Troves of Ancient Artifacts in England From Roman Metalwork to Bronze Age Pottery Gather Dust Due to Lack of Storage

Piles of ancient artifacts were unearthed by archaeological contractors whom developers hire before clearing sites for construction. Apparently, the museums are full to accommodate them, which archeologists believe is a missed opportunity to explore their history and heritage.

Storage Problems in Museums

Commercial archaeologists are among the source of a number of historical discoveries. Just recently, troves of ancient artifacts were unearthed during a regeneration project near the Shard in Southwark as the archaeologist worked on the route of the HS2 high-speed railway. They discovered numerous Roman trading settlements, including metalwork and bronze age pottery, the largest mosaic find in five decades, BBC reported.

However, Historic England said museums are running out of space for more artifacts. A report commissioned by the public body and Arts Council England revealed that unless they acquire more space, there will not be enough storage to hold the materials.

Barney Sloane, national specialist services director at Historic England, gave it four or five years before storage became a massive problem.

He added that there is a wealthy potential for archaeological archives, and it would be a huge shame if they couldn't find a solution to protect them.

The management of archaeological finds differs between Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. However, all three reported the same storage issue.

The report added that some museums have already stopped adding more to their archaeological archives, so those items remain out of sight of the public. However, many contractors provide access to researchers who want to study them.

According to Hyperallergic, the problem of storage for museums is the elephant in the room that needs urgent action. The report took British Museum as an example, where only 80,000 of the 8 million items in its collection are on public display.

The museum reportedly released its new building development plans revealing that the gallery occupied only 23% of the space while 60% was used by back-of-house, including storage.

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National Archive Could Solve Lack of Storage in Museums

Historic England, Arts Council England, and National Trust are in talks to advise the government about creating a national archive. They believe it could solve the storage problem for the next 100 years. However, it remains unclear if the government will commit to funding it.

Another potential solution is underground storage where they came from. Cambridgeshire County Council used Deepstore, an underground storage company, to store 20,000 boxes of historical artifacts, which they can recall as needed.

After the Plague, a project run by the University of Cambridge requested hundreds of boxes of human remains from their collection at Deepstore from burials at the Hospital of St. John in Cambridge to study how epidemic diseases affect evolution. And they found the first direct archaeological evidence of the plague in Britain.

Sloane said the approach benefits to medicine and genetics.

Finds from the store can also be loaned to museums for temporary exhibitions. For instance, they showed items from two graves at the burial site of a possible Saxon princess on display at Ely museum, which included an ancient brooch and amethyst beads from a necklace.

Sally Croft, archives manager for Cambridgeshire County Council, explained that the significance of storing those materials is to tell stories about them and show them to people to be aware of their history. By putting them on display, the public can access and see them.