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

Curator, Meriel Jeater, introduces our fifth contender, Drug Jar…

Late 16th or early 17th century drug jar with cobalt blue decoration. Drug jars contained medicines, ointments and cosmetic preparations and would have been bought at an apothecary. You could either keep the pot after the contents were finished and use it for something else, or you could return it to the shop in exchange for a small sum. As this pot is quite small, it was probably for a prescription of medicine. It would have been sealed with a parchment lid, tied on with string just under the rim.

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