Events - 28 May 25 | York Museums Trust

Events - 28 May 25

Dig Deeper – Thu 24 Apr 2025

Dates: Thursday 24 April 2025–Friday 20 June 2025, 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Venue: DIG

24 April – 20 June 2025 | 10am – 4pm | DIG | Included in admission price | Book now

Step into the world of ancient gladiators and uncover a truly unique encounter at DIG! While gladiators battling lions and bears have long captured the imagination, evidence of these fierce encounters has been limited to historical texts and artistic depictions—until now.

This spring, DIG is proud to present an extraordinary display: skeletal remains believed to bear genuine lion bite marks. Alongside this discovery, witness a stunning facial reconstruction that brings history vividly to life.

Join our Dig Deeper tours—an exclusive, adult-focused experience held at the end of each day. These tours spotlight the gladiator remains and other fascinating artifacts from our collection. Learn from real archaeologists, ask your burning questions about life on a dig, and handle replica artifacts. You’ll also gain hands-on experience in our interactive dig pits, discovering what it’s like to uncover the past.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to come face-to-face with history. Book your visit today!

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Make a Roman face pot – Sat 24 May 2025

Dates: Saturday 24 May 2025–Saturday 31 May 2025, 11:00 am-3:00 pm
Venue: DIG

24 – 31 May 2025 | 11 am – 3pm | DIG | £3 per person, pay on arrival | DIG website

Inspired by real Roman objects, this drop-in craft allows you to make your own Roman face pot. Fragments of at least 50 of these pots have been found in York, ranging from jars with simple facial features added into the clay, to fully sculpted head-shaped urns, complete with intricate hairstyles. Despite finding so many, archaeologists don’t quite know why they were made, but there are lots of theories!

Come along to learn more about these fascinating finds and let your imagination take over whilst designing your own face pot.

£3.00 per person, pay on arrival.

Join us at DIG during the Eboracum Roman Festival and explore all things Roman! Get up close with real 2000-year-old finds on your DIG tour and explore 40 years of Roman archaeology from across York in our galleries, giving exciting glimpses into life and death in a bustling Roman city. It is also your last chance to see the ‘Soundmarks’ exhibition, where soundscapes and visual art come together and invite you to imagine the possibilities of past worlds, all inspired by Roman archaeological discoveries. You can learn more about Soundmarks here: Soundmarks.

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Making Mosaics – Wed 28 May 2025

Date: Wednesday 28 May 2025, All Day
Venue: Yorkshire Museum

Making Mosaics
28 May 2025 | Included in general admission | Book now

Make a mosaic inspired by our beautiful Roman mosaic at the Yorkshire Museum in this fun and informal drop in workshop suitable for all the family.

Suitable for all ages. Drop-in throughout the day.

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Meet Me at The Yorkshire Museum – Wed 28 May 2025

Date: Wednesday 28 May 2025, All Day
Venue: Yorkshire Museum

Meet Me at The Yorkshire Museum
28 May 2025 | Included in general admission | Book now

Ever wanted to run into a Roman?

This is YOUR invitation to ….

…….. MEET ME AT THE YORKSHIRE!

Suitable for all ages.

Short stories, music, games and object handling throughout the day. Times will be advertised at the Museum.

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Tales from the Trail: Kirkgate – Wed 28 May 2025

Date: Wednesday 28 May 2025, All Day
Venue: York Castle Museum

Tales from the Trail: Kirkgate
Times will be advertised at the museum on the day

Included in general admission

Do you know your grocer’s from your greengrocer’s?

Hardware from haberdasher’s?

Confectioner’s from chemist’s? ……. ( hope so!)

Prepare for silliness, stories and urgent shopping with our Kirkgate characters. Pick up a copy of our free Time Travellers Trail at the ticket desk so you can get involved too!

Two slightly madcap Victorian characters will be on Kirkgate at various times during the days to interact with each other and with the visitors. Short scenes take place, each concerning a story or a bit of fun about objects to be purchased from the shops of Kirkgate, all belonging within our Time Travellers museum trail.

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Roman Treasure Hunt – Wed 28 May 2025

Date: Wednesday 28 May 2025, 10:00 am-3:00 pm
Venue:

A Roman treasure hunt

28 May 2025

10am-3pm

A free activity for families spread across the city, from the Yorkshire Museum to DIG in St Saviourgate. Participants will help save Eboracum from disaster, whilst learning about life in Roman York.

The trails runs 24-25 May, and 28-30 May from 10am to 3pm.

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Wicked Wednesday at York Art Gallery – Wed 28 May 2025

Date: Wednesday 28 May 2025, 10:15 am-12:15 pm
Venue: York Art Gallery

Wicked Wednesday

£7 per child (capacity: 16 per session)

Please book a ticket for every child who is attending the session.

Book tickets here

(Please book Gallery admission separately)

Session 1

10.15am – 11am

Session 2

11.30am – 12.15 pm

Suitable for 2 – 8 year olds

Story Craft Theatre will be going on a Wicked Wednesday adventure, and you are all invited!

With the power of imagination, you might find yourselves swinging through a magical garden, jumping over mesmerising mountains or even swimming in a great ocean. All from the comfort of York Art Gallery.

The sessions will include games, singing and an interactive story.

Children must be always accompanied by an adult. Due to space restrictions, a max of 1 adult per booking.

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Story Craft Theatre is a children’s theatre company created by Cassie Vallance and Janet-Emily Bruce. After setting up in 2018 they have hosted birthday parties, events and classes throughout the UK. Partnerships have included Castle Howard, National Trust, Rural Arts, Rowntree Park, Theatre 41 and York Theatre Royal.

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The Melsonby hoard: chariots and power in the North Yorkshire Iron Age – Wed 28 May 2025

Date: Wednesday 28 May 2025, 6:00 pm-7:30 pm
Venue: Yorkshire Museum

The Melsonby hoard: chariots and power in the North Yorkshire Iron Age
With Sophia Adams (The British Museum) and Tom Moore (Durham University)
28 May 2025 | 6pm – 7.30pm | Tempest Anderson Hall, Yorkshire Museum | £15 per person | Book now

In 2021, in a field in North Yorkshire, metal detectorist Peter Heads made a discovery that led to revealing one of the largest deposits of Late Iron Age metalwork ever uncovered in Britain. In our paper we present the astounding remains from this Treasure find and share our current hypotheses about the setting of this scene of consumption, mass destruction and funerary practice. We will look at the range of incredible finds uncovered and discuss how these remains provide important new insights into different aspects of life in Iron Age Britain and the nature of power at this time.

All proceeds go to the Save the Melsonby Hoard fundraising campaign.