Victoria and Albert Museum Visits to the V&A in London rose by more than 100% Visits to England's national museums and galleries have risen by 75% in the three years since they abolished admission charges, new figures show.
The government's figures showed more than 13m visits were recorded in 2004, up from 7m in the year before entry charges were scrapped.
But in the last 12 months the number is up by only 250,000, suggesting the rapid growth in visits is dropping off.
Visits to museums that have always been free had risen by 9% over the period.
This gives the lie to the idea that ordinary people have no appetite for 'serious' culture Tessa Jowell Culture Secretary Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said: "Today's figures are incredible. We believe that our collections are among the best in the world, and that everyone should be able to visit, enjoy and learn from them, whatever their background.
"I am delighted that visit numbers continue to grow. This gives the lie to the idea that ordinary people have no appetite for 'serious' culture - sweep away the obstacles, and they come in their millions."
Figures
Entry fees were scrapped at 12 museums in December 2001.
The Royal Armouries in Leeds enjoyed the biggest increase, with a 147% rise in visitor numbers.
In London, the V&A design museum recorded the biggest rise, with a 113% jump in numbers.
The Natural History Museum had a 95% rise and the Science Museum 71%.
National Museums Liverpool recorded a 94% increase and visits to the National Railway Museum in York grew by 57%.
But BBC arts correspondent Rebecca Jones said research carried out by the government advisory body, the Museums, Libraries and Archive Council suggests it is visits, not visitors that have risen.
"In other words it's the same people, visiting more often," she said.
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MARY ROSE SINKS EBAY PIRATE TRYING TO SELL FAKE CANNONBALL By David Prudames 21/12/2004
An individual trying to sell what was claimed to be a piece of shot from the Mary Rose on Internet auction site eBay has had 14 cannon balls confiscated as part of a joint operation by the Receiver of Wreck and the Mary Rose Trust.
The move came after the trust received a tip off that someone was attempting to sell a cannon ball on eBay for over £5,000 as a genuine 500-year-old artefact from the Mary Rose.
"We are delighted that the Receiver of Wreck took swift action to investigate the claim that this iron shot was from the Mary Rose," said Mary Rose Trust Chief Executive, John Lippiett.
"There should not be any artefacts from the Mary Rose in private hands apart from a few curios made from Mary Rose timber recovered in the 1830s and we would always like to be alerted to any fraudulent or illegal sales."
Alongside the Receiver of Wreck, the trust used the opportunity to issue a warning to those tempted to buy objects listed as having come from the wreck of the Mary Rose.
Such items, they say, are highly unlikely to have come from the Mary Rose and if they are they will have been acquired illegally.
"We are relieved that the shot turned out to be nothing to do with the Mary Rose," added John Lippiett, "but are not pleased that the vendor tried to pass them off as genuine and even used a photograph taken without authority from our website."
The Portsmouth-based Mary Rose Trust, which organised the raising of the Tudor wreck in 1982 and is still working on conserving it, was alerted to the sale by a diver who worked on the original excavation.
Believing the items must be from another source or have been acquired illegally, staff at the trust passed it on to the Receiver of Wreck, who under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 has powers to investigate such matters and seize material.
The Mary Rose is one of 55 sites in the UK that are designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 and therefore any unauthorised interference with it is an offence.
Working alongside eBay and the Hampshire Police Marine Unit, the Receiver of Wreck was able to track down the vendor and confiscate 14 cannonballs from their premises.
All of them were later inspected by Curator of Ordnance at the Mary Rose Trust, Alexzandra Hildred, who confirmed they had none of the features found on shot from the Mary Rose.
Enquiries into the real origins of the shot are now being conducted by the Police Marine Unit, though it is believed they are 18th or 19th century and were recovered on the shores of the River Hamble.
"This joint operation shows that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is willing and able to act on credible information received in relation to offences regarding illegally held wreck material," explained Receiver of Wreck, Sophia Exelby.
"Although these cannonballs did not ultimately come from the Mary Rose, the principles of investigation and enforcement are the same and will be applied to any other such cases which arise."
