Kilmartin Museum reopens the doors to more than 12,000 years of history

Visitors to the reopened Kilmartin Museum can look into the eyes of their ancestors.

 

"attachment_1020517" "" "300"] The reconstructed face of a woman from the Bronze Age whose remains were found in a burial cist in Kilmartin.
KG-T36-Facereconstruction-2023-KilmartinMuseum

 

The remains of a Bronze Age woman reburied in her own glass room is just one of the jaw-dropping exhibits on show at the revamped museum that opened its doors to the public after closing in 2021 for exciting renovation work.

 

Alongside the woman's skeleton is a startling reconstruction of her face.

 

Nationally significant highlights include the internationally-famed Poltalloch jet necklace found in a nearby burial cist and imported from Yorkshire sometime between 2050 and 1800 BC.

 

"attachment_1020628" "" "300"] The Polltalloch jet necklace on loan from the British Museum after a 20 year wait.
PC-T36-Poltallochjetnecklace-2023-PaulCampbell

 

The Whitby jet necklace is one of over 60 pieces on loan from the National Museum of  Scotland on view - Kilmartin Museum has waited for more than 20 years to borrow it and only now, can it meet the secure conditions required.

 

As well as Kilmartin Museum's own collection - over 11,000 artefacts are on show for the first time - there are more objects from the British Museum.

 

The galleries include hands-on activities - you can try grinding grain like they did in the Iron Age  and have a go at piecing together an ancient smashed pot. Stamper stations, more interactive exhibits and an immersive film giving a fascinating insight into the lives of people inhabiting the area over the last 12,000 years are just more of what is on offer.

 

"attachment_1020631" "" "300"] Interactive light box pinpointing sites of interest across Kilmartin Glen.
KG-T36-lightbox-2023-KilmartinMuseum

 

Mesolithic flint core, 12,000 years old, is one of the artefacts on display representing some of the first evidence of human presence in Kilmartin Glen.

 

As well as a larger display space, new galleries housing temporary art exhibitions have been added, as have laboratories in which to process new finds and acquisitions and there is a state-of-the-art collection store plus a learning area to run cultural and educational activities.

 

Museum director and curator Dr Sharon Webb said that finally opening the museum after many challenges, including the global pandemic, was exciting.

 

"attachment_1020634" "" "300"] Museum Director and Curator Dr Sharon Webb
Photograph: Paul Campbell.
PC-DrSharonWebb-2023-KilmartinMuseum-Paul-Campbel

 

"Kilmartin Glen’s archaeological landscape and the artefacts found here are internationally significant, and it’s been a privilege to have been part of the team telling their story in the new exhibition.

 

"We’ve been able to display many more of our own collections, most of which are recognised as Nationally Significant. The new museum facilities also mean that we can welcome visitors, undertake educational activities and research into this amazing legacy. Importantly, the new building also allows us to professionally curate our own archaeological collections and those of Argyll and Bute Council which we also care for," she said.

 

Speaking at the opening ceremony on September 1, Argyll Provost Maurice Currie said he was proud  of the part the council had played and promised the support would continue as the area was "up there with the Orkneys", putting the museum on the map for the world to see all its wonderful treasures.

 

"attachment_1020640" "" "300"] Marked stones at Kilmartin Museum.
KG-T36-stones-2023-KilmartinMuseum

 

Thanks was given to a long list of funders, including National Lottery players, Historic Environment Scotland and Argyll and Bute Council, which made the transformation possible, as well as supporters and other donors who played their part.

 

"attachment_1020652" "" "300"] You can collect stamps as you tour your war through the exhibition space, just one of the hands-on activities with all-age appeal.
KG-T36-stamperstation-2023-KilmartinMuseum

 

Museum volunteer Jim Malcolm, whose home overlooks the museum, was also at the official opening. He helped keep up the museum's profile while its doors were shut by leading visitor walks.

 

"attachment_1020643" "" "300"] Museum volunteer Jim Malcolm outside the re-opened and renovated Kilmartin Museum.
KG-T36-JimMalcolm-2023-KilmartinMuseum

 

Mr Malcolm's favourite artefact on show is a highly-decorated piece of pot, an Irish food vessel from more than 4,000 years ago that came from the Glebe Cairn.

 

"It's fantastic, you can stand there and look at this incredible pot and from the same spot, look out of the window and see the cairn where it came from."

 

"attachment_1020655" "" "225"] Multi-art form artist Alice Strange created this work with a nod to the Polltalloch jet necklace on show at Kilmartin Museum.
KG-T36-Alice'swork-2023-KilmartinMuseum

 

Textile artist Louise Oppeneimer was one of five artists from the area commissioned to create work to celebrate the museum's opening. Her weaving incorporates rock art spirals and colours of lichens from the surrounding landscape. "It was a great honour to be asked," she said.

 

"attachment_1020649" "" "225"] Textile artist Louise Oppenheimer's commissioned weaving incorporates rock art spirals and colours of lichens from the surrounding Kilmartin landscape.
KG-T36-LouiseOppenheimertapestry-2023-KilmartinMuseum

 

The new building, designed by Reiach and Hall Architects, was built onto the museum's previous site - an old manse where the exhibition space was originally in its cellars.