Scattered across the Cotswold Hills in the mid-west of England are more than a hundred stone-built long barrows dating to the period 3800 to 3300 BC, one of the most dense concentrations of such monuments in north-west Europe. They have been the subject to study for more than three centuries, but few have been excavated in modern times.
Gazing at the beautiful red garnets glinting in gold at the Corinium Museum’s Anglo-Saxon exhibit, I could imagine the lustre of the dragon’s hoard in ‘Beowulf’, brought to life through archaeology. My love of early medieval artefacts and literature grew through studying Fine Art, English Literature and Medieval History A-Levels, yet this exhibit has inspired me to consider Old English literature with a new light on archaeology, landscape and material culture.
If you were to wonder about what skills a collections assistant might need to work in a museum, I suspect Sherlockian detective abilities may not be your first thought. I may exaggerate slightly but there is a certain detective skill needed in my job. When the museum has so many objects both in store and on display, keeping a close reign on inventory and cataloguing is key.
