DCMS/Wolfson grant kick starts Arbeia redevelopment plans

Arbeia Roman Fort in South Shields, Tyne & Wear is delighted to announce they have received £150,000 from DCMS/Wolfson Museum and Galleries Improvement Fund.

The funding will be used to launch the first phase of a larger redevelopment plan, which will see improved interpretation, physical access and way-finding of the heritage site which was occupied by the Romans for 300 years.

Iain Watson, Director of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be one of the 39 museums and galleries in England and one of the only two in the North East to receive funding from DCMS/Wolfson Museum and Galleries Improvement Fund.

The redevelopment project will help us to greatly improve our visitor offer as it will better connect the archaeological finds and collection with the remains on the site highlighting the special story of this unique site in South Shields.”

Councillor Iain Malcolm, Leader of South Tyneside Council, said: “I am delighted that Arbeia Roman Fort has been awarded this funding.

“Arbeia is already a key tourist attraction as well as being a much-loved cultural and educational venue for local residents and the wider region, providing a fascinating insight into the Borough’s history.

“This funding will enable the heritage site to further enhance and expand its superb visitor offer and we look forward to working in partnership with Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums to develop this attraction further.”

Matt Hancock, Minister for Digital and Culture, said:

“Our museums and galleries are among the best in the world and we should be rightly proud of these institutions.

"We want people to be able to enjoy world-leading culture wherever they live and whatever their background. These grants will make an important contribution toward increasing access to their wonderful collections and improving the visitor experience at museums right across the country.

“I applaud the Wolfson Foundation’s generosity in once again matching the Government’s investment pound for pound in this important work.”

Paul Ramsbottom, CEO of the Wolfson Foundation, said:

"This is a wonderful example of how a charity and government can work fruitfully together in partnership and we are grateful to government for matching our funding. The awards demonstrate the richness and variety of the country’s museum collections. From Egyptian mummies in Leicester to a Roman fort on Tyneside, this is a gloriously diverse set of projects - but all demonstrate excellence and all will improve the visitor experience.

“In announcing these awards I also want to pay tribute to Giles Waterfield. He was a brilliant advisor to the programme from its inception and sparkled at an expert panel meeting in the very week in which he tragically and unexpectedly died. We all owe him a great deal.”

The project will also seek to increase the range of visitors who can enjoy the site. Improvements will be made to the accessible routes around the site and viewing areas will be developed. An alternative and unique audio visual film will be created to present the story of Arbeia, which was the key supply base at the mouth of the River Tyne for the forts along Hadrian’s Wall.

While Arbeia is already a popular site in the coastal town of South Shields attracting 33,000 visitors in 2015-16 of which 7% were from overseas, the project will also raise Arbeia’s own profile and visibility by developing closer links with other visitor attractions in South Shields. This is fitting as Arbeia is the only site in Britain to have a range of in situ reconstructed Roman buildings and is home to the largest collection of objects from any Roman site in northern Britain. One particular star piece is the Regina Tombstone which is evidence of immigration and the meeting of British and Syrian Cultures 1800 years ago.

Another fantastic archaeological discovery was made in the Summer during excavations completed by volunteers from the Earthwatch Institute based in America. A small, yet well-preserved bronze figure of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, thought to be a mount from a larger piece of furniture was found by Amanda Siem. She said: ‘At first I didn’t believe the goddess was real since the condition seemed pristine and the detail was incredible, but then our site supervisor fell eerily-quiet triggering a hum of authentic excitement.’

This news is just another string to the UNESCO World Heritage site’s bow as it received national praise in 2016 when it was one of only three museums and galleries to take part in King’s College London’s pilot project: ‘My Primary School is at the Museum.’

Arbeia Roman Fort is also a destination in the ‘unmissable’ wall-wide Hadrian’s Cavalry exhibition which opens in April and runs until September this year. Hadrian’s Wall has since been identified as one of the top 20 best destinations to visit in 2017 in the world. Visitors to the part of the exhibition at Arbeia will find out what archaeology can tell us about Roman cavalry.