Harborough Museum has scooped a national award for its display and exhibition of the historic Hallaton helmet.
Leicestershire County Council’s Museums’ team were recognised by The Society for Museum Archaeology Annual Awards in the ‘Exhibition, Display or Interpretation’ category for their work to restore and display this historic object.
The Hallaton Helmet is a unique early Roman cavalry helmet discovered by the Hallaton Fieldwork Group and University of Leicester Archaeological Services in 2001 during an excavation of an Iron Age site, and this latest award follow years of reconstruction work by the British Museum conservators.
The Society for Museum Archaeology is a national body that is recognised by Arts Council England as the Subject Specialist Network for British Archaeology in the UK.
This is a fantastic honour for Harborough Museum and is a testament to all the hard work that has happened behind the scenes to ensure the successful restoration and display of this iconic helmet.
“If you haven’t seen it already, I would encourage you to visit when you get a chance. It is a fantastic historic artefact that has been brought back to life in all its glory.”
Person:Councillor Christine Radford, cabinet member for adults and communities
Leicestershire County Council’s project team worked with design specialists RFA Design, to reconfigure the existing gallery space at Harborough Museum to make the original helmet, cheekpieces and associated finds the centrepiece of the Hallaton Treasure Gallery.
The work helped to improve the visual impact of the display and helped Harborough Museum incorporate new research and the two replica helmets into the existing space.
Recognising the effort to improve the visual impact, the panel stated that it was: “an excellent project incorporating new research, artefacts and additional elements (replica) to bring new focus and additional context to a display”.
The replica project was made possible thanks to funding from Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Market Harborough Historical Society, Leicestershire Fieldworkers, The Friends of Leicester and Leicestershire Museums, and Market Harborough & The Bowdens Charity. Harborough District Council also supported the development and delivery of the project.
Details of how the replica helmets were created can be found on the Leicestershire Collections website.
Visit the Harborough Museum website for information and upcoming events.