upon another; the bottom one a great deal broader than the next, and the top one like a Stilton cheese in proportion to a Gloucester one. I resolved to ride over this Accursed Hill… The hill is very steep, and I dismounted and led my horse up…”
*W Cobbett ‘Rural Rides’ 1830 (an account of four rides made across Scotland and England in 1822, 1823, 1825 and 1826)
**Old Sarum was a ‘rotten borough’ in 1826, returning two MPs to Parliament despite there being no population to vote…
Reminder!
ONLINE Talk by Chris Daniell – New Sarum 1086-1269
Between 1146 and 1220 there are eight references to ‘Old Salisbury’, or more puzzling the plural ‘Old Salisburies’.
This talk will assess the occurrences and make the case that Old Salisbury was an Anglo-Saxon Hundredal meeting place. The talk will then look at the development of New Sarum and propose two major phases. The first phase included the Close and a smaller secular settlement, and then the second phase, only a few years later, saw the development of the full Medieval layout of the city.
On-line lecture. Pre-booking essential
£9 Members; £12 Non-members
This is a fundraising talk for Salisbury Museum (registered charity no 289850)
Yesterday, Easter Saturday, more of those books appeared on Chris Childs’ Charity Bookstall in Salisbury Market. Chris uses his stall to raise money for charities, mostly the Salisbury District Hospital Hospice and the Army Benevolent Fund, but this time he hosted a sale in support of The Salisbury Museum.
It was a glorious Spring day, once the mist cleared, and hordes of local people, and some visiting book dealers, gathered to buy, in some cases, box-fulls of the wonderful books on Wiltshire and Salisbury.
Volunteers were there to help, and also buy books!
The weather was kind, we were joined by friends old and new – all eager to share their passion for archaeology – and the public came along.
There were families (including one that diverted on their journey from London to Wales!), visitors to Salisbury, people from overseas, famous archaeologists, budding archaeologists, little ones realising theycould be archaeologists, all enjoying and having fun. Even Thomas Hardy!
The OutsideCBA WessexWaiting for Alice!WeorodThe CafeMusic music musicStonehengeWessex ArchaeologyPhil, PAS volunteers, FLO Sophie Hawke
Thank you – Wessex Museums, Scrapstore, Salisbury Cathedral Education, CBA Wessex, Cranborne Chase AONB, The Outside, Tim Lowe (as Thomas Hardy), Weorod, Ancient Wessex, The Bowmen (and women), Wiltshire Museum, Wessex Archaeology, NT and HE Stonehenge, Hampshire Cultural Trust, Friends of Claendon, musicians, cafe, Chris Elmer, PAS, Past Foward, Simon Cleggett, Lorraine Mepham, Phil Harding, Alice Roberts, Julian Richards, Museum Director Adrian Green and staff and Volunteers and visitors.
We look forward to more in this series of fascinating tours behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, please remember there are other You Tube presentations about the museum collections. Just use your search engine (eg Google) and type in Salisbury Museum You Tube. Click here for another example.
Artist’s impression of bracer as it might have been worn
I became intrigued by the stone slips, found with numerous skeletons, which are identified as ‘bracers’ used by archers to protect the inside of their wrists from the lash of the bowstring. My wife and I have both been told separately by archers that the bracers will not work because the string will catch behind the near end of the stone. Intrigued and persuaded by their comments, I investigated.
We have seen three designs: one with two holes, three examples (Figa 1,2,3) one hole at each end and one with six holes, three at each end Fig 4, both in Salisbury Museum, and one with four holes, two at each end, in Devizes Museum. Internet research revealed similar ‘bracers’ and some with even more holes, some of which were filled with rivets. The only one we have seen that might be in situ is with the “Amesbury Archer”, and that one might be on the outside of his arm and is associated with a large pin. Once again, internet research revealed that others have been found on the outside of the forearm, which is not the place for a wrist guard. From the outside of the display cases, we cannot see any sign of wear (witness mark) around the holes that might have resulted from movement of a cord or thong.
Fig 1 Amesbury Archer’s “bracer” in situ on the outside of the forearm. This bracer is about 10 cm long.Fig 2 Amesbury Archer’s bracer out of place, probably in a bag near his feet. This bracer is about 10 cm long.Fig 3 Stonehenge Archer’s “bracer” its original position in the grave is unknown. It is about 7cm long, to short to provide protection.Fig 4 “Bracer” with six holes. I can think of no practical reason for the extra two holes. Perhaps it is a two-hole model that was modified.
One must be careful not to read too much into the position of artefacts in graves. They can be moved and/or they might have been placed in the grave without reference to their function in life. Indeed a second bracer is near the “Amesbury Archer’s” feet. The “Stonehenge Archer” might have been buried with his ‘bracer’ in place but his grave had been badly damaged by animals and the photo does not show where the bracer was found.
For a bracer to be effective it must deflect the bowstring without snagging it, as this would disturb the arrow’s release and deflect the arrow. It must be easy to fit single-handedly, be comfortable and non-encumbering.
I have made simulations in wood of both the two and four-holed versions. It is easy to devise suitable means of attachment using a simple loop of string but I needed a helper to put it on. The two hole version stands up and snags the bowstring most of the time. The four-holed version fitted more snugly to my wrist but it still snagged the bowstring far too often. Both types protected my wrist effectively, most of the time but not often enough. I received string lash to my wrist when the bracer snagged the bowstring and to my thumb and the fletching cut my top knuckle. If this were my bracer, I would make a better one. In particular, I would want some kind of glove or mitten to protect my thumb and knuckle; which seems to be an impractical modification to the bracer as normally shown, Fig 5 The example with the Stonehenge archer is so small it would provide little or no protection. In short, used as shown in Fig 5 would be inconvenient, useless and an encumbrance.
