• EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS
WHAT TO SEE AND WHERE TO VISIT IN THE WIDER WORLD OF HISTORY
MUST SEE
EXHIBITION
Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
The discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 offered the exciting opportunity of reading ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs for the first time in centuries, but it would take until 1822 to achieve the complex task of decipherment. To mark 200 years since that landmark moment, this immersive exhibition at the British Museum explores the same hieroglyphic inscriptions used by the likes of Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion as they raced to read the lost script, and so better understand the ancient civilisation of pharaohs and pyramids.
PAID ENTRY
British Museum, London, 13 October 2022 – 19 February 2023, britishmuseum.org
FESTIVAL
Cheltenham Literature Festival
The famous festival returns with a celebration of the written and spoken word later this autumn. There are plenty of events within the programme that will pique the interest of history lovers, including a discussion with Sir Max Hastings (pictured) about the Cuban Missile Crisis and a talk by Natalie Haynes on the story of Medusa.
PAID ENTRY
Various venues in Cheltenham, 7–16 October, cheltenhamfestivals.com/literature
EVENT
Illuminated Abbey
It has been 125 years since the publication of Dracula, and Bram Stoker’s classic horror story still enthrals readers – and brings people to the Yorkshire seaside town of Whitby (where the notorious vampire landed in England). Get in the Gothic mood at the picturesque ruins of the abbey as it is bathed in illuminations.
PAID ENTRY
Whitby Abbey, Whitby, 21–31 October, english-heritage.org.uk
EXHIBITION
We Were Everywhere
To relate the experiences of 20th-century Indian and Pakistani people in the build up to Partition is the ambitious aim of this new exhibition. Curator Ananya Sharma has collected oral histories from Bristol’s south Asian community, telling the stories of the world wars and the brutal chapter of dividing India and Pakistan in 1947.