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Journal article
From hunter‐gatherers to food producers: New dental insights into the Nile Valley population history (Late Paleolithic–Neolithic)
This study presents biological affinities between the last hunter-fisher-gatherers and first food-producing societies from the Nile Valley. We investigate odontometric and dental tissue proportion changes between these populations from the Middle Nile Valley and acknowledge the biological processes behind them.Martin, Nicolas ; Thibeault, Adrien ; Varadzinová, Lenka ; Ambrose, Stanley H. ; Antoine, Daniel …
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Book chapter
Valorizing the ordinary – documenting the vernacular heritage of Shutb village
'The British Museum Asyut Region Project' aims at reconstructing and preserving the deep history of the Asyut region in Middle Egypt through survey and documentation of its pharaonic and post-pharaonic heritage, including the varied responses of local communities living atop the layers of history below. The village of Shutb, 5...Shama, Heba ; Ibrahim, Kareem ; Regulski, Ilona
urban fabric, Middle Egypt, and Asyut
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Book
Greek and Roman Medicine at the British Museum: The Instruments and Accoutrements of Ancient Medicine
Greek and Roman Medicine at the British Museum is an authoritative and up-to-date study of Greek and Roman medicine and surgery. This book is the first full, and fully illustrated, publication of the Museum’s important collection. Strategies for the preservation of health and for the prevention and treatment of illness...Jackson, Ralph
History of collecting, History of medicine, and Classical world
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Book
Late Hokusai: Society, Thought, Technique, Legacy
This publication has been developed from ideas first presented at the international symposium Late Hokusai: Thought, Technique, Society, held at the British Museum in May 2017. The symposium was organised to enable specialists in a range of disciplines relating to early modern Japan to view and consider the critically acclaimed...Clark, Timothy
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Book
Recent Discoveries of Tetrarchic Hoards from Roman Britain and their Wider Context
This volume was prompted by the recent discovery in Britain of two large coin hoards dating from the first decade of the fourth century AD – Wold Newton and Rauceby. Coins of this early Tetrarchic period are relatively uncommon finds in Britain and elsewhere, due mainly to the brevity of...Ghey, Eleanor
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Journal article
An introduction and recent advances in the analytical study of early synthetic dyes and organic pigments in cultural heritage
This article reviews the research recently undertaken to characterise and identify early synthetic dyes (ESDs) and synthetic organic pigments (SOPs) as well as study their degradation pathways with a focus on cultural heritage applications. Since the invention of the first fully synthetic dye in 1856, these materials have been used...Tamburini, Diego ; Sabatini, Francesca ; Berbers, Sanne ; van Bommel, Maarten ; Degano, Ilaria
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Journal article
Enlightenment architectures: the reconstruction of Sir Hans Sloane’s cabinets of ‘Miscellanies’
Focusing on Sir Hans Sloane’s catalogue of ‘Miscellanies’, now in the British Museum, this paper asks firstly how Sloane described objects and secondly whether the original contents of the cabinets can be reconstructed from his catalogue. Drawing on a sustained, digitally augmented analysis – the first of its kind –...Sloan, Kim ; Nyhan, Julianne
British Museum, digitization, collections, cabinets, Sir Hans Sloane, catalogues, and digital humanities
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Journal article
Everyday Protection: Learning from United Nations Protection of Civilians Sites
‘Protection of Civilians’ (PoC) has been a dominant focus of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions in recent decades. At the same time, ‘Protection of Civilians’ is a contested and ambiguous concept, with its practical meanings often established in the realities of implementation. The introduction to this special issue argues that...Cormack, Zoe ; Pendle, Naomi
South Sudan, Protection of Civilians, United Nations , humanitarian protection, and peacekeeping
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Journal article
The Western European Acheulean: Reading variability at a regional scale
In the context of the Western European Acheulean Project, this study aims to characterize Acheulean technology in Western Europe through the analysis of handaxes and cleavers from 10 key sites (Britain 4, France 4, and Spain 2) to acquire a regional view of the occupation. The historically different systems used...García-Medrano, Paula ; Moncel, Marie-Hélène ; Maldonado-Garrido, Elías ; Ollé, Andreu ; Ashton, Nick
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Journal article
Applicability and efficacy of an enhanced nanolime consolidation technique for British Museum limestone objects
Stone consolidation is one of the most important and complex treatment actions performed in museums. However, products routinely applied on limestone objects are often chemically incompatible with the treated substrate. Despites the established efficiency of nanolime for outdoor conservation and its chemical compatibility with the carbonate mineral matrix, its performance...Maucourant, Cyril ; O'Flaherty, Fin ; Drago, Amy
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Journal article
Dating ancient canal systems using radiocarbon dating and archaeological evidence at Tello/Girsu, southern Mesopotamia, Iraq
Mesopotamia is often regarded the “cradle of civilization.” The development of water management practices in the region is thought to have played a key role in the emergence of these early civilizations. We present the first direct dating of a palaeo-canal system at the ancient city of Girsu, Mesopotamia (modern...Egberts, Ella ; Jotheri, Jaafar ; Di Michele, Angelo ; Baxter, Antony ; Rey, Sebastien
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Book chapter
The colophons of Ashurbanipal, King of the World