Mary Rose Museum Mary Rose Trust, College Road, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, PO1 3LX, Hampshire, England T: 023 9281 2931 Open: Mar-Oct 1000-1730, Nov-Feb 1000-1700
DIGITAL ROLL OF HONOUR TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO SERVED IN WWI By David Prudames 22/12/2004
The University of Glasgow is set to launch an online roll of honour to commemorate all those associated with the institution who served in the Great War of 1914-18.
Using photographs, press cuttings, magazine clippings, personal letters and rolls of honour, the new site will make the university’s vast archives available to researchers across the globe.
"Next year is the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII, which reminds us that many people do not have the chance to spend Christmas with their family," said Lesley Richmond from the University of Glasgow Archives.
"5,000 members of the university community served in WWI, and 700 promising young people did not come home to their families, but they will be forever remembered by their alma mater," she added. "Importantly, the resource will enable young people to learn about WWI soldiers and their experiences."
The online resource will record not only those who died, but all members of the University of Glasgow community who served in the First World War.
Due for launch next year, the new website is said to be a unique initiative that will digitally honour and recall the lives of those who served their country.
Some 5,000 members of the University of Glasgow community went off to serve in the Great War. Courtesy University of Glasgow.
The site will commemorate graduates such as William Ebenezer Maitland, who like many of his generation headed to France in 1914, but never came back.
William studied medicine at Glasgow, graduating in March 1913. On Christmas Eve 1914, aged 25, he was wounded fighting with the Third Seaforth Highlanders and subsequently died.
Members of Glasgow University Officer Training Corps remembered him fondly and his obituary stated "whatever honours and new titles came to him, to his old college friends he was always and always will be "Teddy", one of the kindest-hearted and most genuine of men."
However, the archives don’t just tell the tragic stories of those who didn’t come back; many of those who survived are also remembered.
When war broke out, Glasgow University graduate Archibald Allan Bowman applied for leave of absence from his position at Princeton University to join the British Army.
Serving with the Highland Light Infantry he was taken prisoner at the Battle of Lys in April 1918, but after repatriation returned to Princeton where he taught Philosophy.
Following his wartime experiences, Bowman became a strong supporter of the League of Nations, delivering lectures to further international peace, and in 1926 was appointed to the Chair of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow. There he remained until his death in 1936.
The letters he exchanged with his family during the war are now preserved in the archive, including a note sent to his wife on Sunday December 24 1916:
"Christmas Eve has always been so sacred to me, such a sacred name, & now that the date is hallowed by our wedding it becomes a day of all days," he wrote. "How different, Dearest, to-day is from that Christmas Eve four years ago that made us man and wife.... I'm sorry for the poor Germans, to whom Christmas is so much a festival. This will be a sad Christmas for them — as indeed it will be for so many of ourselves."
As well as school children, researchers, teachers and historians, the new site will offer relatives of university graduates help compiling a family tree.
Staff hope to have the site ready and live by summer 2005 when commemorative events to mark the end of the Second World War will be going on all over the world.
The pomegranate's inscription was added later, experts now say. The Israeli authorities have charged four antique collectors with running a forgery ring that created a string of fraudulent biblical artefacts.
The alleged fakes include an ivory pomegranate that was thought to be the only relic of King Solomon's Temple.
The defendants have been charged on 18 counts - including forgery and receiving fraudulent goods.
One of the four, Israeli collector Oded Golan, said there was not "one grain of truth" in the allegations against him.
The ivory pomegranate - whose authenticity as a Jewish relic has now been questioned - was purchased by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem for $500,000 in 1998.
Other alleged forgeries include an ossuary which reputedly held the bones of James, Jesus' brother, and a stone tablet with inscriptions on how to maintain the Jewish Temple.
Tip of the iceberg?
According to prosecutors, the suspects took genuine artefacts and added inscriptions to boost their value.
"During the last 20 years, many archaeological items were sold, or an attempt was made to sell them, in Israel and in the world, that were not actually antiques," the indictment said.
"These items, many of them of great scientific, religious, sentimental, political and economic value, were created specifically with intent to defraud."
Investigators say many more forgeries have not yet been discovered.
Mr Golan said the "fantastic allegations" against him were part of a campaign designed to destroy Israel's antiques trade.
