Established
in the 1980s and opened in 1991, the
Turks and Caicos National Museum
is housed in one of the oldest stone structures in
Grand Turk Island,
Guinep House, located on Front Street to the north of
Cockburn Town, the
capital of the archipelago. The house, built prior to 1885 in local
limestone by a former shipwright, was named after the large guinep tree
in the front yard. Its structural material came from local shipwrecks,
including a ship's mast, which is one of the building's main supports.
The
museum exhibits pre-historic
Lucayan culture and records the history of
the islands of the colonial era and the slave trade, all related to the
sea. On the ground floor is the
Molasses Reef Wreck, which is dated to
1505 and is considered the oldest shipwreck located in the Americas. A
separate room showcases maritime displays. Another interesting exhibit
is the display of the bottles with messages that floated to the beaches
here from all over the world, and which were collected and exhibited.
Upstairs
exhibits include the history of the early settlers of the island. There
are displays on Lucayan artefacts, sisal and salt industries, Caicos
postage stamps, history of the slave trade, royal events, and pottery.
Another important display is of the salt trade, which was the worlds'
largest at one time, located on the island of
Salt Cay. An arboretum is
attached to museum facility. A walking tour of the Lucayan Cave is
offered to explore artifacts made of wood.
About the stamp
The stamp is part of the series
Shells and Marine Snails,about which I wrote
here.
References
Turks and Caicos National Museum - Wikipedia
Sender: Denise
Sent from Providenciales (Providenciales / TCI), on 17.04.2015
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