Work continues to progress well on the exciting redevelopment of the main gallery space at Lincoln Museum.
Cllr Lindsey Cawrey, executive councillor for culture at Lincolnshire County Council, joined the collections team at a crucial stage of the process: removing the Museum’s incredible larger artefacts, which will in turn pave the way for building work to start.
Cllr Cawrey explains: “Lincoln Museum temporarily closed late last year to enable our team to carefully empty the gallery and undertake vital conservation and cataloguing work, preserving the historic items for future generations.
“As people will appreciate, this is a delicate and time-consuming process, which is now happily nearing completion.
“One particularly nail-biting moment has been the removal of two log boats dating from the late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Moving the precious objects, which are more than 2,000 years old, posed a significant challenge, but thanks to careful logistical planning and expert handling, the items are now in situ, ready for conservation.”
One of these vessels - The Fiskerton log boat – offers a tantalising glimpse into the spiritual significance the River Witham Valley held for our ancestors.
The Valley was a landscape of small river channels and marshland which connected Lincoln to the coast.
Aspects of the valley remain shrouded in mystery. Fascinatingly, it is believed people made ‘votive offerings’, deliberately submerging tools, weapons, and decorative items into water - perhaps as an early form of worship.
It is thought that the Fiskerton log boat represents a very special offering, purposely created and carved by hand over hundreds of hours to be ritualistically ‘offered’ to the valley.
Cllr Cawrey pictured with a Roman mosaic at Lincoln Museum. The mosaic was discovered at the site of Lincoln's bustling Roman Forum, which was in the modern-day Bailgate area.
Cllr Cawrey, continues: “It is a privilege to witness first-hand the painstaking and delicate work that goes into protecting Lincolnshire’s amazing artefacts.
“Many of these objects are of national and even international importance. Incredibly, apart from the River Thames, archaeologists report to have uncovered more artefacts from the River Witham than any other British waterway.
“The Museum’s ambitious redevelopment represents a more than £1m investment by Lincolnshire County Council over three years and is a fantastic opportunity for us to reimagine the space, showcasing Lincolnshire’s amazing objects and telling its story in a bold, brand new way.”
Whilst work takes place in the museum, visitors can still enjoy amazing art, activities and events over at the neighbouring Usher Gallery, and relax in the Muse Coffee Bar.
Keep up to date with the redevelopment of Lincoln Museum and what’s on at the Usher Gallery by following ‘Lincoln Museum and Usher Gallery’ on Facebook and Instagram.