Mark Horton, archaeologist and presenter on BBC's series Coast opened the exhibition Treasures from the Earth at the Museum of South Somerset on Friday 19th November. He spoke of how finding an old brooch as a child inspired him to become and archaeologist. He must have had an aptitude even then as his local museum identified the find as Roman!
This is the fourth and final venue in Somerset where you will be able to see this HLF and Renaissance South West funded exhibition. It leaves the county in March 2011 to start its year long tour of Cornwall.
The museum has customised the show with a display of finds from its stored collections. They range from stone axes to modern golf balls, unearthed by a local archaeologist in his garden. As the captions says: 'History dates from yesterday'.
Visitors to the museum also have the opportunity to see the amazing 3,500 thousand year old South Cadbury shield. Somerset County Museum has lent the spectacular find while Taunton Castle undergoes a multi million pound refurbishment.
The finds from South Somerset are displayed alongside artefacts from the stored collections of RAMM, the Royal Cornwall Museum and Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery. Items from Somerset museums include a Bronze Age hoard and Glastonbury ware bowl from the County Museum, a statuette of Mars from the Museum of South Somerset, an Anglo-Saxon sculpture from Glastonbury Abbey and a blue and white Chinese export plate from Wells.
The exhibition is at the Museum of South Somerset in Yeovil until 26th February 2011. Please contact the museum for further details of this event and the museum opening times, telephone 01935 462855.
