Decorated Roman Masonry And Wall Plaster From A Villa, Wiltshire Museum, Devizes
Prehistoric Hunter Gatherer Tools: Flintknapped Arrow Heads And Bone Awls In A Recreated Leather Pouch, Stockport Museum, 4000 to 2000BCE
The Ancient Glacial Erratics of Powillimount Beach, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
The 'Mellor' Iron Age Pot, c. 520-390 BCE, Stockport Museum
Pottery was very rare in the North West during the Iron Age and so archaeologists were delighted when they found this pot dating to the Iron Age up on the Mellor hilltop.
The Mellor Pot was made in Castleton in the Peak District around 15- 20 kilometres south east of Mellor.
It was made by hand using the slab technique rather than being thrown on a wheel. The rim of the pot has been pinched to give it a sharp lip. If you look very closely you can still see the potter's finger marks!
The purpose of the Mellor Pot is something of a mystery. Did it have a practical use or was the pot more ritualistic in its purpose?
There is some blackening on the pot which suggests that it could have been used for cooking. However, pottery was extremely rare in the North-West of England during the Iron Age. Would people have chosen to use such a rare object for everyday cooking and eating?
It is almost certain that the pot was deliberately placed in the outer ditch of the Mellor hilltop. Some archaeologists think that the pot was placed in the ditch when it was filled in and that this action could have had a symbolic or ritualistic meaning.
Model of the Hypocaust and Mosaic Pavement at Winterton Roman Villa, North Lincolnshire Museum, Scunthorpe
'The Winterton Lady' Romano-British Burial and Facial Reconstruction, North Lincolnshire Museum, Scunthorpe
Contemporary Woodcarving Inspired By Prehistoric and Ancient Artefacts, North Lincolnshire Museum, Scunthorpe
The Submerged Neolithic Forest Remains at Cleethorpes Beach, Lincolnshire
Word of warning: dangerous mud levels and fast incoming tides make this a hazardous visit. Be prepared.
Replica Prehistoric Shredding Board Potentially Used For Shredding Meat and Plant Materials, Wiltshire Museum, Devizes
Forvie National Nature Reserve Prehistoric Kerb Cairns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Bronze Age Shale Pendant and Gold Cover, Upton Lovell, Barrow G2e
Cone-shaped shale pendant, decorated with incised lines. The cone was encased in gold sheet, decorated with the same incised lines.
Wiltshire Museum, Devizes
Collapsed Sea Arches at Powillimount Shoreline, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
Like the Thirlstane Arch, the other caves and arches along the coast would have offered ancient shelter.
Brandsbutt Pictish Symbol Stone, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Crannog Pile or Post, Castle Loch, Lochmaben
This pile was probably one of the uprights which were driven into the bed of the loch to give the crannog its main support. These uprights were connected by flat beams which were then covered with stones, branches of trees and brushwood.
Dumfries Museum, Scotland
Lughnasadh Blessings, Aberdeenshire 2024
Prehistoric Funerary Urns, Dumfries Museum, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
Forvie National Nature Reserve, Ancient Coastline and Prehistoric Kerb Cairns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland