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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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Journal article
Desert dust and city smoke: investigating the impact of urbanisation and aridification on the prevalence of pulmonary/pleural inflammation in the Middle Nile Valley (2500 BC to AD 1500)
This study investigates the impact of urbanization and aridification on prevalence rates of lower respiratory tract disease in archaeological populations from the Middle Nile Valley. Evidence for pulmonary/pleural inflammation, in the form of inflammatory periosteal reaction (IPR) on the visceral surfaces of the ribs, was recorded in humanskeletal remains (452...Davies-Barrett, Anna ; Antoine, Daniel ; Roberts, Charlotte
environmental change, air quality , infectious disease, Sudan, pleurisy, and lower respiratory tract disease
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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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Journal article
Designs for coins and medals by William Wyon (1795–1851) and his circle
In 2020 the British Museum acquired two folios of drawings consisting of designs for coins, medals, seals and decorations as well as portrait and life studies. Numbering more than 150 separate drawings, they feature works attributed to leading British sculptural artists and designers of the first half of the 19th...Hockenhull, Tom
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Book chapter
Lives that bind: three stories from the World of Stonehenge
Through the stories of three recent archaeological discoveries, and the lives they reflect, this book chapter traces connections between different parts of Britain, Ireland and Continental Europe, c.3000 – 1000 BC.Wilkin, Neil
Stonehenge, exhibition, and prehistory
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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
Bretford, Warwickshire: new insights into a medieval new town
This article investigates the town of Bretford, Warwickshire, identified as a new medieval town, through new documentary and archaeological evidence, notably from the Bretford Deed Collection, and finds recorded through the Portable Antiquities Scheme, including a unique gold brooch.Dyer, Christopher ; Lewis, Michael
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Journal article
Courtly experiments: early portrait etchings by Lucas van Leyden and Jan Gossart
For a brief moment in the early sixteenth-century Low Countries, etching became a significant technique for elite commissions. I examine the two earliest etchings made in the Low Countries as a case study: the portrait of Maximilian I by Lucas van Leyden and the portrait of Charles V by Jan...Horbatsch, Olenka
Lucas van Leyden , etching, and Jan Gossart
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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
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
From Jemdet Nasr origins to an early Muslim town in the wetlands: second preliminary report on excavations at Kobeba (Dhi Qar governorate), southern Iraq
In 2022, targeted excavations were carried out as part of a study season at the site of Kobeba, near the town of al-Rifa’i, in Dhi Qar governorate, southern Iraq. The results were very successful and clarified a number of outstanding questions over the dating and phasing. One sounding has confirmed...Simpson, St John
Kobeba and Jemdet Nasr
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Book
The Assyrian Rock Relief at Yaǧmur (Evrihan) in the Tur Abdin
The Assyrian Rock Relief at Yaǧmur in the Tur Abdin publishes a newly discovered rock relief in the Mazıdağı Plain, at the western end of the Tur Abdin in southeastern Turkey. The preserved remains include an image of an Assyrian king, divine symbols and traces of three panels of cuneiform...Bülent, Genç ; John, MacGinnis
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Journal article
Did our ancestors nearly die out?
Genetic analyses suggest an ancient human population crash 900,000 years ago Earth’s climate system began to change during the Middle Pleistocene transition, which is associated with a severe cooling phase about 900,000 years ago. How this change might have affected human populations is difficult to determine, because the human fossil...Ashton, Nick ; Stringer, Chris
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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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Book
Amara West: The Pottery from Cemeteries C and D
The two cemeteries of Amara West in Sudan, a town founded in around 1300 BC as a new centre for the colonial pharaonic administration of Kush (Upper Nubia), were excavated by the British Museum’s Amara West Research Project between 2009 and 2016. This book focused on the ceramic vessels placed...Gasperini, Valentina
Sudan, Amara West, and ceramics
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Book
Gematon: Living and Dying in a Kushite Town on the Nile, Volume I: Excavations at Kawa, 1997-2018
The first of a set of three volumes publishing the excavations at the site of Kawa, Northern Dongola Reach, between 1997 and 2018 by the Sudan Archaeological Research Society. Volume I contains a detailed study of the excavations carried out in Areas A, B, C, and F, as well as...Welsby, Derek A.
