Shining a Light on Children in Antiquity
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This exhibition explores the life of children in ancient Greece through four objects in the Shefton Collection of Greek Art and Archaeology, on display in the Great North Museum: Hancock.
Children in the past are often forgotten. In archaeology, evidence for children has even been considered ‘invisible’ or ‘inaccessible’. Children have not been looked for when spaces they would have spent much of their time in, including ancient houses, have been investigated. By shining a light on children we can truly understand what whole societies were like in antiquity.
We need to use a broad perspective when we are exploring history; one that carefully considers the size of objects and how they were used. We need to remember that children often repurpose objects not specifically made for them. This helps us to identify children both in archaeology and in museum collections that display archaeology to public audiences.
Exploring children’s material culture – objects that children used, or that were used in caring for children – allows us to understand children’s lives from around 2,500 years ago.
Explore the objects: