Inside the Museum of London

Pot Idol is a contest to find the ceramic star of tomorrow! The winner will be given its time to shine and brought out from the archives at the Museum of London’s Festival of British Archaeology event, Hands-on pots. Over the next six weeks we will be presenting 6 hopeful pots for your consideration – it’s down to you to decide which will win the coveted title of Pot Idol. Once all of the hopefuls have been given a chance to win your hearts, we will ask you to cast your vote and change the life of one lucky pot. The chosen ceramic will appear at the Museum of London’s Festival of British Archaeology event, Hands-on pots on 21 and 22 July, where you can meet the winning pot face to, er, pot.

> Find out about contestant one, Imbrex
> Find out about contestant two, Amphora
> Find out about contestant three, Loomweight
> Find out about contestant four, Cooking Pot
> Find out about contestant five, Drug Jar

Curator, Meriel Jeater, introduces our sixth and final contender, Money Box…

This 16th/17th century money box would have been used to store coins in and then smashed to get the coins out, just like a modern piggy bank. Most ceramic money boxes are found broken. This one has been repaired next to the slit for the coins but originally it had a large hole in it where the owner had broken it open. Archaeologists found a lot of money box tops during the excavations of the Rose Theatre in Southwark, indicating that money boxes were used to collect entrance fees from the audience. The money boxes were so cheap that they would have been smashed to get the collected money after the performances. These money boxes lend the name to the modern day term box office. Some of the money boxes may also have been used by people selling food and drink to the audience. This one is made from Surrey/Hampshire Border Ware.

Next week is the final. The ceramic hopefuls will have one last chance to win your hearts and then you’ll have the chance to make the dreams of your favourite pot come true.

The Festival of British Archaeology runs from 14-29 July 2012. Join staff at the Museum of London for an exploration into the vital role that ceramics have played in the history of the capital. Discover how pots were made and why, and try crafting your own. A special weekend of family activities will take place on 21 and 22 July.

> Find out more about the Museum’s Festival of British Archaeology events
> Find out more about the Festival of British Archaeology