Castleford Forum Museum previewed by YACs

Today the Pontefract Branch of the Young Archaeologists' Club came for a special preview of Castleford Forum Museum in order to write a review for December's Young Archaeologist Magazine.

The group of YACs were introduced to the archaeology of Castleford and its surroundings - an area incredibly rich in finds, before handling some Roman objects from our handling collection, and trying out one of our new Roman archaeology quiz sheets.



The Young Archaeologists Club looked at some amazing objects

Using iPods, the YACs then photographed their 3 favourite objects, noting the reasons for their choices.

A wide range of objects were chosen, and for a wide range of reason, including:

 

Roman gaming counters - because 'I like board games', 'It looks like one of our games'

Roman chatelaine - because 'It's really unusual', 'It's amazing!'

Roman sandal - because 'It is in such good condition for how old it is', 'The pattern is really unusual'

Roman tile with paw print - because 'It reminds me of my dog', 'It shows that the Romans may have had pets, like us', 'Because it's amazing to see that a dog left its mark'

By far, the group's most favourite thing was the Iron Age Chariot burial, which amazed everyone ('It is a very dramatic object' 'The person must have been of great importance to have been buried in such a manner' 'It shows great craft skill')



Iron Age Chariot Burial

  

The group were then asked what they wanted to tell other YACs about the new museum, and they said:

• I would recommend this museum to all other YACs
• It has amazing finds and interesting artefacts
• You need to take your time and look carefully to take it all in
• It can teach you lots just by looking - but if you have questions, do ask the staff rather than go away wondering!
• The museum is very beautifully arranged
• The Iron Age Chariot burial is AMAZING!

So we think they liked it!

We then had a go at building replica Iron Age Chariots.  The scaled-down chariots were powered by balloons rather than miniature horses, but the principles remained the same - a fixed axle and spinning wheels...

Building a model chariot!

Adding the fixed axle...

Chariot racing!

Chariot racing!

A huge thanks to the Pontefract Young Archaeologists for coming and trying out the new museum!

The local branch of YACs is based at Pontefract castle, meeting once a month on the second Saturday.   Sessions are all on an archaeological theme, including craft skills, practical archaeological skills, and plenty of fun! There are usually several opportunities each year to take part in real archaeology, either within the club itself or via connected organisations.  

For more information email or call 01924 223373