A is for Alphabets

The Sun Lounge has recently become home to some new displays! They are part of a series of changing displays that will explore the weird and wonderful objects in our collection by going through the letters of the alphabet. As the displays move through the various letters of the alphabet, more and more unusual objects will come out of storage and into the cases.

The Alphabets display, currently in the Sun Lounge

The first case, ‘A is for Alphabets’, looks at how different alphabets and writing systems have been used throughout history. Each of the objects shows different writing systems, including Latin, Arabic, Chinese, cuneiform, and hieroglyphs.

Not all of the writing systems displayed here are technically alphabets! Cuneiform, hieroglyphs and Chinese are not ‘true’ alphabets. These were developed earlier and the symbols represent parts of words, or whole words, as opposed to single sounds. Latin and Arabic are the only ‘true’ alphabets displayed as each symbol represents a single sound.

The case shows that writing has been used for similar purposes in different cultures and time periods.  The objects on display include a Roman curse tablet, a number of Chinese coins, a cuneiform tablet and cone, and a bank note. The artefacts broadly fall into 4 categories; trade, religion, organisation, and food and drink. 

Egyptian shabtis

My favourite objects are the two shabtis. These ancient Egyptian figurines represent agricultural workers who would serve the deceased in the afterlife. The hieroglyphs on the front are typically from the Book of the Dead. The Book was made up of spells to help the deceased navigate the underworld.

Alphabets and writing systems give us a fascinating insight into different civilisations throughout time and across the world. I really enjoyed putting together this display. Pop into the Sun Lounge to see this display and keep an eye out for the next installation; the letter B!

Alex

Collections Volunteer

Tuesday Times Tables: Glorious Roman Glass

Have you ever wondered how glass was made in the Roman period, or what the components of Roman glass are?

Roman double-handled bulbous vase

Glass has three principal constituents: a former, a flux and a stabiliser. In antiquity, silica, in form of sand, acted as the former; soda was used as flux and calcium in form of lime was used as stabiliser. 

The Roman glassworker could vary the colour of the glass by adding specific metal oxides. Different quantities of these colouring agents, that have different chemical compositions, and manipulation of furnace temperatures produced a very wide range of translucent and opaque colours. 

The addition of copper produced a range of blues, greens and red; cobalt was for dark blue; iron was used for brown and black glass; manganese for yellowish or purple glass; and for the colourless or opaque white glass was used antimony.

Roman melon bead made from glass paste

The ingredients were initially heated together to a temperature of about 600 Celsius degrees to remove the impurities and this process, called “fritting”, produced the material known as frit. The best of the frit was then broken up and heated to 1100 Celsius degrees or more to form glass.  

Roman jar with thick zig-zag pattern from neck to shoulders

The three principal processes used to manufacture Roman glass vessels were casting, mould-blowing and free-blowing.

Tall slightly twisted Roman jug with strap handle

The casting was in widespread use in the early years of Roman Empire, but became rare towards the end of first century AD and occurred only occasionally thereafter. In the casting process the glass objects were cast by directing molten glass into a mould where it solidified. This technique created decorative effects by joining together prefabricated component parts, like handles, feet and rims. The most common cast vessel found in Roman Britain is the pillar-moulded bowl.

Modern glassmakers blowing glass

By the time of the Roman invasion of Britain in the reign of the Emperor Claudius in 43 AD, most Roman glass was produced by the blowing method. The invention of glass-blowing completely transformed the glass industry: it was now possible to produce a wide variety of forms more cheaply. 

It consists of an inflation of a gather (a mass of melted glass) onto the end of an iron rod. The glass could be blown in a mould or with the free-blowing method, but in this last case the glassworker had to shape the vessel by rolling the iron rod across a flat stone or a metal surface and by manipulation with tools. When the vessel was ready it was removed from the iron rod and then handles and other parts were added.

Michela Amato

Collections Placement

Civilisations: A Display of Belief

'Civilisations’ is a new series on BBC 2 spanning 31 countries and looking at humanity’s desire to create. Each episode covers a different theme, ranging from how people in the past depicted themselves through art, to how different faiths are represented through art and objects.

The Belief display case

As part of the Civilisations festival, I put together a display case in the Sun Lounge based on belief systems in past societies and how they are represented through the objects in our collection. I wanted to try and represent as many different countries across the world using interesting objects, just like the Civilisations programme.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘belief’ as the trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.

Replica Iron Age spoons

I chose to display the Iron Age spoons as they are somewhat of a mystery, but incredibly interesting. They are made in a style unique to Britain and Ireland, formed from a single sheet of metal, with one spoon bearing a large cross and the other a small hole on the right side. Liquid may have been poured onto one spoon and dripped through the hole onto the other spoon during rituals. Little is known about belief systems in the Iron Age, but it is believed that a lot of the ritual practices revolved around offerings and sacrifices to the gods.

One of my favourite aspects of the display case is the two images of Haile Selassie at The Roman Baths in 1936. Haile Selassie was Ethiopia’s Emperor from 1930-1974. He was worshipped as god incarnate among followers of the Rastafari movement which developed in the 1930’s.

Haile Selassie visiting the Roman Baths in 1936

Rastafarians believe that they are the chosen people of God, but that colonisation and the slave trade has led to their role being supressed. Haile Selassie was not part of the religion himself but people still believed him to be god incarnate. They believe in the ritual inhalation of marijuana and the religious ceremonies consist of chanting, drumming and meditating in order to increase their spiritual awareness and reach a state of heightened spirituality.

There are many other interesting and important artefacts from our collection which represent different belief systems in past civilisations. If you want to find out more, you can see this display for free in the Sun Lounge!

Dulcie

Collections Intern

Locksbrook to Lansdown!

It’s busy-ness as usual for the Collections team this week as we’re moving the contents of our Local History store all the way from St Johns Store on Locksbrook Road up to a new and improved store in Lansdown.

Needle douches at St Johns Store

The move has involved considerable planning, as the collection ranges from rickety needle douches to beautiful wooden furniture. Originally, the new space seemed like it would be too small for the sheer amount of objects, but with the installation of a mezzanine floor and some lovely new racking, the move was fit to go ahead.

A hair hygrometer measures the humidity of the atmosphere in %RH (relative humidity)

Of course we hit a few bumps in the road – mostly to do with conservation because the environment up on Lansdown isn’t always the friendliest! On one of the first days of planning the move, we took a hygrometer with us to measure the moisture in the air, which read 92% RH (relative humidity) after just an hour! Considering the nature of the collection (lots of wood and metal), which requires a much drier, more stable environment this had to be dealt with quickly. Today, we have just the machines for the job – two dehumidifiers that consistently keep the humidity in the store at a balmy 45%RH.

Planning the move!

Even with the racking put in place, space was still an issue. The only way to solve this was to chalk it up to experience and literally draw chalk lines onto the floor, outlining the shapes and sizes of objects to make sure we were using the remaining space as efficiently as possible. It’s not just a matter of being able to squeeze around it – we also need to have access for collections purposes as well as for our visitors to view these amazing objects!

A beautiful desk fits snugly in its allotted area of floor space

I can’t express my delight when all this hard work paid off and each object slotted smoothly into its intended space to within a centimetre of the chalked outlines! Work continues today to get everything moved to Lansdown, and it’s already looking like the store we always wanted.

The move is still in progress, but we'll be open for visitors soon!

Join us up at Lansdown North on the 26^th October from 11am-3pm to celebrate the Grand Opening of our new store. For more information, please visit the Museums Week website.

Zofia

Collections Assistant

Way Back Wednesday: the Science of Skeletons

As well as organising the Science Week events at the Roman Baths, I was able to design a handling table. My topic of choice was human remains, as I have an interest in them and there is a lot they can tell you. One issue with this is the ethics of choosing to have human remains in public areas of the site as visitors may not wish to see human remains outside a case. This was overcome by producing a sign to warn visitors about the remains on show and to only have skeletal elements not whole skeletons out.

My research for the table was into how you could age and sex a skeleton from different elements. It was hard to condense the information down into language that the everyday reader would understand as there are lots of technical words such as diaphysis and epiphysis for the shaft and ends of long bones respectively.  This could have be why information sheets explaining how to do this have not been produced before.

