Hadrian's Wall Collections under threat

Great North Museum © David Gill

It was announced today that Newcastle City Council is planning "to cut all funding to arts organisations in the city". This comes less than a week after warnings were sounded at the Culture Matters conference in Norwich.

The report comments that "the council will stop funding to the Great North Museum". GNM, that opened in 2009, holds (among other things) the internationally significant collection of archaeological material from Hadrian's Wall as well as the Shefton collection of Greek and Etruscan antiquities. This short-sighted policy fails to take account of the contribution that heritage, and in particular archaeological heritage, makes to economy of the region.