Two lectures about prehistory will be held next October at the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society. 'Keeping Up Appearances' by Ben Roberts, is about prehistoric jewellery in Britain and beyond. About 4,500 years ago some inhabitants of Britain suddenly started wearing and being buried with jewellery. Subsequent centuries saw objects being fashioned out of amber, jet, gold, copper, bone and faience in a bewildering variety of forms. These explosions of different displays reflected many of the transformations in societies over 1500 years. This talk will look at what jewellery prehistoric people wore and explore what this tells us about these prehistoric Bronze Age communities. Ben Roberts is Curator of the European Bronze Age collections at the British Museum. His research interests include the roles of jewellery in prehistoric societies, the appearance and early development of metal in Europe and the Middle East and the production, circulation and deposition of metal objects in prehistoric Europe. He studied at Sheffield and Cambridge and has worked on archaeological field projects throughout Britain, Europe and Central America.
Keeping Up Appearances - 2:30 pm, Saturday, 24 October, 2009. Booking recommended. Cost:  £4 (£3 for WANHS Members). Contact the Bookings Secretary on 01380 727369 or to send an e-mail to wanhs@wiltshireheritage.org.uk.
     The Annual General Meeting of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society will take place at Devizes Town Hall, commencing at 2.30pm on Saturday, 10 October, 2009. This will be followed by a lecture from Prof. Mike Parker Pearson. Mike's talk is entitled 'The Stonehenge Riverside Project - Recent Results'. It is sure to be very popular so advance booking is essential. If you are interested in attending the lecture contact 01380 727369 or send an e-mail to wanhs@wiltshireheritage.org.uk.
     Only members of WANHS can attend the AGM. There will be a small charge for non-members to attend the lecture. Booking for lecture recommended.

Source: Wiltshire Heritage (September 2009)