Skull of a Roman Male

One common comment made about the table was about the condition of the teeth.  Teeth are the most common skeletal element found as they are resistant to chemical and physical destruction. The teeth which attracted the most attention belonged to a 25 year old Roman male, and the condition divided opinion. Some said they were well looked after and in better condition than the modern equivalent, while others said they were worn. The teeth could be in better condition due to the fact the Romans didn’t consume as much sugar as the modern population, as sugar wasn't available in Europe at this time. Instead, they were worn due to milling methods used to make flour leaving sand which in turn wore down the teeth.

The assessment of skeletal remains is very subjective, as this comment on the teeth wear shows, so even if you know the correct methods you might still be wrong, and if sexing you only have a 50/50 chance of getting it right!

Katharine Foxton

Bradford University Placement Student

Katharine’s Placement Reflection

When I first applied for a student placement with the Roman Baths Collections team over a year ago, I could not have imagined the experiences I would have and how quickly the 6 months would pass. During this placement I have learned about how much work goes on behind the scenes to keep a museum running and everything that needs to be considered when interpreting the collection.

One of my main projects was to catalogue the archive for the archaeological excavations at The Tramsheds on Walcot Street. This consisted of a large paper and archaeological archive of a variety of artefacts, including Roman pottery, clay pipes and tile. The first task for cataloguing was to arrange the paperwork into relevant sections and then number them accordingly. This task seemed like it went on forever due to the large number of photographs - about 1,050 in total! The cataloguing of 47 boxes of artefacts was completed by our amazing volunteers, so a huge thank you to them. Cataloguing this site has shown me how much information about the local area is stored in museums.

Katharine with her completed Tramsheds archive

As well as cataloguing, I helped with various events celebrating the history of Bath.  World Heritage Day showcased the wide range of artefacts in our collection showing the history of the Spring from the Mesolithic to the 20^th Century. We also had a selection of spa equipment out and photos showing the different treatments you could have received. This was very interesting as I got to learn more about the history of Bath while explaining this to visitors.  The event at Saltford Brass Mill showed what an amazing collection is housed at the Roman Baths with a wide variety of objects of differing metals.

Susan and Katharine with the handling table at Saltford Brass Mill

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working at the Baths and will miss all my colleagues who have made the experience so special. One day I hope to come back, but who knows…

Katharine Foxton 

Bradford University Placement Student

Roman Society Museum Internship Bursary

During the end of final year at the University of Exeter I applied to the Roman Society, UK for their Museum Internship Bursary. The bursary is offered as part of a 3 - week placement which takes place at the available museums and covers travel expenses for the whole placement. The aim of the scheme is to give the successful applicant’s museum and collections experience.

My application was successful and I was selected as one of six out of 80 applications for the scheme. The Roman Baths Museum was my museum of choice and they selected me to work in their collections department; in order for me to expand my experience in post-excavation archaeological work because I already have a lot of experience working in the field on archaeological sites, both in the UK and abroad.

Through the internship I have been able to have a detailed insight into archaeological and museum systems outside excavations and have been able to experience a number of different parts of Museum work:

What it is like to catalogue and archive objects (such as the Beau Street Roman Coin Hoard which is currently being catalogued, archived and prepared for storage and display at the Roman Baths and being prepared for Road shows later this year);

Individually archive and catalogue an archaeological site which had come into the Roman Baths Museum from the local county;

Correctly organise and input all the data from the coin hoard into a central database;

Plan and run exhibitions/ events and see just how much time and planning needs to go into each; including running my own display event on Money Monday at the Baths;

Assist Museum staff and visitors on the pre-booked Tunnel Tours of the Roman Baths.

My time at the Roman Baths and the experience I’ve gained here will be extremely valuable to both myself as an individual and my appreciation of museum work as well as providing me with further opportunities in Archaeology and Museum worlds.

