Tripontium: Finds from the Stores - Rugby Art Gallery & Museum
Tripontium: Finds from the Stores
8 October 2025 - 11 April 2026
Tripontium was a small Roman settlement about four miles north-east of present-day Rugby which was established between 43–50 AD along the major Roman road later known as Watling Street (now the A5). Excavations led by Jack Lucas and the Rugby Archaeological Society began in the 1960s and continued over 40 years. They revealed around 70 houses, a large administrative building, a bathhouse, and many artefacts.
This year, Rugby Archaeological Society is permanently donating a number of finds which have been on loan to us. To celebrate the donation, we’re taking this opportunity in our 25th year to display some more Tripontium finds from the museum’s stores. You can also explore Tripontium in the permanent display in the Archaeology Gallery.
.Cornelian Intaglio – 12mm x 10mm - from a finger ring - depicting Methe: Hypocaust brick: Hipposandal: Peacock tile – reconstructed tile featuring drawings of a peacock symbolised immortality in early Christian beliefs: Alphabet tile – reconstructed tile showing alphabet inscription: Fabric - fragment of cloth found in an urn
.Exhibition Talk
Saturday 11 October 2025 10am
Stories about major finds from Tripontium
Speaker: Dr Irene Glendinning
Starting in 1961, Rugby Archaeological Society has conducted over sixty years of research and excavation at the Roman settlement of Tripontium. With the signing of a new legal agreement with RAS in September 2025, Rugby Borough Council becomes the custodian of the Tripontium Collection. A special exhibition, on the first floor of Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, has been organised to mark the new status of the Collection. The exhibition will run between October 2025 and April 2026, with finds from the Collection not normally on display. This talk will explain the fascinating stories behind some of the most important artefacts in the Collection: where, when and how they were found and why they are important to the history of Roman Britain. Please join us if you can for the talk and the exhibition.
Irene has been RAS secretary since 1992. She edited Jack Lucas’s book on Tripontium published in 1997 and edited and published the 4th Tripontium report in 2005. She put together the British Archaeological Awards applications in 1994 and 2004, which led to the Pitt Rivers Award for RAS in 2004.