Unearth the mystery of the Havering Hoard in the Museum of London Docklands’ new exhibition opening Friday 11 September
Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery
Museum of London Docklands
Fri 11 Sep 2020 – Sun 18 Apr 2021
Free with timed entry ticket to the museum
The largest Bronze Age hoard ever to be discovered in London, and the third-largest in the UK, will be the focal point of Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery, the Museum of London Dockland’s new major exhibition opening Friday 11 September.
The exhibition will put the 453 tools, weapons and other objects that make up the entirety of the hoard on display to the public for the very first time. Displaying the hoard alongside objects from both the archaeological site itself and the museum’s collection, the exhibition digs deep into Bronze Age life during a time when the land where London now exists was a very different place.
Starting with the moment of discovery, Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery will take visitors on a journey back through time to explore the mysteries, myths and realities surrounding the hoard’s burial.
Highlights include:
- All 453 never seen before objects from the Havering Hoard
- Objects from the Museum of London’s permanent collection including Bronze Age crania showing evidence of blunt force trauma, telling a wider story of Bronze Age life thousands of years ago
- Immersive photography and film projection recreating the experience of a Bronze Age landscape
- A map from the Portable Antiquities Scheme displaying the location of more than 1,500 hoards across England and Wales helping to plot settlements on a wider scale
- 3D renderings of some of the key objects from the hoard to allow closer examination including a terret ring, a sword fragment and a socketed axe head – all exceptionally rare examples of Bronze Age life
The design of the exhibition is arranged around the movement of the sun, its rise in the east and setting in the west, bringing the discovery of the Hoard to life. Starting with the moment the first object was found as the sunset late on a Friday evening in September 2018, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the wonder of uncovering such a significant find. Clues left by the hoard about the people who lived and worked in the area during the Late Bronze Age will be examined before exploring how connected their society was to Europe almost 3,000 years ago. Visitors will then find themselves back in the present day, with a chance to examine some of the objects in greater detail while finding out more about the people involved in the discovery of the Havering Hoard and the work that’s still to be done.