Me, Katy and Emma showing off the Beau Street Hoard staff t-shirts at a Conservation Evening

Matthew Batchelor

Art Inspiration

I think my past blogs have served as clear evidence that art is a great part of who I am. Over the past couple of years my time associated with the Roman Baths has not only expanded my talents but opened doors for my own work.

Before I started working here the Victorian Art Gallery was alien territory for me, and this is coming from a wannabe artist. From the first time I visited that place I began looking up all the future exhibitions they held, drawn to one annual event in particular: The Bath Society of Artists Open Exhibition; a chance for artists both amateur and professional to have their work on display for all the public to see.

Admittedly I was hesitant to submit some work for consideration last year. I can only imagine how much of a big step it is for any up-and-coming artist, and it took the encouragement of all my colleagues in the Collections office before I got two of my pieces together: a portrait painting of actress Karen Gillan and an experimental form of art known as “Cybermen at Arms”. The portrait was rejected sadly but “Cybermen…” officially became the first piece of art I had created to be on display at an exhibition, and considering that it was among the 350 chosen from an original 700 submitted I felt rather privileged, even if it didn’t sell.

Cybermen at Arms

Earlier this year, the next exhibition came round, and following the success of “Cybermen at Arms’” I produced two new paintings from my range of ‘Parody Art’: “Penguin Product Placement” and “Towing and Reckless Driving is Serious”. Based on “Cybermen’s…” uniqueness I had hoped that at least one of those pieces would make it through, so imagine my surprise when I learned shortly after the submission that BOTH paintings were accepted. Sadly I still fell short of my first sale and a category award has still eluded my grasp.

Penguin Product Placement

It may be some time before I get any awards or recognition, but just being able to say that three of my paintings were selected for an exhibition means I can walk away with my head held high, until I have to put it down again while I brainstorm new ideas.

Towing and Reckless Driving is Serious

James Read - Collections Volunteer

The Museum - A Brief History

The museum opened in 1897, following the discovery and excavation of the Roman bathing complex during the 1870s. In its infancy, the museum was more of an informal cabinet of Roman curiosities than a museum, with various pieces of stone from the excavations set up around the baths. The baths became a huge tourist attraction, charges were made for admission and guides gave tours of the site.


Great Bath 1885

 Visitor numbers steadily grew over the years and the collection was added to by further excavations and gifted objects from other institutions and individuals. By the early 1980s, the site was attracting over 1 million visitors a year, although this has since levelled off to a constant 900,000 + a year.

Excavation of the Temple Courtyard 1981-1983

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the museum was formalised and its management remodelled as part of Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Heritage Services. For the first time, The Roman Baths Museum was curatorially led. In 1990, the museum became a registered museum and in 1999 the collection was designated by Resource (Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries) as having a collection of national significance. In 2004, registration became accreditation, serving to ensure that The Roman Baths Museum provides:

• opportunities to use, enjoy and learn from the collections
• an assurance that the collections, including donated items, are held in trust for society
• information about the museum, its collections and its services
• a commitment to consultation with users, to ensure that future developments and changes take account of their needs and interests
• appropriate visitor facilities or details about facilities nearby

There are five on-site stores housing stone, ceramic building material, mortars, bulk archaeological material and sensitive items, and there is one off-site store, housing our larger social history items.

• The oldest object in our collection is a Mammoth’s tooth (150,000yrs old)
• To date, the newest object within the collection is a site archive for High Street, Batheaston dated 2010
• The lastest objects to be catalogued are a collection of tile and mortar, collected during cleaning of the laconicum area on site, prior to archaeological survey in 2011
• The first catalogued object in the collection was found in 1727, in a drain along Stall Street and is the bronze head of Minerva
• The last aquision through the Treasure Act (1996) was in 2010 and comprised of 16 medieval coins from the Wellow area.

Stephen Clews, Roman Baths and Pump Room Manager, with the head of Minerva

Today, there are two members of staff dedicated to caring for, interpreting (including outreach) and catalouging the collection. There are two senior members of staff involved in its care and interpretation and one Learning and Programmes coordinator, resposible for creating teaching sessions and who is heavily involved in collection outreach events. The visitor services team are responsible for giving hourly guided tours of the Great Bath, school teaching sessions and are the first point of contact for many face-to-face visitor enquiries.


