Prehistoric Lives In The Trent Valley

Prehistoric Lives In The Trent Valley is running at Lakeside Arts through to Sunday 10 January 2027, having opened on Friday 24 July 2026. It's hosted in the University of Nottingham Museum on the University Park campus, so it's a bit of a trek out from the city centre, but it's free to get in.

The exhibition pulls together the prehistoric story of the Trent Valley, drawing on years of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research into one of the region's most important river systems. It doesn't just stick to the artefacts, though. It sets them alongside environmental evidence — sediments, pollen, animal remains and other records — to show how early communities settled, lived and adapted within an ever-changing landscape, and how they shaped it in return. You'll see finds that haven't been displayed before, and there's a look at how the fragile remains of those lives were preserved and how they can be conserved for the future.

It was curated by Dr David Knight, Head of Research at York Archaeology; Dr Kristina Krawiec, Head of Geoarchaeology; and Dr Steve Malone, Senior Researcher, all of York Archaeology. The show opened as part of the national Festival of Archaeology, with a hands-on session where visitors could handle artefacts and try artefact photogrammetry and digital modelling.

It's open Thursday to Sunday, 12 noon to 4pm, and closed Monday to Wednesday. Entry is free. You'll find it at the University of Nottingham Museum, Lakeside Arts, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD.