Being newly appointed to the role of Curator of Archaeology for the Oxfordshire Museums Service I had hoped I’d spend time aimlessly wondering the stores at the Museum Resource Centre (MRC) near Standlake in Oxfordshire. I pictured myself doing a personal lottery of which archive box to peek in, getting to know the objects we care for and learn of Oxfordshire’s archaeology, working out ways to make these archives accessible to the public and researchers when they are not on display at The Oxfordshire Museum and in other museums and venues.

After 45 full working days lockdown occurred, the MRC closed, and we all had to work from home. What does a Curator of Archaeology do whilst working from home during lockdown? The first image was the archaeology team, including the Oxfordshire Finds Liaison Officer and volunteers, pre-lockdown, re-boxing a Palaeolithic collection donated to the Museums Service. We were re-boxing flint and stone tools which butchered woolly mammoths – that was, for me, mind blowing! But that working day was before lockdown, but it does remind me to drop an email to our amazing volunteers to say hello and to update them on plans to open the MRC in the coming months. Their help, humour, and hard work makes such a difference to what we can achieve at the stores and I do miss them and the rest of the archaeology team.

Getting to know the archaeology collection and making it accessible to researchers and the public whilst in lockdown has been at the forefront of my mind. The solution… browse and meander through the Museum’s Collection Management System (a glorified catalogue of what is in the museum’s collection) on-line, pick an interesting object, research it (although I am also falling back on my knowledge of finds as I was a Finds Liaison Officer before becoming a curator) and film myself talking about it. The idea is if the object isn’t on display anywhere and the MRC is closed, I’ll bring the object to people’s homes via social media. The filming is a bit guerrilla style. It isn’t scripted. I get nervous in front of a camera (give me a live audience any day where I feel I’m talking to friends), the background of the office is cluttered (not recommended by those who know about these things) but it is the quietest room when I’m not home schooling. I take a deep breath, press record and step out of my comfort zone. Have a look on Twitter at @OxonMRC where the archaeology team and I have posted a number of films including an Anglo-Saxon fish-shaped mount, a Bronze Age razor, a Medieval brooch and a Post Medieval trade token. Enhancing the museum’s collection is another role of a curator and often this is through excavating units who work in the county depositing their finds and reports at MRC. These are on hold for the moment as MRC is closed, but enhancing the collection hasn’t stopped, even when working from home.

At the moment I am applying for grants to acquire objects and coins declared Treasure. The grant application today is to acquire a late 3rd century Roman coin hoard. As well as grants we rely on using money donated to museums to help acquire items for the collections, but with The Oxfordshire Museum (@OxonMuseum) being closed during the lockdown, these funds are greatly depleted. This loss of income is a worry for the coming year. I’m a Museum Curator in lockdown with two children, so I’m juggling all of this with home schooling. If only they enjoyed history, I and they would have a great time, but it is maths, English and spellings! Isosceles triangles are calling…