THE lesser-known details of the English Civil War in the North East are to be explored as part of a festival dedicated to making science accessible.
Phil Philo, Senior Curator of the Dorman and Captain Cook Birthplace Museums, will take to the stage as part of the Pint of Science festival which sees academics and researchers presenting their work in a more relaxed way – in local pubs.
The talk will bring to life the impact of the weaponry of the English Civil War on local people, who were fighting, with either the King’s or Parliament’s armies, and were therefore at the receiving end of swords, pikes, muskets and cudgels.
Those weapons of warfare, what they were designed to do and how opponents defended themselves, will be discussed, as well as infantry, cavalry and artillery tactics.
This will be followed by a second talk by Dr Becky Gowland, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, about recognising the evidence of inter-personal violence on skeletal remains, shown through characteristic lesions and patterns of injury on the bones.
Phil Philo said: “Everyone laughs – or groans! – when I say I’m interested in the Civil War, so it will be nice to be around people who are really interested in the subject.
“Pint of Science is great because it brings new research and thinking to a different audience in a much more informal and relaxed environment; this talk will even include hands-on time with armour and casts of archaeological bone!”
Pint of Science was the idea of two UK researchers who wanted to host an evening of talks in their local pub for its regulars and some of their colleagues.
Some three years later it has spawned the world’s largest festival of public science lectures, bringing the latest research to the nation’s favourite locals.
- Pint of Science: Un-Civil War will take place at O’Connells on Bedford Street, on Tuesday, May 19. Doors open at 6.30pm with the talk beginning at 7pm.
Tickets cost £3 and are available via the Pint of Science website www.pintofscience.co.uk