Cleaning your teeth with roasted mice heads may sound revolting, but in the olden days it was all the rage.

A Tudor 'hedge witch' will be visiting the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery on Monday to explain how people cared for themselves thousands of years ago.

Nadine Carr, from the History People, will reveal a host of amazing herbal and animal-based potions and remedies at the event, which forms part of the Wiltshire Archaeology Festival.

Nadine, who will assume the character of ancient witch Bess Yeoman, said: "Everyone, from the very young to the very old, enjoys meeting Bess and learning about these old remedies.

"We get a lot of different responses from amaze-ment to disgust, and surprise that some of these things actually worked."

As well as her medicine bag of assorted plants and animals, Bess will take along a selection of surgical tools from the Roman, Tudor and Stuart period, to the museum in Bath Road, Old Town.

Bess will be joined in the afternoon by Swindon archaeologist Bernard Phillips, who will be on hand to have a look at any finds. People are invited to take along their mystery objects and Bernard will do his best to identify them.

Bernard, who worked on the original excavations at the Groundwell Ridge Roman site in Abbey Meads, will be at the museum between 2pm and 4pm.

The activities are part of a full programme of events for the Wiltshire Archaeology Festival taking place across the county from Sunday to Friday organised by the Wiltshire Archaeology and Natural History Society, as part of its 150th birthday celebrations.

For more details email archaeology2003@hotmail.com or call the museum on 01793 466556.