With Prep IV approaching the end of their topic on Ancient Egyptians, Mrs. Booth decided that a trip to view original, fully provenanced Egyptian artefacts was on the cards. Bringing history to life, of course. Bags were packed, passports sorted and off Prep IV went – to Bolton!
Who knew? Famously Bolton is the place where the spinning mule – a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres – was invented in the 1780s and within 100 years of this invention, Bolton became internationally known as a centre for spinning and weaving of fine quality cotton. Together with this, there was strong interest in the town in ancient textiles – and thus a link, through these textiles, with ancient Egypt was forged. One of the largest and most successful local mill companies in Bolton was the firm of Barlow and Jones, founded by James Barlow of Edgeworth. They formed part of the Egypt Exploration Society, who collected and then donated their finds to the Chadwick Museum, the Victorian forerunner to today’s Bolton Museum.
All of their items were actually excavated – not bought, sold or stolen – and thus all their items retain their full provenance information. It is a truly remarkable collection – and right on our doorstep! A perfect place to visit for Prep IV with their full Egyptian knowledge – as remarked on by Millie, one of the curators who ran the workshops for our children. Of course, with nearly 12,000 objects from over 65 sites in Egypt, the most popular of these?
The gift shop!
(With thanks to the Bolton Museum’s own website for information on the origins and nature of their Egyptian collection: https://www.boltonlams.co.uk/homepage/78/egyptology)