Founded 1906
Archaeology Report Spring 2015
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selected Articles from the BHAS Bi-Annual magazine "Flint" Spring 2015
Brighton Museum - An Archaeology Gallery In 1998 Brighton Museum won a Heritage Lottery grant of several million pounds to revamp and modernise the museum ready for the 21st century. Unfortunately the new plans completely removed any vestige of local archaeology from the museum. As a result Brighton and Hove Archaeological Society created a sub-committee to question Brighton and Hove City Museum chiefs over this outrageous decision. The group held numerous meetings, over the next two years, with museum officers trying to get them to reverse this appalling policy. Despite the BHAS committee continuing lobbying, including a petition to Brighton and Hove City Council of nearly 2000 signatories, they refused to alter their plans and local archaeology was effectively removed from the main museum in Brighton. In 2006 it was the centenary of the Society and the city's museum department did produce an excellent display about the history of the Society and the many people associated with the local archaeological environment over the previous 100 years. The museum found that they had so much material and so many finds that 3 galleries were opened at Hove museum to try and accommodate as much as possible. It was a fantastic achievement and a very worthy endeavour. Sadly this display was only for 3 months and was dismantled shortly afterwards. In the same year a very small archaeological display was created in Brighton museum by BHAS. Originally intended to last for only 6 months, this display is still there 8 years later. It is tiny, but it is the only display in the Brighton and Hove area that covers local archaeology. BHAS continues to press for an archaeology gallery. In 2005 the then director of the museums, Ms Pauline Scott Garrett, had attended a BHAS AGM and promised them an archaeology gallery within the next few years but she left her post the following year. The current head curator at Brighton museum, Richard Le Saux, and curator, Andy Maxted, have both publicly stated that they would love to have an archaeological gallery. The museum has galleries on ethnographical and Egyptian themes but nothing about the local archaeology which has some really magnificent finds some from nationally important sites. The museum has produced important displays focused around the Ice Age and the local Wealden Hoard, but they were both very short lived. In 2014 the council moved the history centre out of the museum to the Keep at Falmer, and, at the same time, won another Heritage award regarding African textiles. The moving of the history centre left a huge space at the museum and BHAS consider that this could be the ideal location, or part of it, for a local archaeology gallery. The Society feels that local archaeology is not being given any representation. As a result of these concerns a new sub-committee has been formed to try to lobby the city's councillors and persuade them that at least some of the empty space at Brighton museum should be used for local archaeology. It is a disgrace that there is no mention of important sites like Whitehawk and Hollingbury, especially as the prehistoric is now part of the national curriculum. Where can our children learn about their local heritage, if not at their local museum? The sub- committee has already started canvassing councillors and is looking for other constructive ways to ensure that an archaeology gallery is created whilst space is available
|
