Lecture

Traditions and Transitions: The Story of the Chettle Grave Group | Sophia Adams

18 April 2024, 7:00pm - 8:30pm

A locally made wine strainer, an old mirror and a blue glass jar perhaps from Cologne. These are just three of the eight artefacts found in 2003, buried together on land within Chettle Park, Dorset. Following conservation work, they are now on display in the Britain and Europe gallery at The British Museum. In this presentation, Sophia Adams will take you through the case for a close-up look at these fascinating finds. Each item alone is beguiling but the crux of the story is how they came to be buried together near the end of the first century or early second century CE.

Sophia Adams is a curator at the British Museum responsible for collections from the first millennium BCE in Europe and the Roman conquest of Britain. She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in archaeology from University College London and was awarded a PhD from the University of Leicester for her research on Iron Age brooches. Her career has seen her working in development-led fieldwork, undertaking research fellowships and getting up close to some rather special ancient finds. She is currently obsessed with chronology, technology, materials and making.