The Leeds City Museum has a special British Museum tour exhibition, running until the 4th January. Displaying over 200 objects from Roman Britain and the rest of the Empire, the exhibition showcases stunning items from our local area as well as abroad.
There is a gilded copper figure of Hercules wearing a lion skin, representing the famous story when Hercules kills the Nemean Lion with his bare hands. The statue is probably dated to AD 100 and most likely came from a military shrine at Birdoswald Fort on Hadrian’s Wall. Also on display are the temple altars that were found in Adel and Chapel Allerton in the 19th Century, the marble head of Emperor Commodus, and a sculpture of a barbarian captive.
My favourite piece is a limestone figure of the Egyptian God of the sky Horus, dressed in a Roman military uniform dating from the time Egypt became part of the Roman Empire. It shows the respect the Romans had for Horus and the dominance of Rome. Still traces of red, yellow and green remain on the figure – it would have been brightly painted with the armour coloured Egyptian blue. Egyptians would have known when they saw this figure that Rome was here to stay.
These are just a few of the items from a magnificent exhibition. The rest of the Leeds City Museum is worth a look as well. The Leeds Gallery tells our history through the ages, and other galleries include things such as an amazing mosaic floor depicting Romulus and Remus that was taken from the floor of a Roman villa in Aldborough. The museum is also home to the ‘Leeds mummy’ Nesyamun and some locally found Saxon wheel crosses. The museum is located on Millenium Square and is free to enter, so why not take a break from all the Christmas shopping and have a look round on your way to the Christkindelmarkt next door.