Temple Pediment Projected 2010


The museum has recently benifited from a 5 year redevelopment, which has included many new museum displays and an upgrade to visitor areas and there is more to come in the next 5 year phase…. We are still collecting and we are the English Heritage recommended repository for all archaeological archives in Bath and North East Somerset. If you are interested in learning more about the history of the site and/or the collection, why not come along on one of our Tunnel or Store Tours (info page link below)


http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/whats_on/events/events_calendar/tunnel_tours_and_store_tours.aspx

Helen Harman - Collection Assistant

A Crisis in Store?

It was a beautiful sunny Friday in York and over 100 people had gathered for the Federation of Archaeological Managers & Employers (FAME) forum, entitled ‘Trouble in Store: Facing up to the Archaeological Archives Crisis’. The forum had been organised in association with The Society of Museum Archaeologists (SMA).

The location of the event was the splendid and historic 17th Century Merchant Taylor’s Hall.

Merchant Taylors Hall

The first speaker of the day was Roland Smith – Regional Manager for Cotswold Archaeology. He introduced the topic and went into the reasons the forum had been convened. The primary reason being the lack of storage for many archaeological archives, based on a number of varying factors, but the predominant one being storage space. Both archaeological units and museum stores are being overwhelmed by the backlog in number and cost incurred in the up keep/storage of archaeological archives.

The next two speakers, Catherine Hardman – Archaeological Data Service (ADS) and Stuart Campbell – Treasure Trove, brought the issue of digital archiving and the situation in Scotland to the table. David Allen – Keeper of Archaeology for Hampshire County Museums and Chair of the SMA was next up with a history of the problem and how the issues are not new to the archaeological world.

The first speaker after the lunch break was Quinton Carroll – Historic Environment Team Manager for Cambridgeshire County Council and Chair of the Archaeological Archives Forum. He talked about the success of the Archaeological Resource Centre in Cambridgeshire and the role that the Historic Environment Resource (HER) has to play in the management of archaeological archives. He introduced interesting legalities surrounding the planning process that might be used to safeguard the post-excavation process and deposition condition.

Duncan Brown – Head of Archaeological Archives for English Heritage, rounded up the day’s discussions by focusing on the next step forward. He summarised a lot of what had gone before, such as the need to gather qualitative data. He talked about English Heritage’s archaeological regional stores map and the plan to update it and the potential of future projects to evaluate the situation. He was clear in his message that we need to unite and begin to work towards a strategy to combat an infinite problem.

A personal perspective:
Working in a museum, as a museum archaeologist, I see a clear need for evaluation of the current process from pre-planning to post deposition. I would like to see regional working parties created to collect the data needed to start making the case for change and investment based on qualitative data and to raise general awareness of the issues involved. I really hope that this is the beginning of change to the way archaeological material is obtained, researched, displayed and stored, and that we can unite as disciplines to ensure the best provision, access and information is achieved. What are your thoughts?

For more information on the venue:

http://www.merchant-taylors-york.org/the_hall/  

For background and relevant organisations:

http://www.famearchaeology.co.uk/2011/06/fame-forum-2011-speaker-summaries/ http://www.socmusarch.org.uk/
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/archives/
http://www.archaeologists.net/
http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/

For relevant accompanying information:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/1514132.pdf
http://www.helm.org.uk/server/show/nav.19772


Helen Harman – Collections Assistant

An exhibition? How hard can it be?

Every time Jeremy Clarkson says “how hard can it be?” on Top Gear you can predict the chaos about to unfold, so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover an exhibition was a lot more challenging than I thought, once I’d made the mistake of saying “how hard can it be?”

As an intern in the Collections Office I get lots of projects to do, and one of these projects was to create a small display on the Romans in Keynsham as part of the “Story of Somerdale” exhibition held at the Cadbury factory in Keynsham during January.

Setting up the display

The project started out easily enough, once I had discovered that Somerdale was the Cadbury factory, where the Roman villa was and where all the artefacts were stored (in Keynsham, oddly enough!). I selected a dozen or so small artefacts, fibula brooches and the like and all was well.