archaeology, Sudan, and Kawa
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Journal article
Giants of the sands: the giraffe and its place in symbolic vocabulary in the Kingdom of Kush, Sudan
The image of a giraffe was added to both wheelmade and handmade pottery, faience plaques, temple walls and rock art in the Meroitic period of the Kingdom of Kush ( 570 – 550), located in modern-day Sudan. However, giraffes do not appear in contemporary royal and elite art and architecture....Kilroe, Loretta
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Book chapter
Interpersonal violence in the Late Pleistocene: a comprehensive reanalysis of the Nile Valley cemetery of Jebel Sahaba
The Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene period are punctuated by major climatic changes whose effects on human populations remain poorly understood. In the Nile Valley, possible refuge areas during the periods of high climatic constraints, hyper-arid environmental conditions are documented until the onset of the Holocene. Dated to the terminal...Crevecoeur, Isabelle ; Dias-Meirinho, Marie-Hélène ; Zazzo, Antoine ; Antoine, Daniel ; Bon, Francis
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Book chapter
Tupaia and the Heva Tupapa'u: voyages past, present and future
Centring priest and navigator Tupaia and Pacific worldviews, this richly illustrated volume weaves a new set of cultural histories in the Pacific, between local islanders and the crew of the Endeavour on James Cook's first 'voyage of discovery' (1768-1771). Contributors consider material collections brought back from the voyage, paying particular...Reynolds, Pauline ; Adams, Julie
Pacific, anthropology, and encounters
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Book chapter
Gold of Peter the Great: Scythian goldsmithing techniques
The Siberian Collection of Peter the Great is the earliest archaeological collection of any kind in Russia and contains around 240 gold artefacts from the ancient Scythian and Sarmatian nomadic cultures of Eurasia. This unique collection of pairs of symmetrical buckles, torcs, bracelets and other items of personal adornment provides...Mongiatti, Aude ; Korolkova, Elena
digital microscopy, metalworking technologies, and Peter the Great
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Book
Masters of the Steppe: the Impact of the Scythians and Later Nomad Societies of Eurasia
Masters of the Steppe: the impact of the Scythians and later nomad societies of Eurasia consists of 45 papers presented at a major international conference held at the British Museum in 2017 on the occasion of the BP exhibition Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia, both conference and exhibition being jointly...Pankova, Svetlana V. ; Simpson, St John
archaeology, steppe, and Scythians
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Journal article
Rediscovering famous assemblages: A rare Bronze Age crucible from El Argar, Spain
A rare open shallow crucible from the British Museum collection, excavated at the Bronze Age site of El Argar in south‐east Spain by Louis and Henri Siret, was studied using X‐radiography and scanning electron microscopy. The crucible has relatively thick walls, a spout and a non‐refractory fabric. It was used...Mongiatti, A. ; Montero‐Ruiz, I.
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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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Journal article
Analysis and conservation of a Bronze Age linen textile from Suffolk, UK
A rare Bronze Age linen textile was found inside a socketed axe, part of a bronze age hoard dating to circa 800 BCE, discovered in Somerleyton, Suffolk, in the 1920s. The recent loan of the objects from the hoard provided the opportunity for a collaborative study of the fragmentary textile...Harrison, Anna ; Cartwright, Caroline ; Harris, Susanna ; Shearman, Fleur ; Wilkin, Neil
Bronze Age, conservation, and textiles
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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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Book chapter
Dynamism and scale in Western Asian Bronze Age trade networks
Cultural contacts and exchange are constituents of human behavior – ancient and modern. Within archaeology, particularly in that of Western Asia, the topic and related phenomena have been intensively studied during the last decades, leading to a re-evaluation of the cultural and economic, as well as physical landscapes throughout the...D’Alfonso , Lorenzo ; Highcock, Nancy A.