Colophons mark the constituents of what may have been the first attempt to assemble all significant written scholarly knowledge in one place. The 7th century BC cuneiform collection of Ashurbanipal of Assyria lets us understand intellectual life in the ancient Middle East. More than twenty different, apparently standardised, colophon texts...Taylor, Jon ; Jiménez, Enrique ; Schnitzlein, Babette ; Cohen, Sophie
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Journal article
Predicting bronze casting recipes in ancient China: ternary copper-lead–tin alloys and the “unit sum problem”
This paper explores the relationship between trends in the observed composition of ternary copper-lead–tin alloys and the recreation of “recipes” used for the casting of bronze objects, and in particular, to ask if the recipe can be reconstructed from the chemical data. The archaeological context is specifically the manufacture of...Pollard, A. M. ; Liu, Ruiliang
Bronze casting recipes , Chinese bronze coins, and Unit sum problem
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Journal article
Bronze alloying recipes at Anyang during the Shang Dynasty
We present a detailed analysis of the chemical alloying data (Cu, Sn, Pb) on the bronzes recovered from the Late Shang capital at Yinxu, revealing a complex pattern which varies by social status and object typology, and which also changes over time. The preference for higher tin in the bronze...Pollard, A. Mark ; Zhang, Yun ; Liu, Ruiliang
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Journal article
Forager-farmer transition at the crossroads of East and Southeast Asia 4900 years ago
The southward expansion of East Asian farmers profoundly influenced the social evolution of Southeast Asia by introducing cereal agriculture. However, the timing and routes of cereal expansion in key regions are unclear due to limited empirical evidence. Here we report macrofossil, microfossil, multiple isotopic (C/N/Sr/O) and paleoproteomic data directly from...Ma, Minmin ; Lu, Minxia ; Sun, Rui ; Zhu, Zhonghua ; Fuller, Dorian Q. …
proteomics, isotopes, agricultural origins, Yunnan, and millet
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Journal article
New solidification simulation reveals the secret of the hidden metal cores in ancient Chinese bronzes
Regardless of the tremendous number of studies on ancient Chinese bronzes and fruitful understanding of the raw materials, technologies and their cultural significance, many related issues have still not been tackled. In particular, it has been known for decades that the legs of Shang and Zhou bronzes have metal cores,...Yang, Huan ; Fang, Minghui ; Chang, Yihang ; Liu, Ruiliang ; Fang, Zhao …
solidification process simulation, metal core, casting defects, and bronze tripod
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Journal article
Neutron tomography of sealed copper alloy animal coffins from ancient Egypt
Animal mummification was commonplace in ancient Egypt, with the remains of many animals placed inside statues or votive boxes with representations of animals or hybrid human–animal creatures. Votive boxes were made from a variety of materials and often sealed; some boxes are still preserved in this state in museum collections....O’Flynn, Daniel ; Fedrigo, Anna ; Perucchetti, Laura ; Masson-Berghoff, Aurélia
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Journal article
A view from the countryside: radiocarbon chronology for Zaolinhetan of the pre-Zhou culture in early dynastic China
The conquest of the Shang Dynasty at Anyang around 1046 BCE by the Zhou is one of the major events for not only Chinese Bronze Age but also early interaction between the pastoralist groups from the Eurasian Steppes and agriculture ones in the Central Plains of China. It is well-known...Li, Xiaojian ; Liu, Wei ; Xu, Yongxiang ; Dou, Haifeng ; Pollard, A Mark …
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Book chapter
Objects, knowledge, and museums: reflections on the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme
This chapter addresses some of the politics of knowledge that revolve around ethnographic collections in public museums today. In an increasingly politicised environment, museums with ethnographic collections are often now expected to undertake various kinds of moral work on behalf of wider society. Work such as reparation and restitution for...Bolton, Lissant
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Book
Dyes in History and Archaeology 41
This book is a reprint of the Special Issue Dyes in History and Archaeology 41 that was published in HeritageDyer, Joanne
colourants, organic pigments, and dyes
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Other
British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan (BMSAES) Issue 27
Issue 27 comprises two articles focusing on the collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts at the British Museum. The first one publishes for the first time a group of mummy bandages inscribed with the Liturgy of Opening the Mouth for Breathing. This text is only known from a few other sources,...Vandenbeusch, Marie
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Journal article
Light production by ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers of the Circum-Baltic
Artificial illumination is a fundamental human need. Burning wood and other materials usually in hearths and fireplaces extended daylight hours, whilst the use of flammable substances in torches offered light on the move. It is increasingly understood that pottery played a role in light production. In this study, we focus... -
Journal article
How can Neutron Imaging contribute to Heritage Science? An overview at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source
Heritage Science HS spans a large variety of objects and materials, as well as anything that has historic, artistic, anthropological, and natural significance. This paper aims to bridge the gap between the physical and natural sciences and the humanities, and divulge neutron imaging techniques to a wider community. Here we...Fedrigo, Anna ; Grazzi, Francesco ; O’Flynn, Daniel ; Kockelmann, Winfried ; Cantini, Francesco …
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Journal article
Forensic examination of a fragmentary funerary portrait in the collection of the Harvard art museums
