Petition Tag - national museum

Update, Oct 2010: In July the Tarbat Discovery Programme was awarded 'Best Project' at the 2010 British Archaeological Awards. In September 2010 the Pictish Monastic site at Tarbat became a National Monument.

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Tarbat Discovery Centre is a Pictish and Local Heritage Museum, at the heart of an Internationally Important Pictish Monastic Settlement, that is now facing impending closure at the end of 2010.

The Centre was opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1999 and for 14 years was the subject of the largest excavation of a Pictish site ever undertaken in Scotland. Around 10,000 finds were uncovered during archaeological investigations of the Church and the Monastic site, including one of the earliest and most unique pieces of sculpture ever found in Pictland - a carved Latin Inscription.

The Tarbat Historic Trust was founded to save the Old Tarbat Parish Church from ruin and the discovery of the monastic site secured the future of the building. With the end of the excavations in 2007 we have seen a decline in visitor numbers and, as an Independent Museum, we have also been subject to drastic cuts in local authority funding.

Our soon to be scheduled Nationally Important site will no longer have the incredible depth of interpretation and display that you are able to see at the Centre today.

Although nearly all of the finds from the site are now in the care of the National Museums of Scotland some of the most outstanding displays of Pictish Sculpture and objects which have belonged to this site for more than 1000 years can only remain here because of our Museum.

Please sign our petition and help us to keep our Museum open. We are now an intrinsic part of the history of Scotland.

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