About Headway Salisbury and South Wiltshire
By Sarah Allen, Service Manager Headway
Headway Salisbury and South Wiltshire is an organisation supporting adults who have sustained an acquired brain injury, and their families. An acquired brain injury is an injury to the brain, that has happened since birth, such as following a stroke, fall, road traffic accident, tumour, infection, lack of oxygen etc.
Headway Salisbury and South Wiltshire’s mission is to ensure that when a person’s life is turned upside down by brain injury, they get the help, support and guidance they need and deserve.
We would normally meet together on a Thursday morning but due to Covid-19 we have been unable to do this in person so have been doing online activities. We were excited about taking part in the Wessex Archaeology Lost and Found project but not quite sure what would be involved (despite having lots of information about it) and perhaps a bit nervous.
The project has been fantastic- not only have we found out alot about some different artefacts we have also been finding out about ourselves and each other through the home tasks. Many of us have done some reminiscing as we have prepared our home tasks- and remembered some things we had forgotten about.
Despite being online the project has really helped with communication skills- having to listen carefully to what other participants are saying and waiting for our turn to talk.
But most of all the project has been engaging and fun- we'd definitely take part in something similar again.
The Headway Salisbury and South Wiltshire group have kindly given permission for us to share their images and artworks created created as part of these sessions.
“I have got to know more about the rest of the group and actually more about something that is special to me. I have been amazed at the artefacts shown and how intricate the jewellery found was.”
“I have enjoyed being able to look at the objects and hear the experts describe and give information about them. The personal museum idea, Things Important to Me is great and I have learned a lot more about my Headway colleagues, places and things in their past life. I enjoyed learning about life as a musician in the Grenadiers , especially about the uniform.”
"I loved looking at the artefacts and being able to choose what is going to happen to them, its incredible to think how old these things are to try and imagine the people who used them."
"The session today was great especially as I was pleased to be able to share my toy collection which started memories for other people with similar items"
"I enjoyed the science behind the process of archiving the items."
"The session challenges my mind and brain to engage with the objects presented. By presenting my item it rekindled memories and made me engage with others."
"It was lovely to be able to choose an important item that had meaning to me and to share it with other people."
"Happy to share my toy collection bringing back childhood memories"
"Learning about how history is documented is quite fascinating."
"I loved the history behind them and the craftsmanship that was required to produce them. The thought that they were made in one location and found somewhere else is amazing."
"I think they were all amazing and so hard to imagine all these items being used! I was also very surprised at the jewellery items especially the brooch with an actual clasp mechanism. It doesn’t seem real that we can as a group actually choose what happens to these items. I do feel privileged to be part of such a decision thank you"
"Challenging but in a good way. I have learnt not to panic when Leigh first introduces them but I have had good fun and stimulating ideas when presenting the homework."
"These sessions have been immensely enjoyable and I’m grateful that I have been able to join in these sessions, would definitely do it again"
The Lost and Found Headway Salisbury and South Wiltshire group have selected two objects from our archives to go into this online museum. Please do explore the objects below, we hope you enjoy them.
Iron Age shale armlet
A shale armlet, recovered from an Early-Middle Iron Age pit burial in Kent. The burial contained the remains of an adult of around 35 – 45 years of age, who had been buried with this armlet, which had been placed beneath an inverted pottery vessel, two fired clay spindle whorls and an iron rod or shank. The armlet is lathe-turned with a circular cross-section and has an outside diameter of 100mm. The armlet is highly polished and made from good-quality shale, which suggests that it may be an imported item from the south Dorset shale industry.
Romano-British New Forest beaker
A complete indented beaker in New Forest colour-coat ware, recovered from excavations at the Winchester Hotel, Winchester, which revealed further evidence for the known Roman cemetery of north Winchester. The beaker was recovered from a grave, along with a crossbow brooch and two copper alloy buckles. The overall shape and proportions of this beaker date it to the 4th century AD, although beakers of this type range in date from the later 3rd – 4th centuries AD. This beaker would have held around 100ml of liquid when full.
Return to the Lost and Found Museum home page