The Harvard Art Museums’ collection includes six Egyptian funerary portraits of the Roman period. These portraits are all that remains of the funerary equipment of individuals whose bodies were carefully prepared for burial and the afterlife. One example, depicting a man, is particularly complicated, broken into multiple fragments which have...Rayner, Georgina ; Eremin, Katherine ; Smith, Kate ; Cartwright, Caroline ; Degryse, Patrick …
workshop, composite, analysis, Roman Egypt, and technical imaging
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Journal article
Parallel worlds and mixed economies: multi-proxy analysis reveals complex subsistence systems at the dawn of early farming in the northeast Baltic
The transition from foraging to farming was a key turning point in ancient socio-economies. Yet, the complexities and regional variations of this transformation are still poorly understood. This multi-proxy study provides a new understanding of the introduction and spread of early farming, challenging the notions of hierarchical economies. The most... -
Journal article
The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe
To investigate changes in culinary practices associated with the arrival of farming, we analysed the organic residues of over 1,000 pottery vessels from hunter-gatherer-fisher and early agricultural sites across Northern Europe from the Lower Rhine Basin to the Northeastern Baltic. Here, pottery was widely used by hunter-gatherer-fishers prior to the...Lucquin, Alexandre ; Robson, Harry K. ; Oras, Ester ; Lundy, Jasmine ; Moretti, Giulia …
hunter-gatherers, organic residue analysis, pottery, and early farmers
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Journal article
The making of Bikini glass in Bida, Nigeria: ethnography, chemical composition, and archaeology
This paper discusses the process, prospects, and challenges of making glass in Bida (Nupeland), central Nigeria. The Masagá glassmakers of Bida provide the ideal case study for investigating the production of . Nineteenth-century Arab and European writings have described glassmaking in Nupeland; however, with the exception of the study carried...Lababidi, Lesley ; Babalola, Abidemi Babatunde ; Gratuze, Bernard ; Rolland, Joëlle ; Véron, Emmanuel …
Indigenous technology, Bida, Nigeria, ethnography, and glass making
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Journal article
An exploration of potential raw materials for prehistoric pottery production in the Tao River Valley, Gansu Province, China
Northwest China is known for its Majiayao‐style Neolithic painted pottery which has received much praise for its high level of craftsmanship, yet its chain of production, in particular the step of raw material selection, is still poorly understood. To fill this lacuna, the present study explores the raw materials used...Dammer, Evgenia ; Hein, Anke ; Spataro, Michela
Northwest China, petrographic analysis, ceramic technology, and Majiayao style
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Journal article
Molecular evidence for new foodways in the early colonial Caribbean: organic residue analysis at Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico
Ceramic objects account for over 90% of the cultural material recovered from archaeological sites in the Caribbean. However, little research has been conducted on molecular evidence for past food production from these same vessels. Forty ceramic sherds from Isla de Mona have been analysed by GC–MS and GC-C-IRMS in order...Briggs, Lisa ; Cooper, Jago ; Craig, Oliver E. ; Heron, Carl ; Lucquin, Alexandre …
food, organic residues, Colonial Caribbean, pottery, and wine
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Journal article
Evidence for the earliest structural use of wood at least 476,000 years ago
Wood artefacts rarely survive from the Early Stone Age since they require exceptional conditions for preservation; consequently, we have limited information about when and how hominins used this basic raw material . We report here on the earliest evidence for structural use of wood in the archaeological record. Waterlogged deposits...Barham, L. ; Duller, G. A. T. ; Candy, I. ; Scott, C. ; Cartwright, C. R. …
archaeology and limnology
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Journal article
Inside out: Fusing 3D imaging modalities for the internal and external investigation of multi-material museum objects
3D imaging methods are increasingly employed in cultural heritage research to analyse and document objects in museum collections. In this work, we provide an interactive visualisation plugin for the open-source software Blender, to combine and inspect two complementary 3D imaging modalities: CT images, which capture the interior; and surface scans,... -
Journal article
Science, not black magic: metal and glass production in Africa
Ongoing research continues to show that ancient Africans had their own versions of science that were embedded in local contexts. The apparent lack of writing systems in most of the continent, especially south of the Sahara, was used to undermine the continent’s scientific achievements. Rather than relegate Africa to a...Bandama, Foreman ; Babalola, Abidemi Babatunde
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Journal article
Some thoughts on glass in African archaeology: an introduction
The history of this collection of articles on glass dates to 2020, when one of us (Babalola) proposed a symposium on Glass in African Archaeology for the meeting of the Society for Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA) scheduled for Oxford, but eventually held virtually in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although...Babalola, Abidemi Babatunde ; Rehren, Thilo
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Journal article
Advances in the characterisation and identification of mastic (Pistacia sp.) resin in archaeological samples by GC-QToF-MS
A new analytical method based on GC-QToF-MS is proposed for the enhanced characterisation and identification of mastic ( sp.) resin in archaeological samples. New insights into the use of mastic in ancient Egypt are provided. The optimisation and application of an analytical method based on gas chromatography coupled to quadrupole...Tamburini, Diego ; Fulcher, Kate ; Briggs, Lisa ; von Aderkas, Nelly ; Pulak, Cemal …