And then it got complicated, you see it turned out the display case available for us to use was a lot bigger than we expected! What I had so far wasn’t going to be enough!

The next two weeks were a hive of activity, more artefacts were selected and the real hard work began, designing and making the display boards! The boards were a real challenge, the information had be accessible to people of all ages and knowledge levels as well as being easy to read and interesting to look at.

Quite a few re-writes and mock-ups later the boards were printed, the artefacts were packed and the labels made. Now was the fun part, setting it all up.

So was it worth it in the end? I think so.

The final product

The exhibition had around 5000 visitors over 5 days and I got lots of really positive feedback for my contribution! The experience was at times extremely frustrating (the display boards) but has given me a new appreciation for the displays in museums. Until you try to make one yourself it’s hard to appreciate how much work goes into a display.

I learnt a lot from this and I’m sure it’ll be much easier in the future!

So next time you visit a museum, why not take a moment to appreciate the hard work that has gone into creating that fantastic display?


Charlotte

The smallest thing can make the biggest difference

Tucked away in a corner at the entrance to the old Cadbury (formerly Fry’s) factory in Keynsham is a strange little thing. At first glance it looks like nothing more than an odd selection of stones, but take a closer look and what you will see is actually a major part of the archaeology of Keynsham.

Somerdale villa layout

These stones are actually the reconstructed remains of a Roman villa, the Somerdale villa to give it its proper name. This small villa along with two stone coffins was discovered in 1922 during construction of the factory. This discovery not only brought to light the archaeological potential of the factory site, but raised interest in another set of Roman remains inside the cemetery at Durley Hill.

The villa in the cemetery was slowly being destroyed by grave digging; however the discovery of Somerdale villa raised enough interest for an excavation of both villas. The excavation was carried out between 1922 and 1924 under the supervision of Dr Arthur Bulleid and Father Ethelbert Horne, largely funded by Fry’s who also paid around £600 to lift the mosaics.

After the excavation the foundations of Somerdale villa were moved to the entrance of the factory, where despite currently being fenced off they are still visible today. The mosaic panels, coffins and many other artefacts from the villas were displayed in what was known as Somerdale museum for around 60 years before its closure in 1988. Everything from the museum was then put into storage in Keynsham Town Hall, where they still remain.

Very little is actually known about Somerdale villa as unfortunately its excavation was not well documented.

So why is this little villa that hasn’t been well recorded and isn’t even in its original location anymore so important to Keynsham? Well if it hadn’t been discovered there is a great possibility that the cemetery villa might never have been excavated and the beautiful mosaics (already badly damaged at the time of the excavation) could easily have been completely destroyed. This little villa played a huge role not only in the history of the Cadbury/Fry’s factory but in the long term preservation of some truly beautiful archaeology that may otherwise have been lost.

Unfortunately now the factory has been closed and the future of the villa is uncertain, which I feel really is a sad ending for something that played a defining role in protecting the heritage of Keynsham.

So next time you are in Keynsham, why not pay the villa a visit?



Charlotte

Remembering Bath Abbey Vaults.

I’ve only ever visited Bath Abbey and its vaults on two occasions. The first time I was in absolute awe at both above and below ground; but I didn’t think to have my camera with me…….. Yes, I am that stupid. Fortunately the opportunity to return to visit; this time with my camera at the ready.


Bath Abbey Vaults

I have recently received the news that the museum held within the vaults is closed for redevelopment. Whether or not it will reopen is currently hanging in the balance. Personally I think permanent closure of the Vaults Museum is unthinkable.

Stone Cross - Bath Abbey Vaults

Many people spend so much time contemplating the sites they see, but they very rarely stop to think about what goes on behind or, in this case, underneath it all. Take the Roman Baths for example, the Great Bath and the head of Minerva are on most tourists ‘must see’ list but they too were once buried underground waiting to be discovered. It makes you think; How would they have looked standing new and proud, before nature took over?

Bath Abbey Vaults

Okay, so the vaults may not be the equivalent of a vast underground civilisation but, people remember small details too. I think back to the Lord of Rings film adaptation; I remember the dwarven city underneath the Mines of Moria and Sam’s words “Now there’s an eye opener, make no mistake.”


