Museum of Antiquities

Last updated

Museum of Antiquities
Museum of Antiquities 1.jpg
Museum of Antiquities entrance pictured in 2008; The building has since been demolished
Museum of Antiquities
Established1960 (1960)
Dissolved2008 (2008)(merged into the Great North Museum)
Location Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Coordinates 54°58′45″N1°36′55″W / 54.9793°N 1.6153°W / 54.9793; -1.6153
TypeArchaeology museum
Director Lindsay Allason-Jones
Great North Museum

The Museum of Antiquities was an archaeological museum at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1960 and in 2009 its collections were merged into the Great North Museum: Hancock. [1]

Contents

History

The museum was established in 1956 by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham University (Newcastle University from 1963). [2] It was the main archaeology museum in north east England. [3] It covered the history of the region, especially Hadrian's Wall and the Roman period in general. It included a full-scale reconstruction of the 3rd-century temple dedicated to the Roman god Mithras at Carrawburgh. Overall, the period from early prehistory to the 17th century was covered. The university's memorabilia shop was also located inside.

As part of the Great North Museum Project the museum, along with Shefton Museum was moved to the Hancock Museum. On 19 April 2008, the museum closed in preparation for the relocation to the newly renovated Hancock Museum, which reopened in May 2009. [1]

The building that housed the Museum of Antiquities was demolished in 2011–12. It dated from the end of the Second World War and had originally been a coke testing station. [2]

Awards

The museum was a finalist for the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year in 2004. [4] The museum was also supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle upon Tyne</span> City in England

Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle, is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located on the River Tyne's northern bank opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle University</span> University in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom (established 1834)

Newcastle University is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a member of the Russell Group, an association of research-intensive UK universities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne</span> Selective British independent school

The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle upon Tyne, is a selective British private day school for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, it received royal foundation by Queen Elizabeth I and is the city's oldest institution of learning. It is one of seven schools in the United Kingdom to bear the name "Royal Grammar School", of which two others are part of the independent sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Housesteads Roman Fort</span> Roman fort in Northumberland, England

Housesteads Roman Fort was an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall, at Housesteads, Northumberland, England. It is dramatically positioned on the end of the mile-long crag of the Whin Sill over which the Wall runs, overlooking sparsely populated hills. It was called the "grandest station" on the Wall and is one of the best-preserved and extensively displayed forts. It was occupied for almost 300 years. It was located 5.3 miles west from Carrawburgh fort, 6 miles east of Great Chesters fort and about two miles north east of the existing fort at Vindolanda on the Stanegate road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great North Museum: Hancock</span> Natural history museum in Newcastle upon Tyne, England

The Great North Museum: Hancock is a museum of natural history and ancient civilisations in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arbeia</span> Roman fort in Tyne & Wear, England

Arbeia was a large Roman fort in South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, now ruined, and which has been partially reconstructed. It was first excavated in the 1870s. All modern buildings on the site were cleared in the 1970s. It is managed by Tyne and Wear Museums as Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cilurnum</span> Roman cavalry fort on Hadrians wall

Cilurnum or Cilurvum was an ancient Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall at Chesters near the village of Walwick, Northumberland. It is also known as Walwick Chesters to distinguish it from Great Chesters fort and Halton Chesters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pons Aelius</span> Roman settlement in northern England

Pons Aelius, or Newcastle Roman Fort, was an auxiliary castra and small Roman settlement on Hadrian's Wall in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, situated on the north bank of the River Tyne close to the centre of present-day Newcastle upon Tyne, and occupied between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exhibition Park, Newcastle</span>

Exhibition Park is a public park connected to the south-eastern corner of the Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The park is home to numerous facilities including sports areas, a boating lake, playgrounds and a skatepark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hancock (ornithologist)</span> English ornithologist, taxidermist and landscape architect

John Hancock was an English naturalist, ornithologist, taxidermist and landscape architect. Working during the golden age of taxidermy when mounted animals became a popular part of Victorian era interior design, Hancock is considered the father of modern taxidermy

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shefton Museum</span> Archaeology museum in England, UK

The Shefton Museum of Greek Art and Archaeology was an archaeological museum at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, which opened in 1956 and closed in 2008. Its collections are now part of the Great North Museum: Hancock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatton Gallery</span> Art museum in Newcastle upon Tyne, England

The Hatton Gallery is Newcastle University's art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is based in the university's Fine Art Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hadrian's Wall</span> Defensive fortification in Roman Britain

Hadrian's Wall is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Running from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west of what is now northern England, it was a stone wall with large ditches in front of it and behind it that crossed the whole width of the island. Soldiers were garrisoned along the line of the wall in large forts, smaller milecastles, and intervening turrets. In addition to the wall's defensive military role, its gates may have been customs posts.

Patricia Southern is an English historian of classical Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Alder</span>

Joshua Alder was a British cheesemonger and amateur zoologist and malacologist. As such, he specialized in the Tunicata, and in gastropods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne</span>

The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, the oldest provincial antiquarian society in England, was founded in 1813. It is a registered charity under English law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural History Society of Northumbria</span> UK natural history organization

The Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN) is a voluntary organization to promote the study of natural history and protect the wildlife of North East England.

David John Breeze, OBE, FSA, FRSE, HonFSAScot, Hon MIFA is a British archaeologist, teacher and scholar of Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall and the Roman army. He studied under Eric Birley and is a member of the so-called "Durham School" of archaeology. He was a close friend and colleague of the late Dr Brian Dobson.

Lindsay Allason-Jones, is a British archaeologist and museum professional specialising in Roman material culture, Hadrian's Wall, Roman Britain, and the presence and role of women in the Roman Empire. She is currently a visiting fellow at Newcastle University.

References

  1. 1 2 "Last chance to visit University Museums". Newcastle University. 14 April 2008. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
  2. 1 2 Allason-Jones, Lindsay (28 January 2010). "University museums and outreach: the Newcastle upon Tyne case study". University Museums and Collections Journal. Edoc.hu-berlin.de. doi:10.18452/8656 . Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  3. "BBC - Cult - Ghosts of Albion - Treasure Hunt - Locations".
  4. "Entertainment | Museum prize shortlist unveiled". BBC News. 16 January 2004. Retrieved 9 March 2018.