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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
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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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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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
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
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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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
Natural mummies from Predynastic Egypt reveal the world's earliest figural tattoos
The application of tattoos to the human body has enjoyed a long and diverse history in many ancient cultures. At present, the oldest surviving examples are the mainly geometric tattoos on the individual known as Ötzi, dating to the late 4th millennium BCE, whose skin was preserved by the ice... -
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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Book chapter
The Roman coin hoard
Specialist report in a report on sites excavated by Archaeology South-East and Surrey County Archaeological UnitClifford, Trista ; Ghey, Eleanor
archaeology, coins, and Roman
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Book chapter
A Parthian Manor on the Lower Zab
MacGinnis, John
Lower Zab, Parthia, and archaeology
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Book chapter
Iron Age brooches and bracelets from Burnby Lane and The Mile
Artefacts report and analysis of the brooches and bracelets from recent excavations in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire in light of new research and older finds.Adams, Sophia
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Book chapter
A toy coach from London
Shirt study of a small lead toy from London as an example of practices of ephemera. This object probably only survives as it was discarded, perhaps after being repurposed, perhaps by a small child.Lewis, Michael
toy, ephemera, and archaeology
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Book
Amber: From Antiquity to Eternity
Amber: From Antiquity to Eternity is a history of human engagement with amber across three millennia. The book vividly describes our conceptions, stories, and political and scholarly disputes about amber, as well as issues of national and personal identity, religion, art, literature, music and science. Rachel King rewrites amber’s history...King, Rachel
material heritage, history, and amber
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Book
Laying the Foundations: Manual of the British Museum Iraq Scheme Archaeological Training Programme
Laying the Foundations, which developed out of the British Museum’s ‘Iraq Scheme’ archaeological training programme, covers the core components for putting together and running an archaeological field programme. The focus is on practicality. Individual chapters address background research, the use of remote sensing, approaches to surface collection, excavation methodologies, survey...MacGinnis, John ; Rey, Sebastien
archaeology, Iraq, and training
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Book chapter
A man of both Aššur and Kaneš: the case of the merchant Ḫabdu-mālik
In a letter dating to the reign of Zimri-Lim, the merchant Ḫabdu-mālik writes to the Mariote “Chief of the Merchants” Iddin-Numushda in order to enter a business agreement that he proposes they solidify through the marriage of their children. This letter has previously been discussed in relation to trading partnerships...Highcock, Nancy
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Journal article
A text of Shalmaneser I from Üçtepe and the location of Šinamu
This article presents a newly discovered cuneiform text from the site of Üçtepe in Diyarbakır province in southeastern Turkey. The text bears a previously unknown inscription of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser I. While incomplete, it never-theless gives the most extensive lists of the conquests of Shalmaneser I yet known, including...Genç, Bülent ; MacGinnis, John
Shalmaneser I, Assyria, and archaeology
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Book chapter
Conservation and the care of human remains in museums
In this chapter, the breadth, value, and distinctiveness of human remains in collections are explored. To place the conservation discussion in context, the various preservation methods of human remains along with the history of such collections, the development of relevant protocols, and the analytical possibilities are all briefly described. Conservation...Wills, Barbara
conservation, human remains, and museums
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Book
Encounters With Medals, 40 Years of BAMS Conferences
A review of medal scholarship, artist talks, historic venues and practical workshops held as part of conferences of The British Art Medal Society over 40 years since its foundation in 1982.Attwood, Philip ; Leavitt Bourne, Marcy ; Larkin, Janet
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Book
The Metopes of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassai
This book brings together for the first time all of the fragments of sculpture which formed the metopes from the Temple of Apollo at Bassai. Recent research by the author and colleagues has yielded fresh discoveries in the British Museum, Athens and at the ancient site itself. Further sculptural fragments...Higgs, Peter John
Greek sculpture, Bassai, and metopes
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Book chapter
Some thoughts on the Assyrian ivories from the Temple of Nabu at Nimrod
Excavations in a throne room in the Temple of Nabû at Nimrud uncovered ivory plaques carved in an Assyrian-style. These appeared to be part of the temple furniture that had been deliberately burnt at the end of the Assyrian empire. The incised imagery includes processions of foreign tributaries interpreted as...Collins, Paul
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Book chapter
Kingship in time and space in the Northwest Palace, Nimrud
The wall reliefs of Neo-Assyrian palaces have been investigated for relationships between text and image, their historiographical significance and affective properties. The sculptured images and associated inscriptions projected the power and authority of Assyrian kingship through representations of the achievements of individual rulers and their connections with royal ancestors and...Collins, Paul
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Book chapter
Telling stories at the Ashmolean Museum: an Ancient Middle East gallery for the 21st century?
