Over the next two months visitors can discover more about Cornwall’s prehistoric past as the Maritime Museum in Falmouth plays host to academic lectures coinciding with the new 2012BC: Cornwall and the Sea in the Bronze Age exhibition.

The talks begin on Wednesday May 9, with Dr Lucy Blue, from the University of Southampton, who will be examining how studying traditional boats, such as the sewn boats of the Indian Ocean, can inform on ancient boat building techniques in Bronze Age Britain.

Then on May 24, Prof Gregor Borg, from Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, will be exploring the fascinating story of the Nebra Sky Disc. Produced during the Bronze Age by metallurgists and astronomers from Cornish gold and tin which was traded across the sea to Europe, the Sky Disc is the world’s oldest astronomical map. The master copy of the Sky Disc is on display now at the Maritime Museum as part of the 2012BC exhibition – the first time it has ever been on display in the UK.

On May 31, Dr Linda Hurcombe will present an introduction to experimental archaeology. She will demonstrate how experiments can be fun, but also show us the skills and technologies of the past and give us a few surprises along the way.

As part of the 2012BC exhibition, a Bronze Age-type sewn-plank boat will be constructed at the Maritime Museum. On June 14 project director Prof Robert Van de Noort will be providing the archaeological background to the discoveries of sewn-plank boats in England and Wales, and explains how these craft were used in the Bronze Age.

And on June 21 discover why Cornwall was so important in the Bronze Age. Prof Anthony Harding will introduce the fascinating and varied evidence for far-reaching trade contacts with the wider world at the time of the reconstructed boat.

The lectures start at 7.30pm at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and cost just £5 each.