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Book chapter
The Western Nile Delta Project: Reappraising the American Survey in 1977–1983
An extensive survey conducted by W.D.E. Coulson and A. Leonard Jr. between 1977 and 1983 explored more than 30 ancient sites in an area of about 800 km2 in the western Nile Delta. The project focused on the direct hinterland of Naukratis, investigating a previously (largely) unstudied area using modern...Masson-Berghoff, Aurelia ; Thomas, Ross
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Journal article
Preliminary investigation of the chaîne opératoire of Meroitic potsherds from the cemetery of Faras, northern Nubia (Sudan)
Handmade, black-burnished pottery had a significant presence in Meroitic contexts across Sudan, from Jebel Moya in central Sudan to Seyala in Lower Nubia, suggesting the production and exchange of handmade vessels was a key industry in the Meroitic kingdom. The macroscopic identification of examples with no discernible organic temper, in...Kilroe, Loretta ; Spataro, Michela
Meroitic ceramics, polarised light microscopy, and chaîne opératoire
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Journal article
Analysis and conservation of a Bronze Age linen textile from Suffolk, UK
A rare Bronze Age linen textile was found inside a socketed axe, part of a bronze age hoard dating to circa 800 BCE, discovered in Somerleyton, Suffolk, in the 1920s. The recent loan of the objects from the hoard provided the opportunity for a collaborative study of the fragmentary textile...Harrison ; Cartwright, Caroline ; Harris, Susanna ; Shearman, Fleur ; Wilkin, Neil
Bronze age, metalwork, linen, and textile
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Book chapter
Sampling inorganic materials for chemical (elemental and isotopic) analysis
This Handbook aims to help bridge this gap in the daily practice of archaeological fieldwork and lab-based researchDegryse, Patrick ; Rademakers, Frederik
inorganic materials, isotope analysis, and archaeological science
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Journal article
‘A lost chapter of ancient art’: archaeometric examinations of panel paintings from Roman Egypt
Ancient panel paintings on wood are, with the exception of the mesmerising mummy portraits, extremely rare. However, a small corpus of other types of Romano-Egyptian panel paintings is preserved in collections worldwide. The aim of this study is to explore the technical histories of these rare and intriguing artefacts. We...Brøns, Cecilie ; Stenger, Jens ; Newman, Richard ; Cartwright, Caroline ; Di Gianvincenzo, Fabiana …
radiocarbon dating, panel paintings, multi-spectral imaging, wood identification, and Roman Egypt
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Book chapter
Japanese bindings
Conservation of Books is the highly anticipated reference work on global book structures and their conservation, offering the first modern, comprehensive overview on this subject. This chapter looks at the subject of Japanese bindings.Kusunoki, Kyoko ; Matsumaru, Mito
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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
Understanding the transport networks complex between South Asia, Southeast Asia and China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age
The emergence and intensification of transcontinental exchange during both the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age profoundly influenced the social history of Eurasia. While scholars have intensively discussed east-west long-distance communication along the proto-Silk Road, the north-south transport networks that connected China to South and Southeast Asia during the Late Neolithic...Ma, Minmin ; Lu, Yongxiu ; Dong, Guanghui ; Ren, Lele ; Min, Rui …
Late Neolithic, Southeast Asia, transport networks, Bronze Age, South Asia, and China
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Journal article
From diversity to monopoly: major economic policy change in the Western Han Dynasty revealed by lead isotopic analysis
The relationship between the flow of metal and the state political and economic structures of the Qin and Han empires has thus far received inadequate scientific investigation. In this study, lead isotopic analysis was conducted on 54 bronzes unearthed from multiple sites of Eastern China dated to WHD (Western Han...Yang, Dongyi ; Wu, Xiaotong ; Liu, Ruiliang ; Wang, Qing ; Shi, Benheng …
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Book chapter
The use of kernel density estimates on chemical and isotopic data in archaeology
Kernel Density Estimates (KDEs) have found wide application in archaeological spatial analysis, where they have been integrated into geographical information systems with various user-friendly packages to explore the spatial distribution of archaeological finds. The creation of a KDE provides a non-parametric way of converting continuous data such as histograms or...Pollard, A.M. ; Ma, Qian ; Bidegaray, A.‐I. ; Liu, Ruiliang
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Journal article
Human migration in the eastern Tianshan Mountains between the 7th and 12th centuries
Mid- to late-Holocene large-scale population migration profoundly impacted the interaction of ethnic groups and cultures across Eurasia, notably in Central Asia. However, due to a lack of thorough historical documents, distinctive burial items, and human remains, the process of population migration during this historical era in the area is still...He, Letian ; Cao, Huihui ; Wang, Yongqiang ; Liu, Ruiliang ; Qiu, Menghan …
geopolitical pattern, isotopic analysis, cultural interaction, and ancient silk road
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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
Diversification of faunal exploitation strategy and human-climate interaction in Southern China and Southeast Asia during the last deglaciation
Southern China and Southeast Asia were favourable habitats for foragers during the Last Glacial Maximum (∼25–18 ka BP) and the Last Deglaciation (∼18–11.7 ka BP), despite various climate fluctuation. However, the underlying subsistence strategies in these areas remains unclear, due to the lack of systematic chronological and archaeological data. The...Lu, Yongxiu ; Gao, Feng ; Wang, Yiren ; Ma, Minmin ; Zhou, Aifeng …
