Thursday 16 July 2009

Stonehenge - the good, the bad, and the ugly ...

This Saturday sees the special lecture by Julian Richards linked to the 'Inspired by Stonehenge' exhibition at the Museum with an opportunity to view the exhibition and meet Julian.

Julian is an avid collector of souvenirs depicting Stonehenge - from the tasteful to the hideous! This talk and the exhibition at the Museum are drawn from his varied and eclectic collection.

Beyond the standard postcard views the image of Stonehenge has appeared on everything from souvenir china (ranging from tasteful to hideous); on jigsaw puzzles and toasting forks, on paperweights and even on Japanese phone cards. Couple these with guidebooks from 1823 onwards, the extraordinary artistic offerings of the Festival era in the 1970s and 80s and some very odd articles of clothing and these souvenirs can quite literally be divided into 'the good, the bad and the ugly'.

Stonehenge has even inspired music, from jazz to heavy rock, folk and quite frankly strange.

Julian Richards is a well-known archaeologist and broadcaster. He has worked for Wessex Archaeology, AC Archaeology and English Heritage and during the 1980s ran the ‘Stonehenge Environs Project’. His television credits include Meet the Ancestors and Blood of the Vikings and he continues to work on the BBC Radio 4 series Mapping the Town. He is a member of the Society of Antiquaries and the Institute of Field Archaeologists.

Tickets are still available, and can be booked online!!!