Natural History Museum Oxford England UK

OXFORD UNIVERSITY MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY 

The Oxford Dodo is world famous. The museum has soft tissue of this extinct flightless bird from Mauritius. The Oxford Dodo was listed in a collection in 1656. The last Dodo was seen in 1662.

Oxford Dodo 

The Great Debate of 1860

The museum opened in 1860. The year before, Darwin's famous work, On the Origin of Species had been published. Hundreds of people attended the debate held on 30 June between Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford and Thomas Henry Huxley.

Great Debate marker

Charles Darwin

I expected to see dinosaurs but I did not know the first record of a dinosaur bone was near Oxford. Dr. Robert Plot recorded the find in 1677. It's known as Megalosaurus bucklandi.

Of course, there are more familiar finds, which I would hope curious visitors can appreciate.

Those of us from the UK are familiar with children's stories featuring hedgehogs. Here's one.

There are a variety of popular animals. Following are a few examples.

Scientists from the ancient world and more recent times are here and there. I've included a few examples.

British Chemist, Joseph Priestly

George Stephenson, British engineer
& "Father of Railways"

Sir Isaac Newton
British mathematician, physicist, astronomer

British inventor, engineer, chemist
James Watt

Fun Facts by the Numbers

7 Million objects

30,000 zoological specimens

6,000 loans of specimens a year

#2 most visited university museum in the world

(Source: Museum website 2023)

Museum website:  oumnh.ox.ac.uk

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More Pages about Oxford

Visit Oxford England

Oxford University Natural History Museum

Ashmolean Museum

Bodleian Library

Eagle and Child Pub

     Also

Visit London England

Visit the UK

Google Map locating the Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Please check out my webpage to see if any of my books on psychology topics might be of interest.

Geoffrey W. Sutton suttong.com

Ashmolean Museum Oxford England UK

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Photo 29 Oct 2018, Geoffrey W. Sutton

 Elias Ashmole donated his collection to Oxford University in 1682. The next year, the Ashmolean Museum opened to the public in the building, which is currently the History of Science Museum.

Elias Ashmole

A variety of objects provide glimpses into the lives of some people, often rulers, of ancient cultures.

SUMERIA

The text refers to  Sumerian Kings and mentions Gilgamesh a heroic king. The other side refers to a great flood. Religious scholars note the similarities to the Genesis chronologies and flood text.

Divine Gilgamesh

KNOSSOS

Excavations from Knossos, Crete include urns and coffins (larnax).

Larnax/ burial chest, Knossos

THEBES

A large collection from Thebes comes from the time of King Taharqa (d 664 BC). Artistic scenes picture the king with gods. Scholars believe Taharqa may be the same person mentioned in the Bible as Tirhakah. See examples below.

ROMAN GOLD in ENGLAND

Roman coins are plentiful in the UK but gold coins are rare. The collection of coins includes Roman coins from the Didcot hoard (coins from 54- 160) and others.

JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA

Jamestown was established in 1607. The Powhatan society initially welcomed the English colonists.

The object, called Powhatan's Mantle, comes from the man known as Chief Powhatan. His name was Wahunsenacawh (dates approximate 1550-1618). He was the father of Pocahontas (Matoaka).

Powhatan's Mantle, Ashmolean, Oxford

LONDON, ENGLAND

Do you remember the 5th of November? It was 1605 when, during the night, Guy Fawkes was caught before he could blow up the Palace of Westminster (parliament). Below is Guy Fawkes lantern taken from Guy Fawkes by Peter Hayward before he could light the gunpowder.

ENGLAND and the UK

Oliver Cromwell and his troops battled the King during the English Civil Wars. Artefacts include his watch and a plaster death mask of the ruler between King Charles I and II.

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Google map for the Ashmolean

Please check out my webpage to see if any of my books on psychology topics might be of interest.

Geoffrey W. Sutton suttong.com

Read more at ashmolean.org

The Ashmolean and popular culture

Films/ movies featuring the Ashmolean Museum (From Bing  AI search)

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
• The Golden Compass (2007)
• X-Men: First Class (2011)
• Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

The Ashmolean Museum was also used as a filming location in several episodes of the Inspector Morse series.

More Pages about Oxford

Visit Oxford England

Oxford University Natural History Museum

Ashmolean Museum

Bodleian Library

Eagle and Child Pub

     Also

Visit London England

Visit the UK

Roman Museum Canterbury Kent England

The Romans were here and here are some finds from their life in southeastern England. This post is about the Roman Museum in Canterbury, which is in the traditional county of Kent, England.

It's close to Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustine's Abbey.

The Roman Museum in Canterbury offers a glimpse of Roman life in the area during their occupation of the island province they called Britannia. The Romans occupied a large part of Britain for nearly 400 years (43 to 410). The image above is an artists view of Canterbury c 150.

Models suggest what Romans may have looked like and offer a glimpse into Roman life.

Soldier

Roman hairdresser

Cooking

Locals have found Roman Samina ware or bowls called pudding pan pots in nearby Whitstable  and Hern Bay. They may have come from a shipwreck.

Samina ware

A mosaic was found beneath a nearby city street.

Several objects reveal their artistry and skills in creating practical objects.

Roman pottery

Roman bronze ewer

Roman balsamarium ( oil container)

Glass flask

Objects from Roman bath

Roman ear scoop & tweezers

Roman pins

Golden Magic Amulet 100s

Roman nails

An artist's impression of a later view of Canterbury- 300s

About the Museum

Location:  The museum is centrally located in Canterbury on Butchery Lane

Times: I visited in May 2023, like most museums, it was open 10 - 5

Fees: There was an admission fee

It wasn't crowded but a large group of school children were present--it is a family friendly place.

Toilet: Yes

Accessible: See the website

Photos: Photography is permitted without flash. However, the lighting of objects in glass cases interferes with getting great pictures. However, I hope you get some idea of the interesting artefacts from my sample above.

See the Canterbury Roman Museum website for details including a FREE audio tour guide available for iPhone and Android.

Overall, I recommend the museum to anyone visiting Canterbury. It does not take long to see the highlights.

Google Map - as you can see, the Roman Museum is near Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustine's Abbey.

Sponsor

See Mind the Gap for and educational and fun look at British Culture

Please check out my webpage to see if any of my books on psychology topics might be of interest.

Geoffrey W. Sutton suttong.com

Museum of London-Docklands

 

The Museum of London Docklands is housed in No.1 Warehouse of the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs. The Warehouse exhibit contains objects, storyboards, and videos to illustrate the activities of the dockworkers at the Port of London. These workers, known as dockers, unloaded the ships and stored goods like sugar, rum, and tobacco in the warehouse.

Barrels and large scales are examples of the objects.

The West India Docks were the largest group of docks in the world in the early 1800s.

Recreated scenes  illustrate aspects of life in the docklands with objects like tools, lanterns, ropes, and furniture.

London's docks were bombed during World War II. Small steel Consul shelters were provided for those who needed to work on the docks.

Consul Shelter

WW II Bomb

The museum includes educational information on the slave trade. Some of the goods stored in the warehouse were came from the Caribbean where African slaves worked the plantations. Those who traded in goods such as sugar became rich in part because of slave labour.

 Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1833. The African slavery system lasted about 300 years but the effects of the slavery system continue. 

Sponsor

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On AMAZON

Google Map showing the location of the Museum of London Docklands

 

Check out my website suttong.com