• come along and enjoy free workshops and family fun activities provided by Preston’s Harris Museum
• view one of the original Bleasdale urns discovered on the site
• enjoy a walk up to the famous Bronze Age Circle to find out more about the site from museum guides
• sandwiches, cakes, tea and coffee available for a small charge

This event is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Friends of the Harris Museum (also the Forest of Bowland AONB).

Come and work with jewellery maker Samantha Taylor, to create a pair of beautiful spiral earrings using copper wire. (children 7 years and over welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult).

Spiral decoration have been found at many archeological sites, including neolithic and bronze age megalithic sites throughout the UK and Europe. Spirals were used as decoration; on stones, vessels and jewellery.

Museum to host free summer event at Bleasdale!
Preston's Harris Museum & Art Gallery is heading north for just one day to host a free summer event at the Bleasdale Circle and Bleasdale Parish Hall in the picturesque Forest of Bowland.

The family-friendly event on Wednesday 24th August between 11am and 3pm hopes to attract 100s of people interested in finding out more about the Bronze Age timber circle at Bleasdale which was discovered in 1898 and is now an ancient schedule monument. The Parish Hall will be host to displays and hands on activities inspired by the circle whilst museum guides will be on site at the Bleasdale Circle to discuss the history and the importance of the site. Visitors will be able to see one of the Bronze Age ceramic urns found on the site which is now in the Harris Museum. It will make a special visit to Bleasdale just for the event before taking its place in the Harris Museum's new history gallery in 2012.

The event is being held at Bleasdale Parish Hall.
Free parking is available at the Parish Hall, near Bleasdale Primary School and St Eadmer's Church. Access to the circle is via private land through the Bleasdale Estate, using a concessionary footpath. Refreshments including cakes and sandwiches will be on sale during the event. Info from the lancashire archeology society website

Samantha - "I have always been interested in history and fascinated by ancient civilizations, their buildings and art, especially the spiral motif. As a child my holidays were spent in a haunted 17th century coaching inn and visiting castles, so maybe it stems from that time... During my 20's I worked and backpacked around the world and managed to see many ancient sites and museums, from Scandinavia to South America and since then I've combined my holidays with these interests."

Spirals are generally believed to signify the 'circle of life' and their use as a decoration can be found in the UK from the neolithic period onwards, including the bronze age, celtic, anglo-saxon and viking periods. Evidence of the spiral motif can also be found in many indigenious cultures across the globe.

Photos: 2010 visiting tombs in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt & 2008 ancient chinese vessels at the Shanghai Museum - see some further photos