16 July: Tower Museum

We're spending the weekend in Derry, after being on the road the last few. The weather is rainy and very cold (13 C, 55 F) so we decided to go to the Tower Museum. M and I went the first week we were here but Steve hadn't been yet. Also there is a temporary exhibit on megaliths in Northern Ireland that Steve and I wanted to see.

The temporary exhibit is developed by a local Young Archeologists Club and had great information about the different types of megalithic tombs, which include court tombs, stone circles, and passage tombs. The types are classified by the number of chambers, shapes of the chambers, and court tombs have an uncovered u-shaped court in front.

A staff member at the Museum built wooden models that can be taken apart and rebuilt. M enjoyed building the tombs.

Once we entered the permanent "Story of Derry" exhibit, a staff member showed us a tomb that had been found near Derry and moved to the museum. In the tomb's cover, he showed us a face carved into the stone. Can you see it?

At the end of the "Story of Derry exhibit," there is a table with blocks that look like the city walls and the buildings within the walls. M played with the blocks and built the High Cross Town that he wrote about in his post today.

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