The Ancient World through Artefacts – University of Reading
16 June 2005
The University's Ure museum is full of rare and remarkable artefacts. This summer, the stories behind some of these items are to be explored as the museum hosts what is guaranteed to be a fascinating Study Day on Tuesday 28 June. Visitors to the day will have a unique opportunity to discover from four experts what these objects can tell us about the lives of the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians. The first speaker will be Sonya Nevin, who did her MA at Reading and will discuss what we can tell about military life through looking at images, and what the images leave out. Later in the morning Dr Amy Smith, Curator of the Ure Museum, is going to talk about myth and art by examining depictions of Greek heroes such as Achilles and Odysseus. After lunch Dr David Carter, who also works at the University, will be discussing the myth of Medea using the Ure Museum's collection. The final speaker is Dr Anthea Harris, who aims to show 'Egypt through Coptic cloth'. Dr Harris previously had a research grant to study the museum's collection of coptic textiles (Egyptian c500AD). This day sees the textiles' return to the museum, after a recent grant from the Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Museum Development Fund allowed them to be conserved. At the end of the day, visitors will get a chance to visit the museum, a real bonus as the Ure is actually closed at the moment for the 'Renewal of the Ure Museum's Learning Environment Project'. Assistant Curator Rhianedd Smith believes people are in for an extremely interesting day. "Previously, most of our visitors have been 7-11 years old and it has been hugely satisfying to see the youngsters intrigued and enjoying themselves," she said. "This day however, represents a great learning opportunity for adult learners, AS, A-Level and GCSE students. "With the museum's closure this is a good time to reflect on what makes material culture so important to the study of classical civilisations." This is a free event but booking is essential due to limited spaces. For more information or to book, please contact: Rhianedd Smith Assistant Curator Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology The University of Reading 0118 378 6599 E-mail ure.education@rdg.ac.uk End For media enquiries only, please contact Craig Hillsley, the University's press officer on: Tel 0118 378 7388 Email c.hillsley@reading.ac.uk