Image: Hugh Dennis in the new gallery (Maidstone Borough Council)
The ‘Outnumbered’ star and presenter of The Great British Dig cut the ribbon on the new ‘Lives In Our Landscape’ gallery
Star of the BBC’s ‘Outnumbered’ and presenter of The Great British Dig, Hugh Dennis, has officially opened a new archaeology gallery at the Maidstone Museum.
Maidstone Borough Council, which runs the museum, officially opened the ‘Lives In Our Landscape’ to visitors today, 5 June 2024.
Dennis said “I’d heard about the progress of the new Lives in our Landscape gallery for some time, through friends at the Kent Archaeological Society. I was absolutely thrilled to be asked to officially open the gallery!
“Maidstone Museum has really achieved something quite outstanding with this immersive and exciting gallery. I would encourage everyone to come and see it and experience the changing landscapes of Kent for themselves.”
The Kent Archaeological Society (KAS) has donated £50,000 and the museum team have worked in partnership with the organisation to select objects for the gallery.
The new gallery tells the story of how people have lived in the area with objects dating back more than 600,000 years, including the earliest stone tools in a forested landscape, up to the medieval period, when Maidstone became a bustling market town.
Other sources of funding for the new gallery include £100,000 from the William and Edith Oldham Charitable Trust, matched by £100,000 raised by Maidstone Museums’ Foundation (MMF), which includes donations from the Gallagher Group and Family, The Cobtree Charity Trust and a former Mayor of Maidstone, Dan Daley, together with £389,000 from the Council.
Maidstone Museum Manager, Natalie Moor said: “The gallery will transport people through time and allow them to imagine how a person lived thousands of years ago. The skeleton and film of the Eastry woman, buried nearly 1,500 years ago is a great example of this. They tell her story and give clues about her life through scientific analysis of her teeth and bones.”