foragers, Southeast Asia, Southern China, and Late Paleolithic
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Journal article
A 'Scheme of My Protection': Rosalind Birnie Philip and the history of the James McNeill and Beatrix Whistler Collection at the University of Glasgow
The Whistler Collection, held at the University of Glasgow, is one of the most important collections related to the nineteenth-century American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) in the world. It was established in the mid-1930s by the artist's sister in-law Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) who donated the Whistler Estate to...Hughes, Alicia
James McNeill Whistler, University of Glasgow, history of collecting, and museum of studies
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Book
Look at the Coins! Papers in Honour of Joe Cribb on his 75th birthday
The twenty-four contributions in Look at the Coins! reflect the vast scope of Joe Cribb’s interests, including Asian numismatics, museology, poetry and art. The papers are arranged geographically, then chronologically or thematically. The first seven papers look at coins, charms and silver currencies in or from China: Chinese coin-shaped charms,...Wang, Helen ; Bracey, Robert
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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
Rebel Emperors of Britannia – Carausius and Allectus
One of the most exciting periods of Britain’s history under the Romans remains largely unknown today. Yet, at the end of third century AD, two men successively ruled the island, together with parts of the Continental coast, as emperors of Britannia for a period of ten years. They minted their...Barker, Graham ; Moorhead, Sam
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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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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
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
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... -
Book chapter
New Kingdom strings in the collection of the British Museum
This book aims to provide a new level of synthesis in the study of gold jewellery made in Egypt between 3500 bc and 1000 bc, integrating the distinct approaches of archaeology, materials science and Egyptology. Following accessible introductions to the art and use of gold in Ancient Egypt, and to...Meeks, Nigel ; La Niece, Susan ; Guerra, Maria
Ancient Egypt, science, gold, archaeology, and jewellery
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Book chapter
Necklace British Museum EA3077 said to be from Thebes
This book aims to provide a new level of synthesis in the study of gold jewellery made in Egypt between 3500 bc and 1000 bc, integrating the distinct approaches of archaeology, materials science and Egyptology. Following accessible introductions to the art and use of gold in Ancient Egypt, and to...Meeks, Nigel ; La Niece, Susan ; Quirke, Stephen ; Guerra, Maria
Ancient Egypt, science, gold, archaeology, and jewellery
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Journal article
Industry and art on osseous materials from Courbet cave (Penne, Tarn, France) in the British Museum collections : evidence of Magdalenian connections
The Magdalenian site of Courbet cave in the Aveyron valley is renowned for a significant contribution to the nineteenth century debate about human antiquity and an outstanding set of engraved and sculpted artworks. The typological content of the assemblage nevertheless remained poorly known, making it difficult to assess the place...Lucas, Claire ; Cook, Jill ; Pétillon, Jean-Marc ; Mcgrath,, Krista ; van der Sluis, Laura …
osseous industry, circulation network, Aveyron valley, whale bone, and portable art
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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
A linchpin cap from Portstewart, Co. Antrim, and a harness ring from Kilrea, Co. Londonderry
Article about a linchpin cap from Portstewart, Co. Antrim, and a harness ring from Kilrea, Co. LondonderryMaguire, Rena ; Scott, Brian G. ; Perucchetti, Laura
Ireland and archaeology
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Book chapter
Second Intermediate Period jewellery in the collection of the British Museum
This book aims to provide a new level of synthesis in the study of gold jewellery made in Egypt between 3500 bc and 1000 bc, integrating the distinct approaches of archaeology, materials science and Egyptology. Following accessible introductions to the art and use of gold in Ancient Egypt, and to...La Niece, Susan ; Miniaci, G. ; Hacke, Marei ; Guerra, Maria
gold, jewellery, Ancient Egypt, and archaeology
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Book chapter
Predynastic and Early Dynastic goldwork from Abydos
This book aims to provide a new level of synthesis in the study of gold jewellery made in Egypt between 3500 bc and 1000 bc, integrating the distinct approaches of archaeology, materials science and Egyptology. Following accessible introductions to the art and use of gold in Ancient Egypt, and to...Guerra, Maria ; Meeks, Nigel ; Quirke, Stephen
Ancient Egypt, gold, Abydos, and archaeology
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Book chapter
Granulation in Egypt and the cylindrical amulet from Haraga
This book aims to provide a new level of synthesis in the study of gold jewellery made in Egypt between 3500 bc and 1000 bc, integrating the distinct approaches of archaeology, materials science and Egyptology. Following accessible introductions to the art and use of gold in Ancient Egypt, and to...Guerra, Maria ; Meeks, Nigel
Ancient Egypt, gold, amulet, and archaeology
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Book chapter
Finger rings
This book aims to provide a new level of synthesis in the study of gold jewellery made in Egypt between 3500 bc and 1000 bc, integrating the distinct approaches of archaeology, materials science and Egyptology. Following accessible introductions to the art and use of gold in Ancient Egypt, and to...Guerra, Maria ; La Niece, Susan ; Meeks, Nigel ; Quirke, Stephen ; Troalen, L.
