A date for the diary: 23-24 July 2016

Festival of Archaeology at Salisbury Museum, Wiltshire, England.

The Salisbury Museum is proud to announce details of this year's Festival of Archaeology being held on 23 and 24 July. There will be something for everyone, with a packed programme of demonstrations, hands on opportunities and talks by famous archaeologists.

The exciting programme of talks runs over both days and covers everything from DNA to Vikings, along with a liberal sprinkling of Egyptology! This reflects both exciting developments in current archaeology and the British Museum Touring Exhibition on show at the museum.

Dr Turi King, famous for identifying Richard III's DNA opens the festival with a talk on her research into family history and genetics. To follow are two talks complimenting the British Museum's Touring Exhibition 'Writing for Eternity; Decoding Ancient Egypt', which is at the museum until 3 September. Professor Richard Parkinson from Oxford University discusses the archaeology of Ancient Egyptian poetry, followed by Dr Toby Wilkinson from Cambridge University who will use the latest archaeological discoveries to explore the rise and fall of Ancient Egypt. Saturday's talks are completed by Professor Vincent Gaffney whose work on the 'Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes' project last year caught the public's imagination and is set to hit the headlines again this summer as several digs are due to follow up the astonishing geophysical results that Professor Gaffney and his team revealed. 

Coming soon - Festival of Archaeology @SalisburyMuseum 23 and 24 July https://t.co/QRYq8vtn81 pic.twitter.com/bynfTT1pTH

— Bradshaw Foundation (@BradshawFND) July 14, 2016

Sunday morning opens with a distinctly Time Team feel as Dr Henry Chapman's talk explains exactly what geophysics really is; how it has been used; and looks at its future in archaeology. All weekend Dr Phil Harding and finds expert Lorraine Mepham will be leading a demonstration dig in the festival showground. The dig is aimed at cutting away all the jargon of archaeology and showing visitors how methodical archaeology provides information on the past. This dig, which commences on Saturday, will be followed by a talk by Dr Harding and Lorraine Mepham on Sunday, talking through the dig process and illustrating with anecdotes from their career including 20 years in Time Team.

Fresh from the trenches, Dr Harding is followed by Dr Miles Russell from Bournemouth University who will have just completed their latest season on the 'Duritriges' dig. This exploration of a huge Iron Age settlement has made the news every year for the scale and curious contents found. 2015's big story was a number of animal graves with heads and bodies of animals purposefully mixed. Will the mystery be solved in 2016?

'Great Excavations' completes the weekend talks with archaeologist Mike Pitts chairing a discussion on the challenges and responsibilities of archaeological sites with Professor Michael Fulford, lead on the massive Roman site of Silchester and Steve Wallis, Dorset County Archaeologist who oversaw the work on the Viking mass burial discovered during the building of the Weymouth relief road for the 2012 Olympics. 

The festival, set in the grounds of Salisbury Museum is just £2 donation entry and is a showground of heritage and living history with something for everyone, from the serious history buff to the family looking for a fun and fascinating day out.

Have a go at archery, watch stained glass making, try stone carving with the Cathedral stone masons, meet re-enactors and see demonstrations including Roman life in Britain, medieval swordsmanship, ancient metal casting and pottery. There will also be an opportunity to see the giant Lego postcard from Egypt, made on 31 May at the museum's 'Build like an Egyptian' event. This magnificent postcard will be auctioned to help raise funds for the museum. For those wishing for a hands-on Lego fix, there will be exclusive mini-Egyptian models to make on the day too.

Inside the museum are also gallery talks from Dr Ilona Regulski from the British Museum and Anna Dillon, landscape artist.

Festival of Archaeology 2016
Saturday 23 July
10am - 5pm

Sunday 24 July
11am - 5pm

Entry £2 donation to the showground and museum

Tickets for talks £6 each 

Available online from the Salisbury Museum website
http://www.salisburymuseum.org.uk

The Salisbury Museum
The Kings House
65 The Close
Salisbury
Wiltshire  SP1 2EN UK
T: + 44 (0) 1722 332151