Then there is Balin’s Tomb and the skeleton that Pippin accidentally knocked into the well……. You only have to look at the photo’s I have uploaded for this blog to see what amazing artefacts were on display.

Medieval tiles - Bath Abbey Vaults

Again, I don’t know whether the vaults will remain closed permanently, but I hope not. These artefacts were on display for a reason; to be preserved, admired, to educate and not to be locked away and forgotten.



James

The Best Museums

So, floating around the education office right now is an article about father-son bonding in the museum, accompanied (of course) by a list of museums designed around big testosterone-provoking machines, funky bad Viking smells, and good atmosphere. (Including the Roman Baths, of course!)

In response here’s MY museum list! Museums aren’t just good for dads and lads, you know. Here’s a list of (in my own humble opinion) some of the best and oddest museums any museum junkie should know about. Comment if you think I’ve missed any worth mentioning!


Best Museum to Catch up on Fashion Trends: The Fashion Museum, of course! They’ve just updated their ‘trends’ display for Autumn and Winter 2010. Definitely worth checking out.

Apparently, Helmut Lang ALWAYS thinks black is this season’s ‘it’ colour…

Best Museum to make you feel good about your lack of art skills: Hands down, this is the Museum of Bad Art (MOBA): the only museum in the world ‘dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms.’ Much of their permanent collection was acquired out of trashcans, and when one of their pieces was stolen, the thief was so anxious to get rid of it that he paid the museum to take it back. True story.

Best Museum to waste time with on the internet: The Bata shoe museum may seem unappealing to the half of the population who DOESN’T get excited about cute shoes, BUT WAIT! There’s more! Check out their online display about Shoes That Work, and prepare to be amazed with the rugged manliness inherent in Tree Climbing Clogs, mountaineering boots, and… Grizzly bear shoes? They’ve even got a shoe that was designed for the Canadian Military for when they clear out land mine fields. Shoes that save lives, neat!

Best Museum to question the meaning of the word ‘museum’: I’d say that’s the condiment package museum. It’s a website dedicated to the display of condiment packages. Is it a museum just because it displays collections, though? I’ve spent hours trying to decide. Comment and tell me if you think it is, isn’t or if I’m just kind of sad for spending that much time on it.

Best speed dating museum: The Freud museum! Where else but in the home of Sigmund Freud, psychoanalyzer of dreams extraordinaire, could you expect to find the guy (or gal) of your dreams? They’ve held a couple of dating events, which seemed kind of successful.


Barbara

Meet the volunteers......

My name is Amélia, I'm 23 and I am from France. I am currently studying Public Law and Cultural Management at the University of Orléans in France. One day I hope to work in a Cultural Program Department or in a museum. That's why I applied for a work placement at the Roman Baths and I was really lucky to get the chance to work behind the scenes for 3 weeks in June 2010. I have written a blog to share my experience of my work placement at the Roman Baths.

Amelia in the collections office

On 6th June 2010 I boarded the coach from Sully; a little town where my parents live to Bath, England. On the coach there are people from the twining association between Sully-sur-Loire and Bradford-on-Avon; the president of the association had kindly let me join them on their journey. After a pleasant journey we are quickly at Calais, a short channel tunnel crossing and we arrive in England.

Monday and it is my first day at the Roman Baths, Susan, the Collection Manager introduces me to the other staff in the office; I have to remember a lot of names and try and concentrate on what people are saying to me!

Susan shows me around the Roman remains and the museum, it's a beautiful place; there is a roman pavement around the Great Bath, a hot water spring and around the upper terrace there are various statues of the Emperors and Governors of Rome. We move from the museum into the eighteenth century Pump Room, a very "chic" place, where we can drink a glass of Spa Water - it is good for health but it's not tasty!

It's like an old movie set, in fact, some movies and T.V. programmes have been filmed here.
After a few days I know the name of everyone on the team. There is Susan the Collection Manager and Helen the Collection Assistant, Stephen the Roman Baths and Pump Room Manager, sweet Gladys the Team Administrator and James the Office Apprentice. Then there are the other volunteer’s, Beth from Australia, Edina from Hungary and Penny from Bath.

