HUNTINGDON could be involved in the claim for a food record – claiming one of the oldest pieces of garlic to be found (at least in East Anglia). The strange relic was discovered during excavation work while the ground was being prepared for Huntingdon s n

HUNTINGDON could be involved in the claim for a food record - claiming one of the oldest pieces of garlic to be found (at least in East Anglia).

The strange relic was discovered during excavation work while the ground was being prepared for Huntingdon's new Saxongate Centre.

It, along with other artefacts discovered in the district over the past four or five years, are now on display in a new exhibition at Huntingdon's Cromwell Museum.

Organised by the museums office of Cambridgeshire County Council, the items date back more than five hundred years, before the time of Oliver Cromwell, and include pots, pieces of leather and other materials. The garlic is up to 900 years old, dating back some time between AD1150 to AD1350.

The Fayre Trade Medieval Huntingdonshire Fairs and Markets exhibition will also include a full scale replica market stall with items ranging from metals and tools to food.

Visitors will be able to try on medieval hats and play the Nine Man's Morris game, which dates back at least 800 years and is similar to Ludo.

Cromwell Museum curator John Goldsmith said: "This exhibition is part of Huntingdonshire's heritage as there has been a long tradition of market stalls in the towns, which still take place today.

"Oliver Cromwell would have passed through Huntingdon market, as it has been taking place for at least 900 years.

"The aim of this exhibition is to show how markets have changed and evolved over the years and the diversity of things that would have been for sale."

At a special event to coincide with the exhibition on Saturday, a traditional corwainer (or cobbler) will be at the museum and visitors will be able to make a leather purse.

The funding for the project has come from developers, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Cambridgeshire County Council.

When it comes to world records there are plenty involving food. London claims to have built the largest stir fry in 2004 (700kg or 1,543lb) while the largest tiramisu was in Germany a year earlier, weighing in at 216kg (476lb).

INFORMATION: Entrance to the exhibition, and the special event, is free. It is open Tuesday to Friday 1-4pm, Saturdays 11am to 1pm and 2-4pm and Sundays 2-4pm and runs until Saturday, April 29.

To find out more contact John Goldsmith at Cromwell Museum on 01480 375819.