Battle of Roundway Down
England. 1642. The First English Civil War has just begun with King Charles I fleeing London to Oxford after attempting to arrest members of Parliament on charges of treason. Both groups, Parliamentarians and Royalists began to recruit troops to fight against each-other. By 1643, the Civil War had become a
The Saxons
In order to understand the Anglo-Saxon origins of the modern English, it is necessary to understand the extent of their continental cousins and the extent of their expansion in Europe. Before the Saxons could be classed as two seperate group (Old-Saxons and Anglo-Saxons) they existed as one Low-German people. Situated
Thomas Lawrence – the ‘go to’ Georgian portrait painter from Devizes
Thomas Lawrence was born in Bristol in 1769 and moved to Devizes in 1773, when his father became landlord of the Bear Hotel. Devizes was on the coaching route from London to the fashionable spa at Bath and many important people stayed at the Bear Hotel. At the age of
Bush Barrow dagger
This dagger was buried with the Bush Barrow Chieftain who died in about 1950BC. The blade is made of bronze but the pommel is one of the most remarkable Bronze Age finds in Britain, decorated with microscopic gold studs set in a zig-zag pattern. The Bush Barrow Chieftain was buried
Musical instrument made from human tibia
A human thigh bone, crafted into a musical instrument. Found with a male Bronze Age burial at Wilsford, close to Stonehenge. Radiocarbon dating of this musical instrument suggests that it belonged to someone this person knew during their lifetime The end of the femur was carefully worked to make it
First use of a trowel in Archaeology – Bush Barrow
When asked about the first use of a trowel by an archaeologist, we had to tell the fascinating story of the excavation of Bush Barrow, close to Stonehenge. In 1808 William Cunnington led the excavation of this impressive burial mound, one of 50 on Normanton Down, looking out over Stonehenge.
Inspired by Bush Barrow
Golden Lozenge and Belt Hook - Margaret Marsden 1.0.0.20 Less than half a mile to the south of Stonehenge on the top of the Normanton Down ridge, lies Bush Barrow - Britain’s richest Bronze Age burial. The barrow is raised over the burial of Cheiftan and was first recorded by
Richard Sandell’s Bracket clock
This bracket clock has pride of place in the Long Room of our Library. It has not worked for many years, but has been restored for us by Matthew McMurray of the Devizes Clock Workshop. The Westminster Chimes are now a welcome sound in the Museum - listen to a
Upton Lovell Shaman
Shamanism is where people are regarded as having access, and influence, in the world of good and evil spirits. Typically, such people enter a trance state during a ritual and practice divination and healing. The shaman culture is most common among the people of Asia and North America. Shamanism is
Inspired by Jurassic fossils
A Jurassic fish known as Lepidotus minor. Prehistoric fish such as these had armoured small scales, which did not rot - allowing the fossil to be preserved almost perfectly. 1.0.0.20 1.0.0.20