One of Liverpool’s most photographed Superlambananas has had a heritage makeover

One of Liverpool’s most photographed Superlambananas has been given a heritage makeover.

A collection of five of the iconic sculptures sits outside the Museum of Liverpool on the waterfront, between the Three Graces and Royal Albert Dock.

Now one of them has been transformed into Archeology Superlambanana!

The new paintwork is in honour of the many and various archeological finds that have been discovered during excavations along the Mersey.

And it was designed by a young archeologist taking part in a half term session at the Museum of Liverpool.

A spokesperson for the museum explains: “We hosted a group of young people from the Council for British Archaeology’s Young Archaeologists Club for a half term holiday day where we explored the archaeology of the waterfront, and members were asked to design a new Archaeology Superlambanana.

“These were voted on by the MOL curatorial team and one of the young archaeologists’ designs was picked as the winner. This design has inspired the new Archaeology Superlambanana.”

The design is split into images facing the museum and facing the city. The city side shows layers in the earth built up over time which include pottery, oyster shells, clay pipes and bottles below the Museum of Liverpool building.

These are all finds which have been discovered during excavations across the waterfront, from Manchester Dock – below the footprint of the Museum of Liverpool – and during the Piermaster’s Green community digs led by the museum’s archaeology team in 2021 and 2022.

More than 7,000 items were excavated during the Piermaster’s Green project, revealing more about family life on the docks. These are believed to date back to the 1840s when the land was reclaimed from the river Mersey up until the Second World War, when three houses on the site – 7, 8 and 10 Albert Parade – were bombed.

On the museum side of the Archeology Superlambanana are more finds of pottery, clay pipes, bottles and oyster shell, as well as the depth gauge excavated from Manchester Dock and the Young Archaeologists Club logo. 

The newly decorated Archeology Superlambanana now takes pride of place outside the Museum of Liverpool at the end of the row alongside four others, each welcoming visitors and representing a different area of its collection.

Comedy was designed and painted in 2010 by Philip Marsden and refurbished in 2023. It features some of Liverpool’s most well-known comedians including Ken Dodd, Leonard Rossiter, Jimmy Tarbuck, Lily Savage, Arthur Askey, Les Dennis, Neil Fitzmaurice, Craig Charles, Kenny Everett, Cilla Black, Alexei Sayle. Crissy Rock replaced Tommy Handley in the design update.  

Ukraine, painted in 2023, has the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s flag in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and Polska, also painted in 2023, was designed by Merseyside Polonia to celebrate the long-standing Polish community in Liverpool. ​

Heroes represents a King’s Regiment soldier together with a bright red poppy design to honour those killed or injured in conflict.​ The Heroes Superlambanana was given a paint refresh following some damage earlier this year.

You can see the Archeology Superlambanana outside the Museum of Liverpool now.

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