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Journal article
Human-environment interaction systems between regional and continental scales in mid-latitude Eurasia during 6000–3000 years ago
The Late Neolithic and Bronze Ages witnessed the extensive expansion of human settlements, along with the dispersal of crops and livestock originating from West and East Asia. These events profoundly reshaped the human-environment relationship in mid-latitude Eurasia and the underlying trans-Eurasian exchange. While the processes and factors that underpin the...Dong, Guanghui ; Du, Linyao ; Liu, Ruiliang ; Li , Yuejiao ; Chen, Fahu
Environment, Climate change, and Eurasia
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Book
The Sphinx Revealed: A Forgotten Record of Pioneering Excavations
In 2002 a two-volume manuscript memoir on the Pyramids and Sphinx, by Henry Salt, was rediscovered in the archives of the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan, at the British Museum. It was then studied in depth for the first time. The Text volume, written by Salt, the British Consul...Usick, Patricia ; Manley, Deborah
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Book
Sailing the Monsoon Winds in Miniature: Understanding Indian Ocean Boat Models
Models of non-European watercrafts are commonly found in museum collections in the UK and throughout the world. These objects are understudied, rarely used in museum displays and at risk of disposal. In addition, there are several gaps in current understanding of traditional watercraft from the Indian Ocean, the region spanning...Dixon, Charlotte
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Book
The Hay Archive of Coptic Spells on Leather: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Materiality of Magical Practice
The Hay archive of Coptic manuscripts consists of seven fragmentary sheets of leather bearing spells for divination, protection, healing, personal advancement, cursing and the satisfaction of sexual desire. Purchased from the heir of the Scottish Egyptologist and draftsman, Robert Hay (1799–1863), the manuscripts arrived at the British Museum in 1869....O'Connell, Elisabeth
Egyptology, papyrology, Coptic studies, and religious studies
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Book
Catalogue of the Archives of Charles Townley in the British Museum
After his death Charles Townley’s collection of classical sculpture was acquired by The British Museum where it is now displayed in the Wolfson Galleries. In 1992 his personal papers were purchased, placed with the Museum’s Central Archive and subsequently arranged and listed by the author. This resultant catalogue lists the...Hill, Susan J.
museum studies, classical sculpture, and History of collecting
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Journal article
Early evidence for cancer in Sudan: an advanced example of bone metastases from ancient Nubia (circa 2500–2050 BCE)
WHO reports that cancer is currently a leading cause of death worldwide. An increasing body of bioarchaeological research offers new insights into the past prevalence, epidemiology, and evolution of cancer. An archaeological example from the Northern Dongola Reach in Upper Nubia, Sudan, is presented in this Perspectives piece.Whiting, Rebecca ; Phillips, Emma L. W. ; O'Flynn, Daniel ; Antoine, Daniel
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Journal article
Changes in the production materials of Burmese textiles in the nineteenth century - dyes, mordants and fibres of Karen garments from the British Museum’s collection
The materials of six Karen textiles from the British Museum’s collection were investigated with the main aim of studying the production changes over the course of the nineteenth century and how these changes related to local and colonial trade networks. The textiles span chronologically from the 1830s to the early...Tamburini, Diego ; Dyer, Joanne ; Cartwright, Caroline ; Green, Alexandra
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Journal article
Earliest systematic coal exploitation for fuel extended to ~3600 B.P.
Coal has long fueled human civilizations. The history of systematic coal fuel exploitation has been traced back to the late third millennium before present (post-2500 B.P.). Although sporadic combustion of coal for fuel was reported in some prehistoric archaeological sites, evidence for the systematic exploitation of coal for fuel before...Qiu, Menghan ; Liu, Ruiliang ; Li, Xingyuan ; Du, Linyao ; Ruan, Qiurong …
China, metallurgy, and coal
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Book
A Royal Renaissance Treasure and its Afterlives: The Royal Clock Salt
At centre stage in this volume is the Royal Clock Salt, an exceptional national treasure from the courtly culture of the Renaissance. Most probably made in Paris around 1530 by Pierre Mangot, the royal goldsmith to Francis I, the Clock Salt is somewhere between a jewel and a table ornament....Schroder, Timothy ; Thornton, Dora
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Book
Munch and his World: Graphic Arts and the Avant-garde in Paris and Berlin
Munch and his World: Graphic Arts and the Avant-garde in Paris and Berlin is a visually stunning publication which offers new insights into the life and world of the artist Edvard Munch. The art of Edvard Munch is striking for the originality and universality of its themes, which cross moments...Bartrum, Giulia
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Journal article
Evaluating transformations in small metal finds following the Black Death
This paper seeks to evaluate transformations in portable material culture following the Black Death in England (1348–1349), specifically through an analysis of small metal finds data recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS). It will discuss the use of Geographic Information Systems and other computational methods in archaeological research, and...Oksanen, Eljas ; Lewis, Michael
Black Death, material culture, and Portable Antiquities Scheme
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Journal article
Will my boomerang come back? New insights into Aboriginal material culture of early Sydney and affiliated coastal zone from British collections