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TELEVISION'S Time Team (well, someone who appears on the programme) has been called in to look at a rare pottery find unearthed during building work in Hitchin.
The remains of a medieval pottery kiln were found in the newly-excavated footings at the site in Bancroft.
"The kiln is an extremely rare find that would have produced pottery for sale throughout the region," said a spokesman for Stevenage builders Eave Projects Ltd.
"When the kiln came to the end of its working life some time in the 13th century, it was dismantled and then used as a dump for the workshop's rubbish including the potter's failures - known as wasters.
"The circular kiln, with its two fire pits, was literally stuffed with over a tonne of pottery including jug rims and handles and a variety of patterned and glazed wares, the origins of which had been previously unknown."
Medieval pottery expert Paul Blinkhorn, who appears regularly on Channel 4's Time Team, is examining the pottery. He is excited about the discovery of a kiln site because very few have been found and it may answer some interesting questions.
The kiln was found by experts from Heritage Network, based in Letchworth GC.
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Apparently this has saved an Iron Age fort - British Camp in the Malverns.
Coca-Cola puts mineral water plan on ice By Nicola Woolcock
COCA-COLA has withdrawn plans to quadruple production of its mineral water from the Malvern Hills after campaigners said that increased extraction could “bleed it dry”.
The drinks company taps 2.6 million gallons of water a year from a spring in the Malverns, but it wanted this raised to 11.3 million gallons.
It applied for planning permission to create a water borehole and 1.7-mile pipeline through an area of outstanding natural beauty to its factory, which produces Malvern Water.
Environmentalists said that this could have a catastrophic effect on wildlife and plants in the Worcestershire and Herefordshire hills.
Coca-Cola has withdrawn the application, admitting that further dialogue is needed. The Environment Agency and English Nature had both raised concerns. In a letter to Herefordshire council, the company said that the dialogue might take some time to complete. It added that further site survey work was necessary.
“In view of these circumstances, we feel that discussions will continue for some time and therefore wish to withdraw our application until we have had an opportunity to carry out further consultations with both the Environment Agency and English Nature,” it said.
The Environment Agency had raised a precautionary objection and had requested a deferral, until further information about possible effects on biodiversity and water resources were provided by the company. English Nature had concerns about the proposal, particularly the ramifications for nearby woodland, some of which is designated a site of special scientific interest.
Neighbours of the region, including local organisations, had also raised objections.
A county council spokesman said that planning officials would have recommended that councillors refuse the application.
Malvern Water is used by The Queen and has been extracted from a site near Colwall since 1890. A factory was built at that location two years later.
At present, its water is taken solely from Primes Well; the proposal was to open a line into Walms Well near by on a hill known as British Camp.
A spokeswoman for the Malvern Spa Association, which restores and protects the area’s springs, welcomed the withdrawal of the application.
Carly Tinkler, the association’s chairman, said: “We weren’t in principle opposed to Coca-Cola increasing production. We were concerned because they were asked to produce an environmental impact assessment and it was woefully inadequate.
“There wasn’t enough information to make the correct decision. The area is home to an Iron Age fort and we know the well was used from 50BC, and possibly as early as 400BC. It was the last water source that the Celts reached as they walked up the track and has huge archaeological significance. News Wood near by is a site of special scientific interest and there hadn’t been enough research to discover what the impact would be.
“We’re absolutely delighted that the application has been withdrawn, there are other sources of spring water and we want further dialogue with Coca-Cola. Some of our community members have so much knowledge of where springs are and how to take water without environmental impact.”
The devastating earthquake that struck the Indian Ocean probably caused some islands to move by several metres.
The massive thrust of the tectonic plates may have heaved the Indian Ocean floor towards Indonesia by about 15 metres, seismologists think.
The movement is likely to have altered the geography of islands like Sumatra.
The force of the earthquake was probably also so great that it made the Earth wobble on its axis and cut our day length by fractions of a second.
Building pressure
The earthquake follows more than a century and a half of growing pressure between the Indian tectonic plate and the Burma microplate, upon which Sumatra, Nicobar and the Andaman islands sit.
"In terms of the specific position of Sumatra, it will have moved," Bill McGuire a geophysicist at University College London, UK, told Nature magazine. "Things have shifted literally within minutes."
