Join Dr. Julia Farley for her lecture Twist and Turn: Cross-craft connections in Iron Age Britain as part of the Flag Fen Archaeology Lectures.

Some of the most famous and best-studied objects from Iron Age Britain are ornately decorated gold torcs, and bronze shields, mirrors, and sword scabbards. Hidden in the swirling Celtic art designs which decorate and empower these objects are references to a much more neglected set of material: textiles and other organics. Twisted wire torc neck-rings echo spun threads, while engraved ‘basketweave’ patterns make playful reference to woven clothing fabric. Remembering and rediscovering the organic materials that were once used alongside these objects allows us to see them in a new and different light.

In 2020, Vivacity are delighted to be welcoming curators from the Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory at The British Museum to deliver the Flag Fen Archaeology Lectures. Dr. Farley is Curator of British & European Iron Age Collections. Her research interests include craft and production, especially metalwork and metalworking technologies, Iron Age ritual and depositional practices. She was lead curator on the major British Museum exhibition, Celts: Art and Identity in 2015-6.