PAS at the Festival of British Archaeology 2015 - The North

Published: 8 years ago Author: Clemency Cooper

In this final instalment, we highlight the 2015 Festival of Archaeology (11th - 26th July 2015) events involving the Portable Antiquities Scheme's (PAS) Finds Liaison Officers (FLOs) in the North of England. The Festival is coordinated by the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) and offers members of the public the chance to explore their local archaeology through a range of outreach events and activities.

On Thursday 16th July (14:00 onwards), South Ribble Museum will be hosting an illustrated lecture and drop-in archaeological finds afternoon with Dot Boughton, FLO for Cumbria and Lancashire. Dot will talk about the discovery and significance of the Silverdale Hoard, the third largest Viking silver hoard,found in 2011 and laterpurchased by Lancashire County Council's Museum Service.As part of the Treasures of South Ribble exhibition, South RibbleMuseum is currently displaying 20 coins from the Cuerdale Hoard, the largest Viking silver hoard from western Europe, on loan from the British Museum. Dot will also be helping to identify and record archaeological finds for members of the public at Kendal Museum on Friday 17th July (11:00 - 14:00).

FLO for Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, Vanessa Oakden, is running a couple of finds surgeries to identify and record finds this July, coinciding with the Festival of Archaeology. She will be at the Museum of Liverpool on Wednesday 15th July (14:00 - 16:00) and at Manchester Museum on Friday 17th July (10:00 - 16:00).

To coincide with the Festival of Archaeology, the Royal Numismatic Society and the British Numismatic Society are hosting a joint day conference on coin hoarding at the Yorkshire Museum, York on Saturday 11th July (10:15 - 16:30) which will discuss the most recent research on the Viking Vale of York treasure and the newly acquired Bedale hoard, amongst others. There will be contributions from several of our current volunteers, Carl Savage (Lancashire and Cumbria) and Rachel Cubitt (North and East Yorkshire), as well as former PAS staff, Andrew Woods and Eleanor Ghey. See the conference's Eventbrite webpage for the full programme and details about booking.

In the North-East, our new FLO for Durham and Darlington, Ellie Cox, will be at the Museum of Archaeology's new gallery at the redeveloped Palace Green Library in Durham to identify archaeological finds unearthed by members of the public on Friday 17th July (13:00 - 15:00).

There are lots of other archaeological outreach activities taking place nationwide this July and you can search to find out what's happening on your doorstep on the Festival of Archaeology's website. If you're attending a Festival event, make sure to complete the Festival's visitor survey about your experience for a chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher. If you don't get to meet your local Finds Liaison Officer at one of their finds days this month, check our upcoming events to find out when your local FLO is holding their next drop-in session.

Contact: Clemency Cooper