It is not only likely that these islands have shifted geographically, they may also be higher or lower than before, Professor McGuire believes.
Since the Burma microplate shot upwards during the quake, the Andaman and Nicobar islands are likely to have been elevated. Slightly further from the fault itself, water levels indicate that the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh has sunk.
A team from the Southern California Earthquake Hazards Assessment Project (SCEHA) plan to visit the area to examine the changes with the help of the global positioning survey.
"The work will take weeks or months to complete," said Dr Kenneth Hudnut of SCEHA.
Changing wobble
According to US scientists, the deadly earthquake was forceful enough to accelerate the Earth's rotation, and may have made the planet wobble on its axis.
Richard Gross, a geophysicist with Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, believes a shift of mass toward the Earth's centre during the quake caused the planet to spin three microseconds faster and tilt about an inch on its axis.
The Earth's poles travel a circular path that normally varies by about 33 feet, so an added wobble of an inch is likely to cause long-term effects.
"That continual motion is just used to changing," Dr Gross said. "The rotation is not actually that precise. The Earth does slow down and change its rate of rotation."
Scientists have long theorized that changes on the Earth's surface such as tide and groundwater shifts and weather could affect its spin, but they have not had the measurements to prove it.
"Even for a very large event, the effect is very small," said seismologist Hiroo Kanamori from the California Institute of Technology. "It is very difficult to change the rotation rate substantially."
Rome's boy racers took chariots to Colchester By Michael Horsnell
ARCHAEOLOGISTS believe that they may have unearthed the world’s biggest Roman chariot-racing track outside Italy.
Excavations of part of the garrison in Colchester, Essex, Britain’s oldest recorded town, have revealed traces of a track that are being examined by English Heritage. The garrison is the home of the 16 Air Assault Brigade and is the longest-established garrison in the country.
A massive investment programme to rebuild most of the garrison under the Private Finance Initiative has begun to support the Brigade and other units. It is that preliminary work that has opened the way for experts from Colchester Archaeological Trust to unearth its Roman origins.
A spokesman for Taylor Woodrow, the house-builder, said: “At the moment there are a couple of areas where we are not 100 per cent sure what we have found and we have sent reports to English Heritage.”
Up to 2,500 homes are being built on the 209-acre redevelopment site. Colchester, which was first mentioned by Pliny the Elder in AD77, was sacked by Boadicea and her Celtic army, which was renowned for its war chariots.
Queen of the Iceni, she led the ultimately ill-fated rebellion against the Roman authorities as a result of their mistreatment of her family and people after the death of her husband, Prasutagus, who may have been a Roman client- ruler, in AD60.
Major Ian Marlow, Army chief of staff, said: “There is not a huge amount left, but the archaeological chaps have drawn up a rough plan of what it would have looked like. It is quite a find and there have been discussions with the council about how we go forward.”
English Heritage confirmed that it is investigating the find. If confirmed as a sizeable chariot-race track, the site will be of international importance. A spokeswoman said: “An inspector has visited the site and we are awaiting her report.”
Philip Wise, of Colchester Museums Service, said that if the find was verified, it could stop the housing development plans. He added: “I would hope we would be able to work something out with the developers so it could still go ahead.”
RACING CERTAINTIES
Chariot racing dates back to the pre-Roman Etruscan civilisation
Races were held in a circus, the oldest and largest being the Circus Maximus in Rome
Racing chariots were made of wood and designed to be as lightweight as possible
Most charioteers were slaves and many earned enough money to buy their freedom
An internationally-protected nature reserve in County Down has been dug up by men believed to be preparing tractors for a ploughing contest. A stretch of Strangford Lough shoreline, where 90% of the world's Brent geese migrate, has been destroyed.
The damage to Northern Ireland's only marine nature reserve has shocked environmentalists.
James Orr, director of Castle Espie reserve, run by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, is horrified.
"It's unprecedented," he said.
"There's never been any direct damage quite as significant as this in many, many years.
"For several years to come this habitat has been lost."
Mr Orr said tens of thousands of birds from Greenland, Iceland and Canada flew to the area near Comber to spend their winter months.