Aboriginal material culture of the Sydney region has been analysed extensively by Australian archaeologists, notably Vincent Megaw and Val Attenbrow, yet many new insights can be obtained through the examination of hitherto unidentified and unexamined museum objects and dispersed archival documentation in Britain and Ireland. Close engagement with these sources...Sculthorpe, Gaye ; Simpson, Daniel
collecting, museums, boomerang, Sydney, provenance, Britain, and repatriation
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Book
Chandragupta Maurya: The Creation of a National Hero in India
We take it for granted that some historical figures become heroes, and others do not. Chandragupta Maurya evolved from obscure ruler to contemporary national icon. The key moment in the making of this Indian hero was a meeting by the banks of the River Indus between Chandragupta and Seleucus, founder...Jansari, Sushma
history, Chandragupta Maurya, and India
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Journal article
Middle Palaeolithic occupation of the southern North Sea Basin: evidence from the sandscaping sediments emplaced on the beach between Bacton and Walcott, Norfolk, UK
During the summer of 2019, the Bacton to Walcott Coastal Management Scheme involved the emplacement on to the foreshore of 1.8 million cubic metres of sand and gravel dredged from the submerged sediments of the Palaeo-Yare in the southern North Sea 11 km off Great Yarmouth. During the following 2-year...Davis, Rob ; Ashton, Nick ; Bynoe, Rachel ; Craven, John ; Ferguson, Rob …
Norfolk, Middle Palaeolithic , lithics, and artefacts
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Journal article
Metals and pigments at Amara West: cross-craft perspectives on practices and provisioning in New Kingdom Nubia
This paper presents the results of elemental and lead isotopic analysis of copper alloys, copper-based pigments and an extremely rare tin-based alloy from the town of Amara West (Sudan), the centre for pharaonic control of occupied Upper Nubia between 1300 and 1070 BCE. It is the first assemblage of its...Rademakers, Frederik W. ; Auenmüller, Johannes ; Spencer, Neal ; Fulcher, Kate ; Lehmann, Manuela …
Egyptian blue, copper alloys, Archaeometallurgy, Nubian archaeology, New Kingdom, and Amara West
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Research report
The Amorepacific Project for the Conservation of Korean Pictorial Art
This report provides details of the conservation treatments completed during the Amorepacific project for the conservation of Korean pictorial art, 2018–2023. Additionally it includes articles about Korean art history, materials and scientific outcomes related to the project.Burden, Louisa ; Kosek, Joanna
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Book
Pahu: Historical Collections, Artistic Continuance
This book results from an ongoing collaboration between the Benioff Oceania Programme at the British Museum and Dennis Kanaʻe Keawe, a Hawaiian artist and artisan specialised in pahu (drum) making and based in Hilo (Hawaiʻi). Shaped and nutured through the artist’s unique lens, this volume combines a renewed understanding of... -
Journal article
Investigating the potential of the Nd:YAG and Er:YAG lasers for the cleaning of feathers: a pilot study
A dual-wavelength Q-switched Nd:YAG laser emitting at 1064 nm and 532 nm and an Er:YAG laser were tested on a range of feathers containing melanin, carotenoids and psittacofulvins. Dyed, white and iridescent feathers, as well as down feathers, were also included in the study. First, the damage threshold fluence was...Bertasa, Moira ; Korenberg, Capucine
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Journal article
Polysaccharide Paint Binding Media at Two Pharaonic Settlements in Nubia
Paints and plasters from two pharaonic settlement sites in Nubia (northern Sudan) were analysed to investigate the presence and origin of organic binding materials. The town of Sai was founded around the time of the pharaonic conquest of Kush (Upper Nubia) around 1500 BC, with Amara West created as a...Fulcher, Kate ; Spencer, Neal ; Budka, Julia ; Stacey, Rebecca J.
archaeology, urbanism, Nubia, Egypt, technology, colonialism, pigment, botany, and gums
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Journal article
Early Pleistocene human occupation at the edge of the boreal zone in northwest Europe
The dispersal of early humans from Africa by 1.75 Myr ago led to a marked expansion of their range, from the island of Flores in the east to the Iberian peninsula in the west. This range encompassed tropical forest, savannah and Mediterranean habitats, but has hitherto not been demonstrated beyond 45°...Parfitt, Simon ; Ashton, Nick ; Lewis, Simon ; Abel, Richard L. ; Coope, G. Russell …
Happisburgh; human footprints; Lower Paleolithic; Early Pleistocene; Britain; Europe
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Journal article
The transmission of pottery technology among prehistoric European hunter-gatherers
Human history has been shaped by global dispersals of technologies, although understanding of what enabled these processes is limited. Here, we explore the behavioural mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer communities in Europe during the mid-Holocene. Through radiocarbon dating, we propose this dispersal occurred at a...Dolbunova, Ekaterina ; Lucquin, Alexandre ; McLaughlin, T. Rowan ; Bondetti, Manon ; Courel, Blandine …
pottery, dispersal, hunter-gatherer communities, and chemical analysis
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Book
Bejewelled: Men and Jewellery in Tudor and Jacobean England
Jewellery is often viewed as a feminine preoccupation, but in Tudor and Jacobean England men wore just as much (if not more) jewellery as their female counterparts. Jewels themselves were valued not merely for their intrinsic monetary worth, but also for their ability to reflect status and lineage, as well...Awais-Dean, Natasha
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Journal article
Igbo-Ukwu textiles: AMS dating and fiber analysis
Thurstan Shaw’s excavations at Igbo-Ukwu revealed many artifacts and technologies that remain astonishing, unique, and incompletely understood, both within Africa and more broadly, even after 50 years. Among these are the textiles recovered primarily from Igbo Isaiah, where fragments were preserved by contact with the bronze artifacts gathered in what...McIntosh, Susan Keech ; Cartwright, Caroline R.
