Volunteering in the CAHA Museum

Alongside her degree, Ellen has gained invaluble professional experience as a volunteer in our Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology Museum. Featuring objects from across the Ancient World, including Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, Ellen talks us through some of her main projects that have enhanced her studies and her future career prospects.

The CAHA Museum is the Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology teaching collection that consists of over 1,900 artifacts varying from ancient Greek sherds to roman glassware to an Ancient Egyptian sarcophagus lid (fondly nicknamed George). I began volunteering with Dr Maeve McHugh in the CAHA museum in the autumn of 2020 through the Child Potters in Ancient Greece research project (more articles can be found on the CAHA Community blog) and have continued to work with the collection alongside my studies. 

The Child Potters in Ancient Greece research project consisted of using a methodology established by Langdon in her paper ‘Children as learners and producers in early Greece’ to understand the role of child apprentices in ancient Greece. We then applied Langdon’s methodology to the votive offerings in the CAHA collection to attempt to discover whether any of these votives were made by child potters. Excitingly, we discovered multiple votive models that had signs of amateur production: including a clay horse and rider, and a horse’s head. 

Despite much of the project being impacted by COVID-19 regulations, we were able to handle the collection and examine the votive offerings in person. It was through this experience that I gained an appreciation for the material culture that we have in our collection and enjoyed applying it to discussions about the ancient world. Working on this project was a great way of being introduced to the CAHA collection as it gave us the opportunity to get involved in the current discussions surrounding the ancient world and contribute to the discipline.

Recently, we have been organsing the Museum's collection that dates back to 1901. In the 1970s, Helen Waterhouse donated hundreds of Ancient Greek sherds to the collection. Waterhouse was a classical archaeologist and scholar whose accolades include being the Librarian at the British School in Athens and an Honorary Lecturer and Research Fellow of Ancient History and Archaeology here at the University of Birmingham. Within her donation are pieces of pottery from all over Greece including Knossos, Troy, Delphi and Mycenae. Working within the collection in this way allowed me not only to develop my appreciation for the ancient world, but also begin to understand the history of our teaching collection and how it has formed over the years. 

Listen to our Stories from Objects Podcast

Stories from Objects: the teaching collection of the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology

In each episode we explore the teaching collections at CAHA and select objects to discuss with specialists and students from the department. Each of the objects in our collections has a story to tell, and we intend to introduce these objects and stories to a wider audience.

Episode 1 - What can we learn from teaching collections?

In this episode we go behind the scenes of the teaching collections in CAHA, and discuss curating these collections, the role of the RCC in collections care, where these collections come from, and their use in the Department.

Episode 2 - What can we learn from animal bones?

In this episode we are joined by Dr David Smith who introduces us to the Environmental Archaeology Collection. He discusses what animal bones can tell us about the ancient world; hint, it’s a lot!

Episode 3 - What can we learn from Egyptian Antiquities?

Jen Turner from the Eton Myers Collection introduces us to this wonderful hidden treasure in the Selly Oak Campus. She chooses some of her favourite objects, and explains the role of winged goddesses in protecting the dead in ancient Egypt.

Episode 4 - What can we learn from Greek pottery?

Dr Maeve McHugh brings us on a tour of Archaic and Classical Greek pottery on display in the Archaeology Collection, and discusses what they can tell us about the ancient societies that made them.

Episode 5 - What can we learn from Roman coins?

In this episode, Dr Hannah Cornwell discusses the importance of Roman coins in relaying messages of power for Roman Emperors. She introduces us to some coins from the period of Augustus and Hadrian, plus a coin with an empress on it!

Episode 6 - What can we learn from Byzantine pilgrim flasks?

In our last episode, Dr Daniel Reynolds introduces us to the wonderful world of Late Antiquity, and discusses the fascinating practices of pilgrimage across the Mediterranean.