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Colchester Museums

@colmuseums.bsky.social

We're renowned for Romans, cuckoo about clocks and wild for animals! Custodians of Colchester Castle, Hollytrees Museum and Colchester's Natural History Museum.

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Colchester Museums@colmuseums.bsky.social · 4h ago

A tiny bottle with a big story. This Roman glass was found in a burial in Colchester and dates to around AD 100. It likely held perfumed oils used during funerary rituals. While the details are partly lost to history, the use of scent in mourning is a tradition that stretches across centuries.

Close-up of a clear pale blue Roman glass unguent bottle with a narrow neck and flared rim, showing surface weathering and iridescent staining, alongside a cropped detail view of the same vessel against a plain light background.
Colchester Museums@colmuseums.bsky.social · 4d ago

Interested in archaeology, local history or museums? We're recruiting Portable Antiquities Scheme volunteers to help record, research and photograph archaeological finds from across Essex. It's a great opportunity to gain hands on experience with artefacts and heritage collections.

Recruitment poster for the Portable Antiquities Scheme showing a volunteer examining a small archaeological find with blue gloves using a magnifying glass above a computer keyboard; bold overlaid text reads "VOLUNTEERS WANTED."
Colchester Museums@colmuseums.bsky.social · 2w ago

Our #ThrowbackThursday photo was the former Sea Horse Hotel site at 61 High Street. What makes this little stretch especially interesting is the wider setting around it. The street follows the line of the town’s main Roman street, laid out nearly 2,000 years ago between the west and east gates.

Brick two-storey high street facade with Kaspa's Desserts storefront beside a Bang & Olufsen shop, a round plaque reading 1984 on the upper facade, and a pedestrian walking along the pavement.Sea Horse Hotel façade with arched upper windows and ivy-wreathed lower windows, a street-level pub front reading "Coffee Room," and a doorman standing in the doorway with a dog beneath a decorative lantern.
Colchester Museums@colmuseums.bsky.social · 2w ago

What's on at Colchester Museums this week? From dinosaur trails and fossil activities to guided walks and our breathtaking Museum of the Moon installation, there's plenty to discover during the first week of the summer holidays.

Colchester Museums poster announcing "What's on this week — 20–25 July" over a purple-tinted photograph of Colchester Castle.Three children smiling in a museum gallery beside a Juliasaurus skeleton and exhibit sign, promoting the Hollytrees Dino Trail that starts Tuesday.Visitor leans over a glass display case reading historic documents in Colchester Museums, with overlaid text "Discover More Trail — Starts Tuesday."Child pointing excitedly at a mounted dinosaur skeleton in a museum gallery, with a promotional overlay that reads Discover: Museum Wonders — All week and the Hollytrees Museum logo.
Colchester Museums@colmuseums.bsky.social · 3w ago

Ever picked up a fossil and wondered what you’re really looking at? This Fossil Friday, Dr Chris McKean reveals a surprisingly familiar pattern hidden in a common Essex find, along with a detail that’s equal parts strange and memorable…

Colchester Museums@colmuseums.bsky.social · 3w ago

This week’s #ThrowbackThursday is a close-up rather than a full scene. Here we’ve got a beautifully carved timber bracket with all the wear, texture and craftsmanship still showing. It’s a detail that has been part of the same building for centuries and it's still there today. Do you recognise it?

Ornate carved wooden corbel with a prominent spiraled scroll and small embossed plaque, mounted on a textured stucco wall next to painted window trim, showing weathered paint and close-up architectural detail.
Colchester Museums@colmuseums.bsky.social · 3w ago

The World Cup semi-finals are here! From Roman Colchester to modern football stadiums, people have gathered to watch sport together for centuries. The games may change, but the excitement never does. 🏛️⚽

A black-and-white soccer ball lodged in an aqua-tinted, embossed glass jar decorated with raised human figures and partial lettering, pairing a modern sports object with antique-style glassware.
Colchester Museums@colmuseums.bsky.social · 3w ago

Please note that the Natural History Museum will be closed to the public tomorrow, 15 July. We apologise for any inconvenience and look forward to welcoming you back when we reopen as usual on Thursday, 16 July.

Natural History Museum sign with logo in front of a stone building, overlaid notice reading "Visitor Notice: Museum Closed 15 July" indicating the museum will be closed that day.
Colchester Museums@colmuseums.bsky.social · 3w ago

Summer holiday plans? Sorted. 🌞 From 20 to 26 July, a whole week of new family-friendly activities begins across Colchester Museums. Expect dinosaurs, Moon trails, relaxed openings, fossil fun and the arrival of Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon. Thread 👇

Colchester Castle exterior in bright sunshine, with large white text reading “Upcoming Events, 20 to 26 July” and the Colchester Museums logo.
Colchester Museums@colmuseums.bsky.social · 3w ago

Victorians: formal, elegant, refined. Also Victorians: absolutely dependent on coffee. This copper and brass pot from around 1875–1900 shows how seriously they took it, right down to the stylish shape and practical rattan handle.

Victorian copper and brass coffee pot with a domed lid, tall curved spout, and a woven rattan handle, standing on a small round base against a plain background.