Second year BA Ancient History student, Elizabeth Owen, gives her recommendations of things to do, listen to and visit if you already are (or planning to be!) a Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology student at Birmingham.
Written by Elizabeth Owen
I’m now half way through my second year at Birmingham so I thought I’d share a short list of things to do and places to go which might be of interest to anyone studying in CAHA.
The gardens at Winterbourne have remained open over lockdown and I have enjoyed visiting quite a few times. It’s free to students and is only a short walk from campus. If you find yourself needing a break and some fresh air, Winterbourne is definitely the place to go!
Winterbourne Gardens
Birmingham Museum is home to a wide range of displays and artefacts, from ‘Birmingham: its people, its history’ to Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Unfortunately, it’s not open at the moment but you can still do a virtual tour. It’s not the same as going in person but hopefully we’ll be able to visit soon!
Birmingham Musuem and Art Gallery
Some of the Eton Myers Collection of Egyptian antiquities is currently on loan to UoB. William Joseph Myers was a British military officer who was posted in Cairo in 1882 and began collecting antiquities in 1884. Most notable about the collection is its number of faience (blue/green glazed) objects. During my first year seminar module we visited the collection and were able to hold some of the objects. I remember holding a stone tool and was amazed by the way it fitted into my hand and the thought of someone else using it thousands of years ago. I have also attended a talk on shabtis which took place here as part of the ‘Objects in Focus’ series.
The CAHA research seminars are a great way to learn more about the research going on in the department.
The CAHA Musuem
Perspectives is the School of Histories and Cultures’ latest podcast. Episodes explore how the school’s research engages with equality, diversity and inclusivity. Even though episodes have not discussed any ancient history so far they are interesting, enlightening and definitely worth a listen! I would certainly recommend it if you are interested in heritage.
Students recoding an episode of the Stories from Objects Podcast
Stories from Objects is a podcast which focuses on the teaching collections at CAHA. Each episode focuses on a specific type of object and expands on what can be learned from it. If you want to learn more about what the department has to offer this podcast is for you!