COME ALONG AND DIG AROUND National Archaeology Week 15 – 23 July 2006

National Museums Liverpool has a host of free events for all the family during National Archaeology Week. Running from 15 to 23 July across Britain, National Archaeology Week sees hundreds of nationwide events encouraging us to find out a bit more about our past.

By Becoming an archaeologist for the day visitors talk to working archaeologists and find out what they do and the techniques used when uncovering the secrets of the past. During the Explore your street event, maps and aerial photographs are used together with expert advice from the Merseyside Archaeology Service. You may even discover what was on the site of your house before it was built!

In the Treasure House Theatre a new show Food For Thought is being launched during National Archaeology Week. Using artefacts such as Stone Age hand axes and a 10,000-year-old meal found on the Wirral to chart the journey, the animated character ‘Chef’ at the Time Travel Café leads visitors back 300,000 years to discover what our ancestors ate when rhinoceroses and elephants roamed Britain.

Jon Marrow, curatorial manager at the Weston Discovery Centre and the Treasure House Theatre says, “There are lots of chances to come and try things out for yourself including how to date a wooden object using tree rings. If you ever thought archaeology is not for you, come and join in the activities-you will be surprised!”

Explore the history of your street
Weston Discovery Centre
15 July from 11am – 4pm
A unique opportunity to find out about archaeology on your doorstep! Investigate the Merseyside Historic Environment Records. Discover historic maps and aerial photos of Merseyside locations

Become an archaeologists for the day
Weston Discovery Centre
15 -23 July from 10am - 4.30pm
Find out about techniques used by archaeologists – a selection each day of the following: tree-ring dating, animal bone evidence, analysis of rock types used by Neolithic axe makers, archaeological drawing and stratigraphy.

Death on the Nile
Treasure House Theatre
17th July at 2pm and 21 July at 3pm & 4pm
A fun and educational theatrical show about mummification in ancient Egypt. Two robbers enter the theatre to steal Egyptian artefacts but they get more than they bargained for…

Food for Thought
Treasure House Theatre
21 July 12 at 12 noon & 2pm
22 & 23 July at 2pm & 3pm
Experience this exciting new theatrical show, discover what’s cooking in the Time Travel Café. Find out what people ate, how they got their food and their relationship with the environment from Palaeolithic period to the present day.

Walker Art Gallery
Picture of the month
18th July from 1pm - 1.30pm Room 7
Talks feature ‘Baalbec – Ruins of the Temple of Bachus’. Baalbec, in Lebanon, was known as the ‘City of the Sun’ by Greeks and was made a Roman colony under Augustus.

Merseyside Maritime Museum
Cultural Customs
July 22 from 12 - 4pm
A fabulous family workshop where you can make jewellery or a bag using non-endangered materials. Explore the archaeological record and uncover the use of endangered and protected species for making jewellery and accessories.