Time Travelling by Water

Time Travelling by Water will be joining the Hampshire Water Festival on the 9^th August 2008 in Romsey.

The Festival celebrates the vital role that water and the natural environment play in our everyday lives. With so much of the water we use hidden in pipes or under the ground it is easy to forget how important it has been for people in the past.

The festival is being held in several locations throughout the town. Since we’re intending to get a little wet, the Time Travelling by Water stand will be in Memorial Park.

Come and visit the stand to find out about the history and prehistory of Romsey and how it has thrived and developed on its riverine setting over the past 10,000 years.

Younger visitors can become underwater archaeologists to explore, excavate and record some real submerged finds using diving and archaeological equipment. Whilst visiting us, take the opportunity to talk to our marine and coastal archaeologists and ask them your questions about what we do and how we do it!

National Archaeology Day 2008 was a great success!

Budding archaeologists who visited the TTBW stand explored a range of archaeological finds that have come from under the water. Artefacts found by marine archaeologists must be kept wet to prevent them drying out too quickly and breaking apart. As all of our finds have to be kept submerged we explored them by plunging our arms into the murky water, and braver visitors donned diving masks and snorkels to get a closer look!

With wet arms and faces we explored the finds to discover which came from the last Ice Age and separated the mammoth teeth from the modern metals.

The day was hugely successful with over 600 visitors enjoying the events, activities and displays that were organised at Salisbury Museum to celebrate this important day in the archaeological calendar.

National Archaeology Week 2008 is nine days of events beginning on the 12^th July. This annual event is organised nationally by the Council for British Archaeology and aims to give everyone the opportunity to learn about the heritage that is all around us by becoming involved in archaeology. This year Time Travelling by Water will be supporting events at Salisbury Museum on the 12^th July where we will be celebrating and exploring our prehistoric past.

Visit the Time Travelling by Water stand to learn about the last Ice Age, between 70,000 and 10,000 years ago. During the last Ice Age the planet became very cold and water froze into huge sheets of ice. As the water froze, the seas retreated only to return as the climate warmed and the ice melted. Dry land where people, plants and animals once lived is now covered by water. It is in these currently underwater areas that we can expect to find some of the best evidence of how people lived during the last Ice Age.

Explore the evidence yourself and become a marine archaeologist by using diving equipment to explore submerged finds. See if you can sort the modern finds from those that are truly prehistoric. You might even find some real mammoth remains!

This is just one of the many exciting things you can do at Salisbury Museum on the 12^th of July. You can also build ‘Stonehenge’ on the back lawn, reconstruct the face of a Bronze Age person and try your hand at metal detecting. There will be demonstrations of prehistoric flint knapping and bronze casting. In the museum’s lecture theatre you can explore the process archaeologists use to find out about our past and try some archaeological digging and recording techniques yourself! You can also view the museum’s displays including the newly opened Inspired by Stonehenge exhibition.

Entrance to the museum for National Archaeology Day is free and the museum is located opposite the cathedral cloisters, in Cathedral Close. We look forward to seeing you on what promises to be a spectacular day!

For more information on National Archaeology Week and other activities that will be happening across the country this July, visit the CBA’s National Archaeology Week website.