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Book chapter
Money on the Silk Road – twenty years on
One of 28 papers in a Festschrift in honour of Georgina Herrmann, this paper outlines projects and publications relating to, and arising from, "Money on the Silk. The Evidence from Eastern Central Asia to c. AD 800, including a catalogue of the coins collected by Sir Aurel SteinWang, Helen
Silk Roads, Money, and Aurel Stein
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Journal article
Bordering on Asian paintings: dye analysis of textile borders and mount elements to complement research on Asian pictorial art
Mount components and textile borders represent important elements of Asian paintings. However, they are often side-lined or not considered an integral part of the original piece, as they may be later additions or may have been replaced during historic conservation or mounting interventions. Nevertheless, evidence is sometimes present that textile...Tamburini, Diego ; Dyer, Joanne ; Heady, Teresa ; Derham, Alice ; Kim-Marandet, Meejung …
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Book
Ceremonial Living in the Third Millennium BC: Excavations at Ringlemere Site M1, Kent, 2002–2006
The discovery in 2001 of an exquisite Early Bronze Age gold cup at Ringlemere Farm in Kent prompted an extensive survey and excavation of the site from 2002–2006. Excavation revealed a site with a long history of use, the most striking evidence being for intensive activity in the third millennium...Needham, Stuart ; Parfitt, Keith
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Book
Down to Earth Archaeology
Professor William Y. Adams presents sixteen papers on Nubia, written at various times during his lengthy and productive academic career. Most of those selected had been previously published only in a limited way; encompassing a wide range of topics, Adams wanted to enable them to reach a wider readership than...Adams, William Y. ; Anderson, Julie R.
archaeology and Nubia
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Journal article
Use of 3D laser scanning for monitoring the dimensional stability of a Byzantine ivory panel
The British Museum has in its collections a magnificent Byzantine ivory panel. However, the panel has become warped over time and there is a join on the left side, where it has suffered a break in the past. It has been connected with two metal pins and adhesive in a...Hess, Mona ; Korenberg, Capucine ; Ward, Clare ; Robson, Stuart ; Entwistle, Chris
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Journal article
How is museum lighting selected? An insight into current practice in UK museums
The results of a series of interviews with museum professionals on the subject of museum lighting specification and selection are reported, with the aim that this report should provide an insight into current practice. Specific attention is given to the usage of industry parameters (lux, CIE-Ra, CCT), and to investigating...Garside, Daniel ; Curran, Katherine ; Korenberg, Capucine ; MacDonald, Lindsay ; Teunissen, Kees …
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Journal article
Weathering climate change in archaeology: conceptual challenges and an East African case study
Research on the social dimensions of climate change is increasingly focused on people's experiences, values and relations to the environment as a means to understand how people interpret and adapt to changes. However, a particular challenge has been making seemingly temporally and geographically distant climate change more immediate and local...Petek-Sargeant, Nik ; Lane, Paul J.
Weather, Climate change, Kenya, Environmental humanities, East Africa, and Ilchamus
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Book
A Riverine Site Near York: A Possible Viking Camp?
The location known as ‘A Riverine Site Near York (ARSNY)’ represents a category of Viking site known from the historical record but one that until recently had remained largely undetected archaeologically: the Viking camp. The published investigations at Repton, Derbyshire, although undoubtedly important, created a false paradigm for the scale...Williams, Gareth
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Book
Handbook to the Collections of Sir Aurel Stein in the UK
A comprehensive handbook to the collections of Sir Aurel Stein in the UK.Wang, Helen ; Perkins, John
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Book
Sir Aurel Stein, Colleagues and Collections
This volume, published to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Aurel Stein, presents papers about him, his colleagues and his collections.Wang, Helen
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Book
Sir Aurel Stein Proceedings of the British Museum Study Day 2002
Proceedings of a 2002 British Museum conference on Sir Aurel SteinWang, Helen
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Book
Metallurgical Analysis of Chinese Coins at the British Museum
This publication brings together the results of metallurgical analysis on Chinese coins undertaken at the British Museum during the last 15 years. The largest project looked at the metal content of Chinese cash coins over a period of more than 2,000 years. Although the results of the survey were published...Cribb, Joe ; Bowman, Sheridan ; Cowell, Michael ; Shashoua, Yvonne ; Wayman, Michael L. …
numismatics, East Asian studies, art history, archaeology, and metallurgy
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Book
Chairman Mao Badges: Symbols and Slogans of the Cultural Revolution
Millions of Chairman Mao badges were produced during China's Cultural Revolution, and were worn by almost all Chinese people, from Premier Zhou Enlai down to the smallest child. Made in a wide variety of materials (aluminium, plastic, bamboo, porcelain, gold, silver, copper, iron and lead) and with an extensive range...Wang, Helen
Cultural Revolution, China, badges, and Mao Zedong
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Book
Catalogue of the Japanese Coin Collection (pre-Meiji) at the British Museum (with special reference to Kutsuki Masatsuna)
The British Museum’s collection of Japanese coins is one of the best outside Japan. Many of the coins were originally in the collection of Japan’s renowned numismatist and collector, Kutsuki Masatsuna (1750–1802), and were acquired by the British Museum in the 1880s. At the same time as Kutsuki Masatsuna was...Wang, Helen ; Cribb, Joe ; Sakuraki, Shin’ichi ; Kornicki, Peter ; Screech, Timon …
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Pudding Pan: A Roman Shipwreck and its Cargo in Context