"This is absolutely full of life. There is this very special grass and birds come 1,000 miles to feed on this grass that is found only on these estuaries in Northern Ireland," he said.
"This did not need to happen. It is an act of mindless vandalism."
Three quarters of the destroyed site consists of eelgrass on which the birds, who arrive from Arctic Canada each winter, depend for food.
Ragworms and cockles eaten by wading birds such as knot and oyster catcher may also have been killed.
Conservationists believe it might take up to 10 years for the site to recover.
Environment and Heritage Service officials were alerted to the damage on Tuesday.
It is thought that about 15 acres of the National Trust-owned land at Island Hill has been damaged.
It is believed an engineering firm cleaning plough blades for competition was responsible.
The land is considered so special that a global protection order was issued. EU directives also applied, while the shoreline has been designated an Area of Special Scientific Interest under Northern Ireland legislation.
The Department of the Environment in Belfast said the damage was extremely serious.
"The principal perpetrators of the damage have been identified and cautioned," a spokesman said. "Environment and Heritage Service is now considering what further action to take in this case."
The National Trust said "severe damage" had been caused to a key conservation area.
"We want to send out a clear message that this sort of activity will not be tolerated," a spokesman for the trust said.
"It is illegal to wilfully damage an ASSI by carrying out such activities on protected lands."
HERITAGE MINISTER PROTECTS WRECK SITE OF HISTORIC PROTOTYPE SUBMARINE By David Prudames 04/01/2005
The wreck site of a prototype submarine built at the turn of the 20th century and containing one of the first periscopes has been given legal protection by the Heritage Minister, Andrew McIntosh.
Coming into effect on January 4, the order protects the final resting place of the Royal Navy’s Holland no.5 from being damaged by unauthorised interference from divers.
"The Holland no.5 played a short but significant role in the evolution of the British submarine and the survival of this boat gives a unique opportunity to study the technology of the time including the possible prototype of the submarine periscope," explained Andrew McIntosh.
"Only two of the Holland submarines survive today. The Holland no.5 is thought to be intact and in good condition," he added.
"I am pleased that this order will preserve the wreck site allowing proper study of the vessel and preventing any vandalism by trophy hunters."
Built by the Holland Torpedo Boat Company and launched by the Royal Navy in May 1902, Holland no.5 was the last of five prototype submarines built after the British Admiralty decided to evaluate the submarine’s potential as a weapon in the 1890s.
The vessel cost what was then a vast £35,000, but in August 1912 she foundered and was lost.
In 2000, the wreck was discovered off the coast of East Sussex and following a survey scan in April 2001, the Archaeological Diving Unit confirmed it as Holland no.5
The Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites advised the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that because of its historic significance the site was a strong candidate for designation.
Under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, the Secretary of State has the power to designate wreck sites which are considered worthy of protection from unauthorised interference on account of their archaeological, historical or artistic importance.
Once such a site has been designated, it is a criminal offence for a person to interfere with it except under the authority of a licence.
Bob Mealings, Curator of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Portsmouth, told the 24 Hour Museum that alongside its predecessors Holland no.5 occupies a significant position in the modern history of submarine craft.
The Holland series of prototypes, he said, "represent a culmination of advances throughout the late 19th century, based on the designs of John Holland."
Irish American inventor John Holland discovered a way to combine electric power and the internal combustion engine to create underwater propulsion and sold his designs to many of the world's navies, including the United States of America.
His system was so successful and important that it would remain at the heart of submarine technology for half a century.
"In many respects," added Bob Mealings, "there’s no great change until the 1950s when you get the first nuclear submarines."
The most significant of the Royal Navy’s Holland craft now has pride of place in the collection of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum.
Holland no.1 was launched in 1901, but was lost in the Solent in 1913 while being towed to the breaker’s yard. In 1981 she was found again and raised from the seabed a year later.
The historic vessel then underwent a painstaking conservation process, before being opened to the public in 2001.
Royal Navy Submarine Museum Haslar Jetty Road, Gosport, PO12 2AS, England T: 02392 510354 Open: Open every day (except December 24-25): 10.00 - 17.30 (April - October) - 16.30pm (November - March).
