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Visiting Oxford's famous Ashmolean Museum
07 December 2018
On Tuesday 4 December, Year 9 embarked on a trip to the classically significant city of Oxford, where we participated in a range of activities varying from workshops involving the handling of ancient Roman artefacts, to a hunt for important cast sculptures and a tour of one of Oxford University’s world renowned colleges.
After arriving outside the Ashmolean Museum, we split into two groups. 9KM and 9RM, led by Mrs McAlister, Miss Wood and Ms Ajmal, were first to explore the Museum whilst 9CR and 9PM set off to visit Keble College with Mrs Hayward, Ms Flitter and Mrs Attwell. Soon after entering the museum, we were welcomed by a professional archaeologist and enjoyed looking at, feeling, and in some cases even smelling, a range of 2,000 year old artefacts, from bronze coins to gold jewellery. We were set the task of identifying the replica amongst the originals, and successfully deciphered that the false artefact was the necklace, after realising that the leather string would not have survived the centuries spent in the soil.
Next, we said vale! to the Roman gallery and salve! to the cast gallery and a variety of Classical Greek art including pottery depicting detailed designs of Gods, heroes and myths. The treasure hunt involved working as a team to search for our allocated artefacts and statues, then answering various questions based on the ancient works of art. We ended our time at the Ashmolean museum with a brief visit to the gift shop, where many of us purchased a memento to take home.
Once we had eaten our lunch, the groups swapped over and we set off on foot for an informative tour of Keble College, one of Oxford’s leading colleges. We were greeted by our guide, who gave us an insight into the rich history of Oxford University. We were then led across the grounds and into the college chapel, whilst admiring the frescoes and stained glass windows that adorned the building’s ceiling and walls. Our guide told us about how the chapel serves as both a place of worship and a venue for festivities. We were offered the opportunity to take a peek into the library, and took in it’s beautiful gothic architecture as well as it’s wide selection of texts, vital for the students studying at Keble. We saw the college’s social hub and accommodation, ending the tour with a question and answer session.
On behalf of Year 9 we would like to thank the Classics Department for organising such an enjoyable trip!
Latin students visit Oxford's famous Ashmolean Museum
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