Star Carr: Life after the ice
Included in general admission
Friday 22 March 2024- Sunday 19 April 2026
Discover what human life was like 11,000 years ago, a few hundred years after the last Ice Age, through an exciting and interactive new exhibition Star Carr: Life after the ice which brings together wonderful artefacts from one the most famous Mesolithic sites in the world.
Step back in time to the settlement at Star Carr in North Yorkshire and delve into how people settled, created, cooked and worshipped during the Mesolithic period (Middle Stone Age).
Explore the landscape they lived in through an interactive mural and soundscape and take a look at the incredible objects from the Yorkshire Museum Collection; including iconic antler headdresses, a unique, decorated stone pendant, the world’s oldest complete hunting bow and the earliest evidence of carpentry from Europe.
Our younger visitors can also follow the story of Star Carr through the eyes of a friendly dog who lived with the people by the lake!
*Please note tickets are released in monthly batches
Find out more about the conservation of the incredible Star Carr headdresses in the latest blog from York Archaeology.
Building a Mesolithic House
During summer 2024, a team from the York Museums Trust and the University of York, and experts in ancient technology and archaeology, built a Mesolithic house using evidence gleaned from the world famous prehistoric archaeological site at Star Carr in Yorkshire.
The project was spearheaded by Professor Nicky Milner, Head of Archaeology at the University of York, and Dr Jess Bates, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of York, with experts Diederik Pomstra and Leo Wolterbeek and support from Dr Adam Parker, Curator of Archaeology at York Museums Trust. The project was made possible by funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
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