This blog was originally published on the Bearers of the Cross website.
On February 18th 2016 the Bearers of the Cross project and the Museum of the Order of St John were very glad to welcome Dr Aleks Pluskowski and a group of his undergraduate and postgraduate students studying the Crusades in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Reading.

The students were first given a tour of the church by the Museum’s Learning and Access Officer, Hannah Agass, and then given a chance to explore some of the objects in the Museum’s collection with curator Abi Turner. Research Fellow Rosie Weetch gave the students and introduction to the project, and then talked through some of the key objects in the Museum’s collection related to the Crusades and material Religion. This included a selection of Crusader coins, seals of the Grand Master of the Order of St John in Jerusalem, a medieval door knocker said to be from the Order’s hospital in Jerusalem, and a 17th century model of the Tomb of Christ.

We hope the students enjoyed themselves, and will visit us again soon.