HISTORY is set to come alive this weekend at Salisbury Museum as part of this year’s Festival of Archaeology.

The festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, and there will be something for everyone.

There is a packed programme of demonstrations, hands on activities and talks by famous archaeologists.

The talks runs over both days and cover everything from DNA to Vikings, along with a sprinkling of Egyptology – reflecting both exciting developments in current archaeology and the British Museum Touring Exhibition on show at the museum.

Dr Turi King, famous for identifying Richard III’s DNA, opens the festival with a talk on her research into family history and genetics.

Followed by two talks complimenting the British Museum’s Touring Exhibition Writing for Eternity; Decoding Ancient Egypt, which is at the museum until September 3.

Professor Richard Parkinson, from Oxford University, discusses the archaeology of ancient Egyptian poetry, followed by Dr Toby Wilkinson, from Cambridge University, who will use the latest archaeological discoveries to explore the rise and fall of ancient Egypt.

Saturday’s talks are completed by Professor Vincent Gaffney whose work on the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes project last year caught the public’s imagination.

Sunday morning opens with a Time Team feel as Dr Henry Chapman’s talk explains exactly what geophysics really is; how it has been used; and looks at its future in archaeology.

All weekend Dr Phil Harding and finds expert Lorraine Mepham will be leading a demonstration dig in the festival showground. The dig is aimed at cutting away all the jargon of archaeology and showing visitors how methodical archaeology provides information on the past. This dig, which starts on Saturday, will be followed by a talk by Dr Harding and Lorraine Mepham on Sunday.

Great Excavations completes the weekend talks with archaeologist Mike Pitts chairing a discussion on the challenges and responsibilities of archaeological sites with Professor Michael Fulford, lead on the massive Roman site of Silchester, and Steve Wallis, Dorset County Archaeologist who oversaw the work on the Viking mass burial discovered during the building of the Weymouth relief road for the 2012 Olympics.

The festival, set in the grounds of Salisbury Museum, is just £2 donation entry and is a showground of heritage and living history with something for serious history buffs to all the family looking for a fun and fascinating day out.

Visitors can have a go at archery, watch stained glass making, try stone carving with the Salisbury Cathedral stone masons, meet re-enactors and see demonstrations including Roman life in Britain, medieval swordsmanship, ancient metal casting and pottery.

Inside the museum are also gallery talks from Dr Ilona Regulski from the British Museum and Anna Dillon, landscape artist.

The Festival is open Saturday, 10am-5pm, and Sunday, 11am-5pm. For more information go to salisburymuseum.org.uk.