Alice Jones
The Great North Museum: Hancock is definitely one of the more eclectic museums I have had the
pleasure of visiting. On my first day I was led through a gallery containing an impressive collection of
taxidermy and alive with animal noises, past a scale model of Hadrian’s Wall and into a dark room
containing a looming T-Rex skeleton to meet Andrew Parkin, the Keeper of Archaeology, whom I was
working with for the duration of my placement. I was soon informed that he was in charge of not
only the Roman Collections, but also the Greek, Prehistoric and Ethnographic Collections. Altogether
this meant that my experience at the GNM was nothing if not varied, and in this report I aim to
describe the highlights of the month I spent working in this wonderful museum.
It was an indication of things to come that on my first day I helped to de-install an exhibition, learnt
to conservation pack artefacts and was told that we needed to write text for and install an exhibition
on archaeological science by the end of the week. From the very start of my placement I was given
responsibility and involved fully in all aspects of museum life, which is what made it such an
incredible experience. The opportunities and freedom I was given to contribute and give input were
more than I had hoped for, and this is a privilege for which I am most grateful.
The first part of my internship was spent researching the
artefacts which Andrew had selected for the archaeological
science exhibition, followed by writing the object labels and
general display text. This gave me fantastic experience of
presenting a complex subject to the general public in an
accessible format, which is what appeals to me most about
museum work. Once this was done we installed the display, and
it turned out that there is far more to this than just putting things
in a case- we had to consider shadows, lighting, lines of sight and
prioritise which objects we wanted in the most prominent
positions, all factors which I had not previously appreciated.
It would not be long before I learnt quite what treasure troves museum stores are, and the access I
was allowed to them was one of the best things about my placement. We first ventured into one of
these wondrous places in search of Bronze Age weapons for a university talk on use/wear analysis in
ancient weaponry research; each box we opened contained a fascinating artefact, before we located
a fully preserved and glimmering sword! During my time at the Great North Museum: Hancock I was
to spend many hours in these storerooms; it is inevitable in such a large collection and with the
process of digitalisation ongoing that things will get muddled, and so I worked in the stores to
update locations of objects, resolve documentation queries and generally organise the collections.
An unexpected aspect of my work at
the museum was creating posts for
the museum’s Facebook and Twitter
pages. The free publicity which social
media sites can provide has become
invaluable to museums, and as such I
was asked to choose items from the
collection to research and subsequently showcase online. The response to these posts from the
public and number of views was unprecedented, and I was asked by the museum’s Communications
Officer to supply content for the GNM’s contribution to the British Museum’s week-long social
media campaign focusing on the hashtag #BeingRoman. This meant creating specialised posts for
Facebook and Twitter, and it was certainly very exciting to be involved in such a project.
In the latter half of my stay at the Great North
Museum: Hancock I was able to get involved with the
work of the museum’s excellent learning team, which
involved both leading and assisting with a variety of
workshops from Ancient Greek warfare to Life on
Mars. Part of the museum’s partnership with
Newcastle University involves an extensive learning
programme, and it was a real privilege to work with
the team and use the fantastic resources they have, as
they use the unique learning environment provided by
the museum’s collections to engage children through
hands-on activities and lessons.
One of the fantastic things about being posted to the GNM was that its location allowed me to
explore Hadrian’s Wall, something which I have always wanted to do. I took the opportunity to visit
Vindolanda and it was truly fascinating to find such archaeology in Britain. Large numbers of finds
from along the wall are also kept at the GNM in the Hadrian’s Wall Gallery, and I was able to become
involved with how such material is presented by working on some reinterpretation for this gallery.
The other major advantage of being sent to the GNM was the incredible team I got the opportunity
to work with, who were all so welcoming and supportive. I am grateful in particular to Sarah Glynn,
the Museum’s Manager, who supported me throughout my time at the museum, but special thanks
must go to Andrew Parkin, who supervised my placement and provided the perfect balance of
freedom and guidance which allowed me to get so much out of my time at the GNM. Finally, to all
at the Roman Society: thank you so much for providing this opportunity. Such experiences are
transformative, and without them the museum world, and classical studies, would be poorer.