Birmingham Museums Trust manages the city’s collection of 800,000 objects and nine museum venues on behalf of Birmingham City Council. The city’s museums attract over 1.2 million visits a year. Apart from the Staffordshire Hoard, however, there is very little archaeology on display. This is weird, because
1. The collection contains a huge amount of archaeology
2. Local history, including archaeology, is the single most popular topic with audiences, including the BAME audiences who
make up 46% of the city’s population
3. The museum service had strong historical links with the local archaeological society, and supported excavations in the
Near East.

Why?
1. Curatorial hierarchies are dominated by flat art
2. Professional archaeology doesn’t get the marketing, funding, PR and political angles of museum partnerships
3. Archaeological archives – dead duck or sacred cow?

And the future?

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