Funday on Swaffham Marketplace to celebrate life of Howard Carter in centenary of Tutankhamun tomb discovery in 1922, on Sunday, September 11
A Sunday Funday will be held on Sunday on Swaffham Marketplace as one of the major events which celebrate the life and achievements of Howard Carter in the centenary of his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.
It will be opened by Swaffham town crier Nigel Wilkin.
The Funday will be from 11am to 3pm and the Marketplace will be filled with a funfair and climbing wall with food stalls. Such fairs – or horkeys – were historically always held in Swaffham in September until the 1950s, although they lasted six weeks rather than one day!
Howard, in his growing years in the town would have doubtless attended them. As well as the funfair there will be Egyptian based crafts for children; a fly your pharaoh dressed teddy on a zipwire down the church tower, and a mosaic workshop. This last is part of the community mosaic of individual triangles which will be put together to form a pyramid as a permanent reminder of Howard’s achievement.
Among the events taking place until December, today (Wednesday) is an exhibition in the Assembly Rooms from 12.30pm, with a talk at 2.30pm by Joan and John Fisher.
On Saturday will be mosaic making 10am-12.30pm and Egyptian dancers on the marketplace.
Sue Gattuso, volunteer manager at Swaffham Heritage, said: "A community archaeological excavation of two trenches on Campingland was carried out over two weeks in August and we are now in the process of cleaning and sorting.
"The events are funded by Historic England as part of the High Street Heritage Action Zone initiative with additional local sponsorship from businesses and organisations. The celebrations close in December 22 when we will be working on our events for 2023 which will centre on the history, the gatherings, the people and life then, now and in the future of The Marketplace.
"Howard was of a Swaffham family on both his father’s and mother’s side. Several of his relatives are buried in the churchyard and Howard spent much of his youth in the town. It is known that at least two brothers and one uncle went to the school on Campingland.
"Howard himself was not educated at a school. As an adult he returned to Swaffham from Egypt each year in the summer to the family home on Sporle Road."
