The Museum of East Dorset – formerly the Priest’s House Museum – might be closed during the second lockdown, but you can still enjoy a tour of the new ‘Potted History of Britain’ exhibition – virtually.

Archaeologist Julian Richards of ‘Meet the Ancestors’ who curated the exhibition, is hosting a virtual gallery tour, offering his insights around the origin and meanings of the exhibits, which chart 6000 years of ceramics, and exploring pottery’s role in everyday life from prehistoric times to today.

The pots include some from the museum’s own stores, highlighting their unique collection of East Dorset ‘Verwood’ pottery while others have been loaned by Salisbury Museum. In all, over 80 pots, ranging from 6000-year-old fragments excavated near Stonehenge to a pot made during the spring lockdown will be used to tell this fascinating story.

Julian Richards said, “Pottery has always been a passion of mine, whether it’s muddy broken fragments on an archaeological dig or showing primary school pupils how to make and fire their own pots.

“Pots are part of our everyday life. We eat off them, drink out of them and even sit on something that’s made of pottery in our visits to the bathroom. We can learn so much about people’s day to day lives through their pottery.”

People can sign up now to join the virtual exhibition and they will receive a link to the event, which is being streamed on YouTube at 6.30pm on Thursday 26 November. Tickets cost £5 and are available from the Museum of East Dorset website. Following the tour, Julian will answer questions via a live Zoom call for which a few spaces are available. This event is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

For more information and to book tickets, visit: https://museumofeastdorset.co.uk/project/the-potted-history-of-britain/.