A Monstrous Find: The Tale of an Early Neolithic Artefact - Free Lunchtime Talk

Name: A Monstrous Find: The Tale of an Early Neolithic Artefact - Free Lunchtime Talk
Start: 2025-11-04T13:00:00+00:00
Location: Tullie, Castle Street, Carlisle, CA3 8TP

Schedule

Tue, 04 Nov, 2025 at 01:00 pm

UTC+00:00

Location

Tullie, Castle Street, Carlisle, CA3 8TP | Carlisle, EN

It’s a cold but bright day in February 2007. One of us is walking in the uplands of Cumbria, visiting the Neolithic long mound at Rayseat Pike. Glancing down in a gully just around 50 metres from the mound, my eye is caught by a black object glinting in the sun. Picking it up, and recognising that it had been shaped by human hands, proved to be the beginning of a voyage of discovery about a rare and intriguing artefact that turns out to be around 5500 years old.
If you want to find out what this object is, and hear its fascinating story, join us in the Auditorium where Dr. Andrew Wallis will be discussing this remarkable artefact with Neolithic specialist Dr Alison Sheridan.
Dr Alison Sheridan is a retired Principal Curator of Early Prehistory, and a current Research Associate, at National Museums Scotland. She specialises in the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods, especially in the jewellery that was made over these millennia.
Dr Andrew Wallis is a Volunteer Coordinator at Uncovering Roman Carlisle and has a PhD in micropalaeontology. He is retired and taught biology for many years at a secondary school.
Our Tuesday Talks are free to attend and are held on the first Tuesday of the month in the Auditorium from 13:00-14:00. Booking is recommended.