Shedding light on the Dark Ages
Angles, Saxons and Jutes will be setting up camp in the City Museum in Winchester during half-term week. They will be bringing Winchester’s Dark Age history alive for visitors on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th October, 10am-4.30pm each day.Members of local re-enactment group Weorod will be visiting the museum for the first time and will be on hand dressed in period costume from the sixth and seventh centuries, a time when our Anglo-Saxon ancestors were becoming established in the Kingdom of Wessex, with its centre at Winchester.
Visitors will be able to handle replica objects and find out all about the weapons and wargear of the period, crafts of the time such as antler and boneworking, leatherworking and bowmaking, food and cookery, and medicine and folklore.
Robin Iles, Winchester City Council Museums Education Officer said: "Visitors coming to see our Anglo-Saxon re-enactors will also be able to see some amazing artefacts from this mysterious period of history on display in the museum, including spearheads and swords, beautifully made jewellery, pottery burial urns and a magnificent bronze hanging bowl from Oliver’s Battery.”
Cllr Dominic Hiscock, Portfolio Holder for Economic Prosperity at Winchester City Council, said: “This free event is sure to appeal to local families looking for fun and educational things to do during half term. The team at Winchester Museums continue to find new ways to allow local people and visitors to take an interest in and discover more about the wealth of history the Winchester District has to offer.”
Admission to the City Museum is free – just turn up. The event runs 10am – 4.30pm each day. For more details call the City Museum on 01962 863 064, email museums@winchester.gov.uk or visit the website www.winchester.gov.uk/museums