Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic
The Museum contains a wide range of regional lithic artefacts including many different axe types. The collections enable topics of human origins and development, lithic technology and recycling (earlier tools showing evidence of reuse in later periods) to be examined.
Bronze Age
The collection includes metalwork, most notably from Attenborough, and pottery.
Iron Age
The Museum holds a local type series of pottery fabrics and the pottery from Dragonby. It also includes coin flan moulds, dating from the 1st c AD, from Old Sleaford and material from the saltern site at Ingoldmells.
Roman
There is a wide variety of artefacts from different Roman sites including the small town of Margidunum and the cemetery at Ancaster.
Anglo Saxon
The collection contains metalwork from Broughton Lodge and pottery from Kingston on Soar and Netherfield.
Medieval
Building materials and pottery as well as a variety of everyday objects from this period can be found in the Museum. Post medieval pottery from the Nottingham caves has contributed to a type and fabric series of medieval and post medieval pottery. The Museum also holds the material from the medieval site of Keighton, located on University Park Campus, that was possibly a ‘service centre’ for Lenton Priory producing cooking pots and tiles.
Post Medieval
Collections include regionally produced pottery, including early examples of Nottingham Salt Stoneware, glass and tradesmen’s tokens from the Nottingham Caves.
Numismatic Collections
There are c. 2750 items with coins dating from the Iron Age (including different Celtic tribes) to the 20th century (Victorian period). The majority of the collections is Roman including two coin hoards from Calverton and Besthorpe.
Artefacts from other countries
There is a small quantity of material from other countries including Early Iron Age brooches and an Etruscan urn from Italy, pottery from Cyprus, jewellery and pottery from Egypt and Greek and Roman coins.