Durham University Museum of Archaeology

It is the repository for development-led archaeology finds in Durham City. The Museum of Archaeology is part of Durham University Museums, Galleries and Exhibitions, along with Durham Castle Museum and Durham University Oriental Museum.

• Name — Durham University Museum of Archaeology • Former Name — Durham University Museum • Established — 1833 • Location — Palace Green, Durham, England • Type — University archaeology museum • Accreditation — UK Museum Accreditation Scheme, Arts Council England • Key Holdings — Oswald-Plique collection, Lanchester diploma • Collections — Prehistoric, Ancient Greek, Roman, early medieval, medieval, post-medieval • Visitors — 30,000 • Curator — Gemma Lewis • Owner — Durham University • Website — https: www.dur.ac.uk/archaeology.museum/

• Illustration — The Old Fulling Mill on the bank of the River Wear, home of the museum from 1833 to 1876 and 1975 to 2014 In 1833, the year the university opened, the Old Fulling Mill on the River Wear below Durham Cathedral became the university museum. It was the second university museum in England to be open to the public. In 1876 it moved to Bishop Cosin's Almshouses on Palace Green. The early collection included a large number of natural history specimens, including "an almost complete collection of British birds", many donated by Thomas Gisborne, along with Roman artefacts from Binchester. In 1892, The Antiquary praised the Binchester collection as being "of first-class archaeological value" but concluded that overall "their museum reflects no credit on the University of Durham". At the start of the first world war, Durham's lecturer theatres were commandeered and the museum was converted to a temporary lecture theatre. The building had never been satisfactory as a museum, so it was decided to rationalise the collection, disposing of some of the more eclectic items of little educational value and moving the others to where they would be most useful. The collection of British birds went to St Hild's College, other scientific specimens to the science laboratories, the Binchester collection was moved to a room used primarily for lectures in history, and other objects to the university library. The university appointed Eric Birley as its first lecturer in archaeology in 1931, and he added material to the teaching collection from his excavations at Hadrian's Wall. In 1975, the museum was re-opened in the Old Fulling Mill, now concentrated purely on archaeology, with further galleries being opened in 1986. However, the location was prone to flooding and outside the main tourist areas. In 2014, the museum re-located back to Palace Green, to the Wolfson Gallery within the Durham University Library complex. Since 2021, the research collections have been stored off-site.