For more than 300 years commercial fishermen working in the outer Thames estuary have recovered Roman pottery in their oyster dredgers and fishing nets from the seabed in the vicinity of Pudding Pan. However, despite numerous attempts to locate the source of the material, this elusive site has remained undiscovered...Walsh, Michael
Roman Britain, Roman material culture, and Roman maritime trade
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The Greeks in the East
Eight authoritative essays explore the changing relationships between the Greeks and their Eastern neighbours from the Bronze Age to the Classical period, examining archaeological evidence in the shape of pottery, wall-painting, sculpture, architecture, jewellery, seals, and inscriptions. The papers cover a wide range of topics, including trade, settlements, and cultural...Villing, Alexandra
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Remote Possibilities Hoa Hakananai'a and HMS Topaze on Rapa Nui
In 1868, Hoa Hakananai’a was ‘discovered’ on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Polynesia. Shipped to England on board HMS Topaze, it was presented by Queen Victoria to the British Museum. One of only ten statues known to have been carved in basalt, it fits the design canon of nearly 1,000 others,...Van Tilburg, Jo Anne
Pacific history, Polynesia, archaeology, Ethnography, and anthropology
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A Rothschild Renaissance A New Look at the Waddesdon Bequest in the British Museum
In 1898, Baron Ferdinand Rothschild bequeathed to the British Museum the contents from the New Smoking Room at his home at Waddesdon Manor, a collection of nearly 300 objects to be known as the Waddesdon Bequest. The Bequest contains some of the most beautiful examples of medieval and Renaissance craftsmanship,...Shirley, Pippa ; Thornton, Dora
history of collecting, Art history, Renaissance art, and Decorative arts
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An Etruscan Affair: The Impact of Early Etruscan Discoveries on European Culture
This volume considers how the discovery of Etruscan sites and artefacts has inspired artists, architects, statesmen, collectors, scholars and travellers to Italy from the 16th through to the 20th century, from Ferdinando de' Medici to Piranesi and Federico Fellini. Subjects include the reclaiming of Etruscan identity and its influence on...Swaddling, Judith
Italy, Etruscans, and archaeology
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Etruscan by Definition: Papers in Honour of Sybille Haynes,MBE
These papers were originally presented at a conference in 2006, celebrating the work of the renowned Etruscologist, Sybille Haynes, in the year of her 80th birthday. Dr Haynes’ work has done much to elucidate and de-mystify the Etruscans, and this volume seeks to further define the Etruscan character manifest in...Haynes, Sybille ; Swaddling, Judith ; Perkins, Philip
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‘Some Friends Came to See Us’: Lord Moyne’s 1936 Expedition to the Asmat
Walter Edward Guinness (1880–1944), the first Lord Moyne, was an Anglo-Irish politician, businessman and explorer. Travelling across the globe in his private yacht in search for ethnographic material, Lord Moyne visited South Papua three times in 1929, 1935 and 1936. Unlike previous explorers of New Guinea, Lord Moyne and his...Stanley, Nick
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Tell Dafana Reconsidered: The Archaeology of an Egyptian Frontier Town
This publication arises from a British Museum research project to consider the relationship between Egypt and Archaic Greece from the seventh century BC down to the fifth, through a re-assessment of the site of ancient Daphnae (now known as Tell Dafana) in the Nile Delta of Egypt. A great quantity...Leclère, François ; Spencer, Jeffrey
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A Naos of Nekhthorheb from Bubastis: Religious Iconography and Temple Building in the 30th Dynasty
The first full publication of a monumental red granite naos of king Nekhthorheb from the temple at Bubastis in the Nile Delta (360–343 BC). Originally 3.5m tall, fragments were excavated by Edouard Naville in the 1880s, many of which are now in the British Museum, the naos is an important...Spencer, Neal ; Rosenow, Daniela
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Kom Firin II: The Urban Fabric and Landscape
Kom Firin, a large settlement site in the western Nile Delta, was the subject of British Museum archaeological fieldwork between 2002 and 2011. This second and final monograph presents the results of excavations in the Citadel, an area of Late Period occupation, and within the northeastern corner of the Ramesside...Spencer, Neal
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Kom Firin I: The Ramesside Temple and the Site Survey
First monograph on the British Museum fieldwork at Kom Firin in Egypt’s Nile Delta, a settlement created around the time of Ramses II, and occupied until late Antiquity. This volume focuses on the survey and remote sensing of the site, along with a full publication of the Ramesside temple.Spencer, Neal
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European Visions: American Voices
John White travelled in the1580s on Walter Raleigh's voyages to 'Virginia' (now North Carolina) and made the earliest surviving watercolours of the flora, fauna and people of North America. This publication presents papers on John White and his pictures of America by experts in the field which has little published...Sloan, Kim
literature, natural history, American studies, Ethnography, history, and art history
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Prehistoric Metal Artefacts from Italy (3500–720BC) in the British Museum
The current conception of the absolute chronology of the Italian Copper Age to the end of the Early Iron Age is set out in this new title from the British Museum. Some 850 objects have been arranged chronologically from the Copper Age, through the Bronze Age to the Early Iron...Bietti Sestieri, Anna Marie ; Macnamara, Ellen ; Hook, Duncan
Italy, Prehistory, and archaeology
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Matter of Faith: An Interdisciplinary Study of Relics and Relic Veneration in the Medieval Period
This publication is the outcome of the conference Matter of Faith, held to accompany the British Museum’s exhibition Treasures of Heaven, which brought together over thirty international experts in the field to present new research around the themes of medieval reliquaries and relic veneration. The result is an interdisciplinary study...Robinson, James ; de Beer, Lloyd ; Harnden, Anna
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The British Museum Citole: New Perspectives
