Robert M Chapple, Archaeologist

From April to September 2019 The Design Museum in London hosted a retrospective of the life and career of Stanley Kubrick . It was a magnificent show that placed his movies in context, and displayed rarely-seen items from his archives. It was all timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Kubrick’s death and the release of his final movie – the tragically under regarded Eyes Wide Shut . I was lucky enough to get to see it twice (once in the presence of my eldest son, himself an emerging Kubrick acolyte). There was just so much on display that it was hard to take it all in. There were original costumes, scripts, clapperboards, even the remarkable cameras he used to film the breath-taking Barry Lyndon . While there is much to enthuse about, Kubrick is relatively recent for consideration by an archaeology blog (even this one!). Instead, I want to mention two items that caught my attention for how they were displayed. Axes. Original Props. The Stanley Kubrick Archive, Univ...

Today’s image is a small selection of bronze axes from the rather wonderful Ulster Museum. The example on the left is from Lisnisk, Co Antrim , while the one on the right is from Drumlough, Hillsborough, Co Down . The example in the middle is only located to Ireland in general. The Ulster Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays & is free! Go explore!

A hoard of five copper axes from Lough Ravel, County Antrim. Now in the Ulster Museum. I just liked the composition of the display and the prominence of the museum accession numbers ... to me they speak of the importance of collection, curation, and study - all the things a good museum facilitates and fosters. The Ulster Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays & is free! Go explore!