Work begins at museum (From Salisbury Journal)

Work begins at museum

9:51am Monday 11th March 2013 in News By Morwenna Blake

WORK has begun on a project to transform Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum.

The museum, in the Cathedral Close, secured a £1.8million Heritage Lottery Fund grant last year to upgrade its archaeological galleries.

The new gallery will be of international importance, telling the story of Salisbury and the surrounding area from prehistoric times to the Norman Conquest.

The museum’s collections include some of the most important archaeological finds outside a national museum in Britain, including artefacts from the Stonehenge World Heritage site, the Pitt Rivers Wessex Collection and the Amesbury Archer.

The first stage of work has just begun with a group of dedicated volunteers packing up the existing archaeology galleries.

Volunteer Lesley Meaker said: “It is such an honour to be handling this exceptional collection. Being involved from the start gives me the opportunity to see the transformation through from start to finish.”

Every item within the current archaeology galleries must be carefully packed, and this is being carried out within the galleries giving visitors to the museum the opportunity to see this work in action and talk to the volunteers.

The rest of the museum remains open with exhibitions, ceramics and costume galleries and the Salisbury Galleries.

The museum’s new archaeology gallery is set to open in spring 2014.