Fig 5 The Amesbury Archer as he is usually portrayed. However, the ‘bracer’ would not lie as close to the arm as is shown here
Protection might be provided in numerous ways, e.g. by binding the arm with a leather sheet or sleeve. In this case, the stone slip might have been used as a fastener, rather like a cleat, and/or a spreader/stiffener to stop the leather from creasing. This could explain finding them on the outside of the arm. It might also explain the absence of wear in the holes, since it would be rather static. The Amesbury Archer’s pin is unexplained. Clearly, the thumb and knuckle guards could be incorporated with the sleeve; this construction would also have helped to keep the sleeve taut.
I have no explanation for the six-holed version, there seems to be no advantage in having the extra holes. However, some multi-hole ‘bracers’ have rivets closing the holes so, maybe, the extra holes were ornamental or perhaps it was a two hole version later modified. Possibly, some ‘bracers’ were purely ornamental; there are examples of such developments, e.g. officers’ epaulets which were once protection from downwards sword cuts and the small silver shield that was worn by army officers on a silver chain around the neck is a vestigial breastplate.
Clearly, all of this is speculation based on incomplete evidence and looking from outside the display cabinets. Of the various options proposed above, the hand guard plus sleeve with a buckle/tensioner/stiffener seems to give the best design for the equipment and is within the capabilities of Neolithic people. Which raises the question “Why use stone, why not wood?” I suggest that making a flat wood version rather than using flat slate or similar stone would have been more difficult and a round stick would have got in the way. Of course, all of this is speculation and could well be wrong! All we can only ever say is that this or that explanation is consistent with known facts; of course, if it is inconsistent, it is wrong.
For a more information see:
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 74, 2008, pp. 109-140
‘Bracers or Bracelets? About the Functionality and Meaning of Bell Beaker Wrist-guards’ by HARRY FOKKENS, YVONNE ACHTERKAMP, and MAIKEL KUIJPERS1
Abstract
The Bell Beaker bracers, or wrist-guards, are traditionally thought to have functioned as archery equipment, protecting the arm against the sting of the bowstring. Their position on the body is therefore thought to have been on the inside of the lower arm. Through analysis of the position in which wrist-guards are found, we have come to the conclusion that they were, however, more often than not fastened to the outside of the arm, which leads us to consider a range of new possible uses and meanings for the bracers. With combined information from archaeological and ethnographic surveys we have come to think of the stone wrist-guard as an artefact that was associated with a martial, ideologically-laden activity in the Bell Beaker culture.
It may be seen online.
My major comments on this work are given below, they state:
“The surprising conclusion of our survey (Of the positions of “bracers” in Neolithic graves.) is that, while the majority of the bracers were indeed positioned on the lower arm, generally the left arm, they had been worn on the outside. —- only eight out of 30 examples were located on the inside of the arm, with 17 definitely on the outside. Even if we leave — the position that is hardest to interpret – out of the equation, still c. 60% are positioned on the outside of the arm. That was, in fact, wholly unexpected and is difficult to explain as evidence for a functional position. It is also clear that this position on the outside of the wrist is not exclusive, so both a functional and a non-functional or ornamental position are possible, although the majority appear to be ornamental.”
I suggest that it is wrong to suppose that the functional position must be on the inside of the arm. It seems to me that that they are the fastener for the wrist guard and therefore the outside of the wrist is their functional position. So why were some found on the inside? For that, I have no good answer, perhaps movement of the bracer occurred after death. For example, the arm may have withered allowing the bracer to slip round during the burial ritual.
In his recent talk to Volunteers about prospects for the museum after our successful NHLF bid, the Director began by referencing his arrival in 2007. It was a time when there was a need, and desire, for change. And it was important to rejuvenate the heart of the museum – the King’s House.
A Masterplan was prepared. A priority was to update the prehistory displays as Stonehenge would have its own new visitors’ gallery after 2013. In July 2014 the Wessex Gallery opened and Part One was complete.
The Salisbury Galleries, meanwhile, date to the 1980s, and also need re-designing.
Conserving the Grade Two listed buildings is vital and potentially expensive. Tiles fall off, leaks and damp are occasionally serious, as a ceiling collapse a few months ago reminded everyone.
Meanwhile, the museum continues to take in new material, including large items such as the Scout car.
A big plus is the recently acquired Hurricane Store’ at Old Sarum but there are still problems, generally, with storage.
The museum needs 45 000 visitors a year to be stable financially. At the moment the annual figure is 30 000. Commercial opportunities are being developed, eg the use of the King’s Room (which also needs updating), but, for example, a lift is needed to make it more accessible.
With NHLF funding, and other monies, the Salisbury Gallery will be re-developed during 2020 – 2022. It may involve revamping rooms and buildings, and Wiltshire Council and Heritage England are supportive of changes to the ground floor but there is much to consider.
Adrian stressed that we have a ‘Round One’ pass only from NHLF at the moment and certain criteria must be met before we gain ‘Round Two’ funding.
And, of course, we need to raise match funding to go with the Lottery grant. Fundraisers have been appointed and staff to fill new posts will follow. Conservation Architects will be needed, designers for interiors, business planners, Quantity Surveyors, etc, etc. In addition a Membership drive is planned.
Onward and upward..but a lot of hard work yet to do!