Permanent galleries in museums often receive less focus and investment than temporary exhibitions but in order to meet the needs of modern museum visitors their displays need to be equally responsive to changing demographics and the political landscape. An opportunity to refurbish the Ashmolean Museum’s Ancient Near East gallery (renamed...Collins, Paul
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Book
Grave Goods: Objects and Death in Later Prehistoric Britain
Britain is internationally renowned for the high quality and exquisite crafting of its later prehistoric grave goods (c. 4000 BC to AD 43). Many of prehistoric Britain's most impressive artefacts have come from graves. Interred with both inhumations and cremations, they provide some of the most durable and well-preserved insights...Cooper, Anwen ; Garrow, Duncan ; Gibson, Catriona ; Giles, Melanie ; Wilkin, Neil
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Book chapter
Dating hillforts part II: more detailed approaches to dating the Iron Age hillforts of Britain
Examination of the dating of hillforts in Britain through analysis of artefact evidence and radiocarbon dating. Focus is upon typo-chronologies of brooches, interrogation of the context of these finds and Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates.Hamilton, Derek ; Horn, Jonathan A. ; Adams, Sophia ; McCaskil, Kat ; McDonald, Sophie
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Book chapter
Changing exchange values in Solomon Islands
Burt, Ben
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Book chapter
The Assyrian fort at Usu Aska in Iraqi Kurdistan
MacGinnis, John
Usu Ask, archaeology, and Assyria
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Book chapter
Untangling megalithic typologies and chronologies in the Levant
The Levant comprises southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. These well-surveyed archaeological landscapes contain a miscellany of features that incorporate megalithic blocks in various ways. To 19th century explorers, these features recalled megalithic monuments in Europe, and they used European terms such as cromlech and...Fraser, James
Levant, Dolmens, and Bronze Age
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Book
Speak My Name: Investigating Egyptian Mummies
“Speak my name so that I may live again” was often written on the walls of Egyptian tombs, imploring visitors to speak the names of the dead and make offerings on their behalf. These acts of continued remembrance sustained the dead in the afterlife.Fraser, James ; Lord, Conni ; Magnussen, John
Egypt, Mummies, and Scientific analysis
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Book chapter
Diet and mobility: stable isotope analysis of the Iron Age population at Burnby Lane and The Mile
Examination and analysis of the stable isotope evidence for mobile and sedentary populations in the context of the Iron Age cemeteries at Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire.Hamilton, Derek ; Fox, Thomas G.B. ; Adams, Sophia ; Alexander, Michelle ; Sayle, Kerry L. …
Iron Age, stable isotopes, and mobility
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Book chapter
Chronological framework
Interrogation of the dating of the Iron Age cemeteries at Pocklingon, East Riding of Yorkshire through examination of artefact chronologies and Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates.Hamilton, Derek ; Adams, Sophia
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Book chapter
The Havering Hoard, Greater London, England: a multiple hoard in the context of the carp’s tongue complex
The Havering Hoard is a rare example of a Late Bronze Age hoard recovered during archaeological excavation of an occupation site in England. It consists of four discrete deposits of copper alloy objects and copper ingot pieces buried in a pit cut into a partially filled enclosure ditch. Most items...Adams, Sophia ; O'Connor, Brendan
Hoard, metalwork, and Bronze Age
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Journal article
Dangerous perfection’ and an old puzzle resolved: a ‘new’ Apulian krater inspired by Euripides
An Apulian calyx krater attributed to the Underworld Painter that entered the British Museum in 1867 as part of the collection of the Duc de Blacas (GR 1867,0508.1335, Vase F270) has long puzzled scholars on account of its enigmatic iconography, seemingly representing Orpheus and Cerberus in the Underworld. Yet cleaning... -
Journal article
A Soter (re)connection. Five fragments of shrouds from Roman Egypt at the British Museum
Five fragments of shrouds, held at the British Museum, were rediscovered in the storerooms of the museum in the late 1970s. The style of their decoration suggests that they were produced in the Theban necropolis during the first or second century AD and that they are probably to be associated... -
Journal article
Dental insights into the biological affinities of the inhabitants of Gabati over a period of cultural transition
Gabati is located below the 5th Cataract of the Nile 40km north of Meroe, the capital of the Nubian empire from circa 300 BC–350 AD (Edwards, 2004). The cemetery at Gabati contains graves dating to the late Meroitic (c. 200BC – 200 AD), post-Meroitic (c. 550 - 700 AD), and...Phillips, Emma L.W. ; Irish, Joel D. ;
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Journal article
