Ancient artefacts dating back centuries which are held in Yorkshire musems to be showcased online

They are among the finest artefacts dating back centuries from some of Yorkshire’s leading museums which are now being showcased online.
By Grace Hammond
Published 11th Mar 2021, 06:00 BST
Updated 11th Mar 2021, 08:56 BST

The York Museums Trust has launched a digitisation project to share thousands of high-quality images of exhibits for people to view and study.

The artefacts include a medieval bone handle carving found in York of a woman dressed in a gown and headdress, dating from the 14th century. She is holding a hunting hawk, a popular hobby among noble women.

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A gold coin found in Bedale and depicting Byzantine Emperor Michael VII Ducas (1071-1078) and a bust of Christ is also being featured online. It was probably brought back to England by a Knight of the First Crusade, which saw soldiers from Europe travel to the Holy Land.

Andrew Woods, senior curator at the Yorkshire Museum, holds a magnifying glass in front of a medieval bone handle carving of a woman dressed in a gown and headdress, dating to the 14th CenturyAndrew Woods, senior curator at the Yorkshire Museum, holds a magnifying glass in front of a medieval bone handle carving of a woman dressed in a gown and headdress, dating to the 14th Century
Andrew Woods, senior curator at the Yorkshire Museum, holds a magnifying glass in front of a medieval bone handle carving of a woman dressed in a gown and headdress, dating to the 14th Century

Thousands of the trust’s items are being photographed and put online for the public to view. So far the database includes more than 170,000 objects, with nearly 40,000 photographed.

These include some of the Yorkshire Museum’s finest treasures such as the York Helmet, the Middleham Jewel and the Cawood Sword.

The trust’s IT and digital engagement manager, Theodore Wilkins, said: “It is the trust’s ambition to share our collections with a wide and diverse audience and one of the ways we can do this, especially at the moment, is through digital channels.”

The images can be viewed at www.yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk/collections.

Related topics:Yorkshire

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