During my placement I went with Stephen to various meetings: "Public Services Team meeting", "Management Team meeting" and the "Business Team meeting” these all give me great insight into how the site is run. After a while I meet with Pat the Commercial Manager and Maggie the Press Officer and I am given my first task- to translate the Fashion Museum website into French.

I work to a timetable set out prior to my placement and I have a lot of visits: the Victoria Art Gallery, the Fashion Museum, St Johns store and even the Ashmolean in Oxford. During my lunch hours I walk around the World Heritage City of Bath, it is rich in architecture and there are a lot of musicians playing on the street. Very often we can hear a woman singing opera songs as her voice drifts through the office window.

The days go by very quickly and before I know it the end of my internship comes It's time to go back to France. I met a lot of very nice people; a good mix of very different people from various places around the globe. I learnt a lot about English cultural management and improved my English.

So if you want to meet people from all around the world and share learning experiences why not come to the Roman Baths and volunteer.

Amelia’s update: I'm currently on work placement at a museum in France; the Museum of Resistance and Deportation in Loiret. I will be going back to university at the end of the summer and will start a "work-study program" in the Cultural Development Department for the Town Council of Rouen.

Why don’t you take a Picture? It Lasts Longer.

And that’s exactly what I’ve done.

The Great Bath while Drained

Like many admirers of historical sites and landmarks, I’ve looked in awe at the images captured and presented in books, leaflets and posters, and wondered what it must be like to have actually been there and to have seen these things.

The chance to take photographs around the Roman Baths site was an exciting opportunity, and it came as quite a surprise when I learned I’d been visiting different museums and areas during my time here; even more so when I was asked to do it in a professional capacity, as their official photographer.

The Temple Pediment

From my first trial run around the Roman Baths, to the exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, to the displays at the Fry’s Club and Cadbury’s factory; I’ve loved the moments I’ve been able to walk away with more than just memories to take with me; now I have images captured, printed, and sealed in both my own photo album and in our latest events leaflets (most recently, a small collection of my photos of No. 4 the Circus).

Cadbury Chocolate Bar Display at the Fry's Club

For me, it’s a wonderful thought to know that your job can also be your hobby. In my previous blog I talked about the sketches I’ve done and how drawing was always a hobby and interest of mine before I started working here. It’s actually rather like that with photography as well. After all that time spent admiring the photographic works of others, now I’m actually there with a camera in my hand experiencing the same enjoyment and satisfactory feeling that they must’ve.

Back Garden of No. 4 the Circus
(used in the leaflet)

And who knows, years from now I may one day open a leaflet or look at a poster, and find myself looking at my own photographs. When my contract expires, I may be gone from this workplace, but I take great pride in the thought that in the time I’ve been here, I have made an impression, and left my mark.

 
James

In the Education Office…

You might not be able to tell from looking at the Baths buildings, but there is a heck of a lot of behind-the-scenes space. A lot of it is storage, but a lot of the work done in the offices might come as a surprise to anyone thinking all museum workers hunker down around boxes of old stuff, and mostly clean old pots with toothbrushes all day.

On any given day at the Roman Baths education office we’re not just working on Roman Baths programs, but also things for the Fashion Museum and the Victoria Art Gallery. Definitely a lot of fun - and as you can see, the Learning Apprentice, Greg, agrees!

Greg in Family Event Hat

The tissue paper, card and ribbon hat which Greg is tolerantly modelling for us in our office was made at the Fashion Museum as part of an activity called Flower Power. We explored how flowers have been used in fashion throughout the years, and made our own stylish flower creations.

Family in Laurels during Family Event at the Roman Baths

Everything we do as an activity has to tie in to what you see on display, or the themes which we cover in the museum – still, when you’ve got a museum dedicated to the Romans, a museum dedicated to Fashion and a museum dedicated to Art? I don’t think we’ll ever run out of things to do but until we do, our office will remain filled with Model Magic, Pritt stick, strange spices and lots and lots of pretty paper.


Barbara