The Frome Hoard: chemical and lead isotope analysis of three silver-alloy denarii of Carausius
This article presents and discusses the metallurgical analysis of three silver denarii of the Roman emperor Carausius (AD 286-93) found in the Frome Hoard (2010).Ponting, Matthew ; Minnitt, Stephen ;
numismatics, Roman, and Carausius
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Journal article
Roman coin hoards from Wiltshire
This paper considers a corpus of 127 Roman coin hoards from Wiltshire discovered between 1653 and 2019.Henry, Richard ;
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Journal article
Clues to the presence of an Assyrian administration in the Mahidasht Plain, Kermanshah, Iran
Large sculpted circular door sockets are a characteristic feature of Neo-Assyrian monumental architecture and have been found in palaces, temples, and admin- istrative centers both at core imperial sites such as Khorsabad and Nimrud and at provincial capitals such as Till-Barsib, Arslan-Tash, and Ziyaret Tepe. In the case of Iran,...Alibaigi, Sajjad ; MacGinnis, John
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Journal article
Roman coins from the Masson and Mackenzie collections in the British Museum
The British East India Company’s Museum in Leadenhall Street housed an eclectic range of objects that were predominantly collected by those associated with the Company. Charles Masson and Colin Mackenzie were two such individuals. Their collections were acquired by the EIC, and after the closure of the museum in 1878...Jansari, Sushma
British Museum, India, and coins
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Journal article
Hominins likely occupied northern Europe before one million years ago
Our understanding of when hominins first reached northern Europe is dependent on a fragmented archaeological and fossil record known from as early as marine isotope stage (MIS) 21 or 25 (c. 840 or 950 thousand years ago [Ka]). This contrasts sharply with southern Europe, where hominin occupation is evidenced from...Key, Alastair ; Ashton, Nick
early human dispersal , hominin demography, and Lower Palaeolithic
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Journal article
Flake tools in the European Lower Paleolithic: a case study from MIS 9 Britain
Studies of flake tools in the British Lower Paleolithic are rare owing to lower quantities of flake tools than handaxes and the perception that flake tool technology became more important in the succeeding Middle Paleolithic. In Britain, and Europe more broadly, MIS 9 (328–301 ka) has been characterized as a...Rawlinson, Aaron ; Dale, Luke ; Ashton, Nick ; Bridgland, David ; White, Mark
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Journal article
Rhodes and Kos: East Dorian pottery production of the Archaic period
To date, the pottery production of Rhodes, Kos and other ‘East Dorian’ islands and coastal areas remains little understood. This article presents and discusses new neutron activation analysis (NAA) of eighth–sixth-century vessels found on Rhodes and in related areas, placing them in the wider context of past and present archaeometric...Villing, Alexandra ; Mommsen, Hans
NAA, Rhodes, and East Greek pottery
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Book chapter
Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg? Some thoughts on bird sacrifices in Ancient Greece
Sokrates’ famous last words, ‘Krito, I owe a cock to Asklepios; will you remember to pay the debt?’, as reported in Plato’s Phaidon (117e–18a), have long occupied scholars trying to understand the reason for the ‘debt’, but the choice of sacrificial animal has equally surprised. Cattle, sheep, goats and pigs...Villing, Alexandra
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Journal article
Acheulean variability in Western Europe: the case of Menez-Dregan I (Plouhinec, Finistère, France)
The establishment of the Acheulean in Europe occurred after MIS 17, but it was after the harsh glaciation of MIS 12 and during the long interglacial of MIS 11 that human occupation of Western Europe became more sustained, with an increased number of sites. Menez-Dregan I (Brittany, France) is one...Ravon, Anne-Lyse ; García-Medrano, Paula ; Moncel, Marie-Hélène ; Ashton, Nick
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Book chapter
Mediterranean encounters: Greeks, Carians and Egyptians in the first millennium BC
The first millennium BC was a crucial period in the history of contact between Egypt and Greece. Three case studies examine the processes and people behind and the impact of this contact. They will take us from sixth century BC cosmopolitan Memphis, with its international population including Greeks and Carians,...Villing, Alexandra
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Journal article
Salvage excavations in the Berber-Abidiya Region, 1999: a post-Meroitic single descendary, two-entrance tomb in el-Fereikha
Rescue excavations undertaken in el-Fereikha Sudan revealed a post-Meroitic tomb (4th-5th c AD) with a large oval burial chamber with two entrances reached by a single descendary. Few tombs of this type have been documented and their use seems restricted to the region between Meroe and Berber-Abidiya. Little organic material...Anderson, Julie ; Bashir, Mahmoud Suliman ; Ahmed, Salah Mohammed