ANCIENT Anglo-Saxon and Roman artifacts are to go on display to the public, some for the first time in generations, at the Museum of Croydon from next week.
Around 70 objects from the borough's collection of treasures from the period will be available to view at the museum's Riesco Gallery, in Katharine Street, on Tuesday, October 28.
The famous Wandle Road hoard, discovered in 1903, and the remains of a young Anglo-Saxon adult - uncovered in April by a builder working in the front garden of Alison and Michael Carpenter, in Riddlesdown Road, Purley - will both be exhibited.
The revitalised display is designed to give visitors an insight into the history of human settlement in the Croydon area and to support teaching and learning in local primary schools that, since September, have been studying the Roman and Anglo-Saxon eras as part of the new national curriculum.
The Museum of Croydon's learning team will be developing and delivering a special session for school groups visiting the gallery as part of their studies.
Councillor Timothy Godfrey, cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport, said: "The relaunch of the Museum of Croydon's Riesco Gallery, to include our local Roman and Anglo-Saxon collections alongside Raymond Riesco's collection of Chinese ceramics, demonstrates our ambitions for culture in Croydon.
"Many of these objects have not been seen in Croydon for more than 60 years, and the fact that they will now be on permanent display in Croydon Clocktower, for local people to experience, is a major step toward creating a vibrant, exciting and diverse cultural offering that is attractive to people from across Croydon and further afield."