Ancient Egypt, gold, rings, and archaeology
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Book
Luxury and power: Persia to Greece
The accompanying book to the British Museum exhibition Luxury and power: Persia to Greece. Luxurious objects are celebrated for their exoticism, rarity and style, but also disparaged as indulgent, extravagant and corrupt. The ancient origins of these attitudes emerged at the boundary between the imperial Persian and democratic Athenian Greek...Fraser, James
power, Luxury, Persia, and Ancient Greece
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Book
Burma to Myanmar
The accompanying catalogue to the British Museum exhibition Burma to Myanmar. This beautiful book explores the histories and cultures of Myanmar – also known as Burma – promoting readers to consider pre-existing notions of this complex country. Known internationally for its long-running civil wars and pervasive poverty, it is a...Green, Alexandra
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Book
China's Hidden Century: 1796–1912
Cultural creativity in China between 1796 and 1912 demonstrated extraordinary resilience in a time of warfare, land shortages, famines and uprisings. Innovation can be seen in material culture (including print, painting, calligraphy, textiles, fashion, jewellery, ceramics, lacquer, glass, arms and armour, rugs, silver, money, and photography) during a century in...Harrison-Hall, Jessica ; Lovell, Julia
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Book
Creators of Modern China: 100 Lives from Empire to Republic 1796-1912
Creators of Modern China: 100 Lives from Empire to Republic (1796–1912) is the first book to be published on the most influential – yet often little-known – women and men of 19th-century China, a knowledge of whose lives, ambitions and achievements helps us understand modern-day China, its domestic challenges, political...Harrison-Hall, Jessica ; Lovell, Julia
China and 19th-century
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Book
Southeast Asia: A History in Objects
Southeast Asia: A History in Objects is a highly illustrated survey tracing the story of Southeast Asia from the Neolithic Age to the present day, following a treasure-trail of beautiful artefacts and works of art. Object by object, this richly illustrated volume, created in partnership with the British Museum, explores...Green, Alexandra
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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
Manufacturing variations in ISO Blue Wool fading standards under microfading exposure conditions
As is the case for other accelerated light-ageing methods, microfade test results are usually rated against the responses of the International Standards Organisation’s Blue Wool Fading Standards, the production of which is regulated by the International Standards Organisation. The suitability and convenience of the ISO Blue Wools for this purpose...Ford, Bruce ; Korenberg, Capucine
ISO Blue Wool Standards, Microfade testing, MFT, accelerated fade testing, and blue wool standard manufacturing
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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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Book
‘To Aleppo gone …’: Essays in honour of Jonathan N. Tubb
To Aleppo Gone ... is a festschrift offered in honour of Jonathan Tubb, former Levant curator and Keeper of the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum. It includes 44 contributions invited from Jonathan’s friends and colleagues from across the world, with each short essay exploring a single...Finkel, Irving ; Fraser, James ; Simpson, St John
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Journal article
Diversified pottery use across 5th and 4th millennium cal BC Neolithic coastal communities along the Strait of Gibraltar
The region around the Strait of Gibraltar offered Neolithic societies a bridge connecting Iberia and North Africa. Using the sea for access to additional resources, Neolithic groups in the area developed close links with this territory as evidenced by its burial rites and storage practices. Nonetheless, the role pottery and...Breu-Barcons, Adrià ; Vijande-Vila, Eduardo ; Cantillo-Duarte, Jesús ; Comes, Pau ; Heron, Carl …
Strait of Gibraltar, pottery use, Neolithic, and organic residue analysis
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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
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
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
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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Book chapter
A united Europe of (religious) inscriptions (on medieval dress accessories)?
