Towards a Catalogue: Maidstone museum and the KAS artefact collection

Maidstone Museum and Art Gallery curates the KAS artefact collection, which comprises over 2,000 items, from Neolithic axes found by Benjamin Harrison to the sixteenth-century Erith dagger (now on display in the newly re-opened Medieval Gallery). It includes finds from Oldbury hillfort and the mid-Bronze Age hoard of gold torques and bracelets from Aylesford.

The collection began in 1859 with the donation to the Society of William Bland's antiquities as the nucleus, and the only catalogue was published in 1892. Today this catalogue bears little relation to the collection because of new acquisitions, reclassifications, and the fact that no comprehensive numbering system has been used.

A catalogue is proposed, utilizing the Museum's new computerized cataloguing system. The new catalogue will give an opportunity to reassess the collection. It will also form a basis for further work, education, conservation, display, etc. and indicate areas where further research will be most beneficial. Proposed publication will greatly increase the collection's recognition and subsequently its use as a research tool - and possibly lead to advances in archaeological knowledge, as pieces previously seen only by curators are made known. Cataloguing will begin with the nationally important Invasion period collection, the majority of which is from British cemeteries, in particular Bifrons, Sarre, and Lyminge. This is recognized as one of the most important aspects of the collection, and also is that which over the years has best maintained its identity. A large proportion of this material is currently on display.

With so many objects representing a wide range of date and types, such a catalogue is obviously a major and long-term undertaking; any help from KAS members would be most welcome. Such input could comprise identifying objects within the collection, using reports, illustrations, registers, etc. (a knowledge of the period is essential for this phase); drawing and/or photographing objects; basic cataloguing (object name, number, date, site, and rough description - further information can be incorporated at a later date) then inputting this data into the computerized cataloguing system, which is set up to print directly from this data both catalogue cards and A4 format catalogues. If you have enough time and commitment to help us with this major project please contact: Claire Mason, Keeper of Human History, at Maidstone Museum.