The British Museum citole is a unique example of medieval craftsmanship and is one of very few instruments from the Middle Ages to have survived. Its long, complex history includes a connection with the court of Elizabeth I and its conversion to a violin. The essays in this volume are...Speakman, Naomi ; Robinson, James
Musicology, iconography, organology, history, and conservation
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Arabic and Persian Seals and Amulets in the British Museum
This catalogue is the first on the outstanding collection of Arabic and Persian seals and amulets in the British Museum, by a specialist in the field. The first part focuses on the 638 Arabic, Persian and Indian seals covering material from the 8th to the 20th century. The introduction covers...Porter, Venetia
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The Hajj: Collected Essays
It is a sacred duty for Muslims, wherever they may reside, to go at least once in their lives to Mecca, the heartland of Islam. Now drawing millions of pilgrims annually, the Hajj is a powerful bond that brings Muslims together from across the world. Following on from the British...Porter, Venetia
Islam, Hajj, religion, archaeology, and history
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North Korean Culture and Society: Papers from the British Museum/BAKS Study Day 2001 and BAKS Study Day 2002
The publication follows on from the establishment of diplomatic relations with the the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and visits there by scholars from the British Museum and British Library. The papers from the two study days provide a unique insight into North Korean culture. North Korea remains little known...Portal, Jane ; McKillop, Beth
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Chronology of Temporary Exhibitions at the British Museum
This chronology lists the many hundreds of temporary exhibitions at the British Museum between 1838 and 2012. It includes the full range, from early displays of material in a few dedicated cases documented by a slim handlist of objects, to large-scale exhibitions accompanied by fully-illustrated catalogues.Bowring, Joanna
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Etruscan Bucchero in the British Museum
Bucchero is the most distinctive class of ceramic produced in Etruria, Italy, between the 7th and the 5th centuries BC. This publication aims to provide a complete up-to-date listing and description of the collection of bucchero in the British Museum; a collection that consists of over three hundred items including...Perkins, Philip
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Development and Evaluation of the HSBC Money Gallery at the British Museum
An evaluation of the development of the HSBC money gallery at the British Museum.Orna-Ornstein, John
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Hadrian: Art, Politics and Economy
This publication is based on papers presented at an academic conference that followed the British Museum’s exhibition Hadrian: Empire and Conflict. It offers new research by sixteen international experts on one of the most important Roman emperors. Their essays cover a wide range of aspects of Hadrian’s reign, which continues...Opper, Thorsten
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Catalogue of Stone Age Artefacts from Southern Africa in the British Museum
The archaeology of the Old Stone Age of Southern Africa is of major importance to our understanding of human adaptation and evolution over the last two million years. This volume considers the history of archaeological discovery in this region then goes on to provide a review and analyses of key...Mitchell, Peter
Africa, archaeology, and history
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The Ringlemere Cup: Precious Cups and the Beginning of the Channel Bronze Age
In 2003 the British Museum acquired the recently discovered Ringlemere gold cup, a rare example from the Early Bronze Age. This is the first proper catalogue of a small group of similar cups in exotic materials which are put into a broader period context. They have profound significance for understanding...Needham, Stuart ; Parfitt, Keith ; Varndell, Gillian
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A Researcher’s Guide to the Lachish Collection in the British Museum
This publication is the culmination of a ten-year project carried out by the author to organise, research and catalogue a collection of over 17,000 objects from the 1930s British excavations at Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir), which was acquired in 1980 by the Department of the Ancient Near East, British Museum. Lachish...Magrill, Pamela
Neolithic and archaeology
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Catalogue of Sikh Coins in the British Museum
This catalogue provides a general introduction to Sikh coins and provides access to the British Museum’s collection. The catalogue details every Sikh coin in the collection and includes a history of the collection with insights into the history of the Sikh empire and the practise of Sikhism. With information denominations,...Khera, Paramdip Kaur
religion, Numismatics, and history
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Perfect Bodies: Sports, Medicine and Immortality
This book publishes papers presented at an interdisciplinary conference convened by Dr Lo at the British Museum. Academics from diverse fields, including historians, anthropologists, sociologists and medics were asked to consider sports and body cultivation in East and West. By presenting histories of changing training regimen in different cultures, the...Lo, Vivienne
medicine, games, physical health, and Sports
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The Heritage of ‘Maître Alpais’: An International and Interdisciplinary Examination of Medieval Limoges Enamel and Associated Objects
As part of an assessment of the Medieval collections at the British Museum in preparation for the new Medieval Europe gallery, attention was focused on the differences and similarities between the renowned ‘Alpais’ Limoges ciborium, dated to c. 1200, in the Musée du Louvre, an example in the British Museum,...La Niece, Susan ; Röhrs, Stefan ; McLeod, Bet
enamel, Scientific research, medieval studies, conservation, and metallurgy
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Cleaning and Controversy: The Parthenon Sculptures 1811–1939
In 1937-8, in preparation for a new gallery given by Lord Duveen, an unauthorised cleaning of the Parthenon Sculptures in The British Museum was carried out. Initially the incident was hidden from the public, but it soon got into the press and a scandal ensued. Sixty years later, in response...Jenkins, Ian