This chapter will discuss inscriptions on medieval dress accessories, focusing on those which are religious in nature. These tend to be abbreviated to just a few letters or words, rather than full sentences or longer. As such, they must have been well-known verses derived from biblical texts and similar. This...Lewis, Michael
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Book
A United Europe of Things: Portable Material Culture across Medieval Europe
This volume studies high and late medieval material culture in a Pan-European context. The idea of ‘unity of culture’ in Medieval Latin Europe is well known in historical texts, especially when it concerns the so-called ‘Europe North of the Alps’. This book investigates the similarities and differences in material culture...Sawicki, Jakub ; Lewis, Michael ; Vargha, Mária
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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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Book
Histories of Exhibition Design in the Museum: Makers, Process, and Practice
Histories of Exhibition Design in the Museum: Makers, Process, and Practice offers a new model for understanding exhibition design in museums as a human and material process. It presents diverse case studies from around the world, from the nineteenth century to the recent past. It moves beyond the power of...Guy, Kate ; Williams, Hajra ; Wintle, Claire
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Journal article
On the reliability of historic books as sources of reference samples of early synthetic dyes – The case of “The Coal Tar Colours of the Farbwerke vorm. Meister, Lucius & Brüning, Höchst on the Main, Germany – A General Part” (1896)
The swatches present in the popular book “The Coal Tar Colours of the Farbwerke vorm. Meister Lucius & Brüning, Höchst on the Main, Germany – A General Part”, published in 1896, were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detector and high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS/MS) with...Tamburini, Diego
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Journal article
New insights into the dyes of Central Asian ikat textiles
Central Asian ikat textiles are characterised by their bold and large abstract patterns, made up of vibrant colours with a characteristic “blurred edge” effect, which makes them some of the most recognisable fabrics worldwide. Eleven ikats from the collection of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC,...Tamburini, Diego ; Klink-Hoppe, Zeina ; McCarthy, Blythe
Central Asia, Dye analysis, Ikat textiles, Synthetic dyes, Mass spectrometry, Liquid chromatography, and 19th century
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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
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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Journal article
Shattered glass of Beirut: collaboration between the Archaeological Museum (American University of Beirut) and international partners following the 2020 port explosion
The Archaeological Museum at the American University of Beirut (AUB) lies approximately 3 km west of the main port of Beirut, the site of the massive explosion that sent a catastrophic shockwave through the city on 4 August 2020. A display case containing Classical and early Islamic period glass vessels was...Panayot, Nadine ; Rizk, Aimée Bou ; Çamurcuoglu, Duygu ; Cuyaubère, Claire ; Dyer, Joanne …
Beirut port explosion, heritage management, and glass conservation
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Journal article
The Carolingian cup from the Vale of York Viking hoard: origin of its form and decorative features
In 2007, near Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, a Viking-period hoard was discovered with a Carolingian silver-gilt cup. This article examines this cup, highlighting Oriental, Central Asian and classical parallels in both metal and pottery for the cup’s form and decoration. The overall significance of the cup’s iconography has already been...Ager, Barry
Sasanian, Byzantine, and silverware
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Book chapter
Appendix: numismatic and sigillary evidence
Bracey, Robert
Huns, sigillography, and numismatics
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Book
The Music of Ink at the British Museum
How are contemporary artists, east and west, conveying and transforming the soul, philosophy and aesthetics of the classical traditions as they create their own work today? How are those traditions being consciously renewed and how do they remain active and alive in the modern world? Which traces of the old...Wang, Helen
music, calligraphy, and ink
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Journal article
The date of Kanishka since 1960
The 1960 London Conference on the Date of Kanishka involved many leading scholars of Central and South Asian studies and had a profound impact on the field. This article examines the historiography of the central problem posed at the conference: In what year did the era of Kanishka commence? It...Bracey, Robert
Kushan, numismatics, Kanishka, and epigraphy