We are delighted to announce that the Lawrence Room will be open every Thursday, between 2-4pm, starting 9 June 2022!
Girton’s Museum Collection – the Lawrence Room
Since its foundation, Girton has acquired a wide range of important artefacts and antiquities, often from its benefactors and supporters. Many of these were brought together early in the twentieth century in a small museum, later named the Lawrence Room in memory of Amy Lilian Lawrence (1891 Natural Sciences).
Below are a selection of artefacts and antiquities from the museum. From L–R (first row): Hermione, first century AD Roman portrait mummy; Shabtis (second row): Tanagra figurines; Map of large Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Girton College
Open Cambridge 2020
The Lawrence Room collection comprises three major elements
In 1881, an extraordinary discovery was made at Girton – a large Anglo-Saxon cemetery. Excavations revealed more than 70 skeletons along with well over 100 cinerary urns.
These were filled with cremation ash and the burnt fragments of personal possessions dating from the fifth and sixth centuries AD.
Discovered simultaneously were two second-century Roman graves indicating that the site may have been occupied almost continuously from the Roman into the Anglo-Saxon period.
The Lawrence Room contains pieces from the excavations including a handsome Roman stone lion.
Our Egyptian collection includes predynastic pottery, and significant collections of shabtis, scarabs, beads, and amulets.
The undoubted star of the show is Hermione – a first century AD Roman portrait mummy. The beauty of Hermione’s portrait and the intricate pattern of her linen wrappings make her remarkable.
The inscription Hermionê Grammatikê (‘Hermione the language teacher’ or ‘Hermione the literary lady’) makes her unique, and her resting place apt.
Our Mediterranean material offers a cross-section of the Classical and pre-Classical worlds of interest to scholars and students alike.
This includes an impressive collection of Tanagra figurines – small, mould-cast terracotta statues of humans, animals and birds – dating to the fourth and third centuries BC.
Opening Times
The Collection is open to the public, every Thursday afternoon, from 2pm–4pm.
Other times by appointment-only (please allow at least 24 hours). A maximum of 5 visitors are allowed in the room, at any one time.
Resources
For Schools
If you would like to visit the Lawrence Room as part of a school group, please make an appointment to arrange curation and practical details by emailing the Lawrence Room Committee.
Please feel free to adapt the following resources: