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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
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
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 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 Parthian Manor on the Lower Zab
MacGinnis, John
Lower Zab, Parthia, and archaeology
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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... -
Book chapter
Amanitore and Natakamani at Dangeil: reconstruction the sacred landscape of the 1st century CE
The sacred building program and landscape at Dangeil Sudan, initiated by the Kushite Rulers Natakamani and Amanitore during the 1st century CE is reviewed and evaluated.Anderson, Julie ; Mohamed Ahmed, Salah ; Khidir el-Rasheed , Rihab ; Suliman Bashir, Mahmoud
Kushite, Sudan, and architecture
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Journal article
Authorship, image-making, and excess: William Hunter's Anatomia uteri humani gravidi tabulis illustrata (1774)
In 1774, the physician-anatomist William Hunter (1718–1783) published Anatomia uteri humani gravidi tabulis illustrata/The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus, Exhibited in Figures (1774). Issued as an elephant folio, the book is the culmination of twenty-four years of work and includes thirty-four plates with life-size hyper-naturalistic engravings by artists such...Hughes, Alicia
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Journal article
Report of the Portable Antiquities Scheme 2020
An annual report on finds reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme from the Post-Medieval period, featuring overall statistics and highlighted objects.Richardson, Ian ; Wyatt, Stuart
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Journal article
Early Islamic torpedo jars from Siraf: scientific analyses of the clay fabric and source of Indian Ocean transport containers
This paper concerns Sasanian to Early Islamic period transport containers, usually lined with bitumen, known as Torpedo jars. Widely distributed throughout the western Indian Ocean, with outliers as far west as Egypt and to the east in Indonesia, they are an important marker of maritime exchange. Their area of production...Tomber, Roberta ; Spataro, Michela ; Priestman, Seth
Torpedo jar; Siraf (Iran); scientific analyses; bitumen; Early Islamic
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Book chapter
Southward Ho! A journey from Ionia to Egypt
The presence of Ionians in areas to the south and south-east of the homeland as attested by inscriptions and pottery is reviewed. From the Dodecanese to the Nile Delta pottery from Ionia is found at many sites, mostly after ca. 640 BC, but evidence of Ionians themselves through inscribed texts...Johnston, Alan ; Villing, Alexandra
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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
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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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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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
A multi‑scalar investigation of the colouring materials used in textile wrappings of Egyptian votive animal mummies
Commonly exhibited in museum galleries, animal mummies have been the focus of interest of both visitors and researchers alike. The study of these animal remains not only provides new insights into embalming techniques, but also brings a unique perspective on religious, social and economic practices. Twenty animal mummies are discussed...Tamburini, Diego ; Dyer, Joanne ; Vandenbeusch, Marie ; Borla, Matilde ; Angelici, Debora …
animal mummies; archaeological textiles; organic dyes; tannins; ancient Egypt
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Journal article
A unique Late Cypriote Bronze Age jar from Demetrios Pierides’ excavations in Cyprus, formerly in the Joseph Altounian Collection, Mâcon, France, and the circulation of Cypriote antiquities in the 19th century AD
An account of a unique Late Cypriote Bronze Age jar from Demetrios Pierides’ excavations in Cyprus, formerly in the Joseph Altounian Collection, Mâcon, France, and a discussion of what it can reveal about the circulation of Cypriote antiquities in the 19th century.Kiely, Thomas ; Merrillees, Robert
19th century, archaeology, and Cyprus
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Journal article
Robert Lang and the archaeology of Cyprus
An overview of Sir Robert Hamilton Lang, Acting Vice Consul and Consul of Cyprus from 1871-2, who acquired many artefacts from excavations in Cyprus.Kiely, Thomas
19th century, archaeology, and Cyprus
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Book
Ancestors, Artefacts, Empire: Indigenous Australia in British and Irish Museums
Museums across Great Britain and Ireland hold Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (collectively referred to as ‘Indigenous’) cultural heritage of exceptional value which is largely unknown, rarely seen and poorly understood. Gifted, sold, exchanged and bartered by Indigenous people, and accepted, bought, collected and taken by travellers, colonists, explorers, missionaries,...Sculthorpe, Gaye ; Nugent, Maria ; Morphy, Howard
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Book
Hokusai: The Great Picture Book of Everything
The accompanying hardback title to the British Museum exhibition Hokusai: The Great Picture Book of Everything. This landmark publication documents a major new discovery of over 100 drawings by the foremost Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. Acquired by the British Museum in 2020, these previously unpublished drawings had been forgotten for...Clark, Tim
drawings, Japanese art, and Hokusai
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Book chapter
Cipro, fra Torino e Londra. I Cesnola e il British Museum/Cyprus, From Turin to London. The Cesnolas and the British Museum
An overview of the collections of Cypriot artefacts in the British Museum and the Musei Reali di Torino and connections with the Cesnola family.Kiely, Thomas
archaeology and Cyprus
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Book chapter
Mummified human remains from Ancient Egypt and Nubia: an overview and new insights from the British Museum collection
An overview of the mummified human remains from Ancient Egypt and Nubia in the British Museum collection as well as a summary of new insights.Vandenbeusch, Marie ; Antoine, Daniel
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Journal issue
Sudan & Nubia Volume 25
Volume 25 of Sudan & Nubia journal, edited by Julie Anderson with contribution from 49 authorsAnderson, Julie
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Journal article
Rediscovering Nestawedjat: Embalming residue analyses reunite the mummified remains of an ancient Egyptian woman with her coffins
Long held museum collections can sometimes lack a clear provenance or context. Here, an ancient Egyptian mummified individual in the British Museum collection was reconnected with a set of three coffins in an interdisciplinary study using bioarchaeological, scientific and Egyptological analyses. Previously assigned as male, based on earlier X-rays due...Vandenbeusch, Marie ; Stacey, Rebecca ; Antoine, Daniel
Ancient Egypt; mummification; embalming; FTIRGC–MS; 25th Dynasty; British Museum; CT scanning
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Journal article
Cultural mosaics, social structure, and identity: The Acheulean threshold in Europe
The period between 600 and 400 ka is a critical phase for human evolution in Europe. The south and northwest saw a dramatic increase in sites, the spread of handaxe technology alongside bone and wooden tool manufacture, efficient hunting techniques, and the use of fire. Lithic assemblages show considerable variation,...Ashton, Nick ; Davis, Rob
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Journal article
Coastal curios? An analysis of ex situ beach finds for mapping new Palaeolithic sites at Happisburgh, UK
Recent archaeological discoveries from exposures of the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Happisburgh, UK, have radically changed interpretations of the nature and timing of early hominin occupation of northern latitudes, but this in situ archaeology is only one part of the picture. Surface finds of Pleistocene mammalian remains have been found...Bynoe, Rachel ; Ashton, Nick ; Grimmer, Tim ; Hoare, Peter ; Leonard, Joanne …
Happisburgh; human footprints; Lower Paleolithic; Early Pleistocene; Britain; Europe
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Journal article
Molecular analysis of black coatings and anointing fluids from ancient Egyptian coffins, mummy cases, and funerary objects
Black organic coatings and ritual deposits on ancient Egyptian coffins and cartonnage cases are important and understudied sources of evidence about the rituals of funerary practice. Sometimes, the coatings were applied extensively over the surface of the coffin, resembling paint; in other cases, they were poured over the mummy case...Fulcher, Kate ; Serpico, Margaret ; Taylor, John H. ; Stacey, Rebecca
archaeology; ancient Egypt; coffins; mass spectrometry; chromatography
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Journal article
The Early Bronze Age at Kınık Höyük (Niğde): a preliminary analysis
A preliminary analysis of the Early Bronze Age at of Kınık Höyük-NiğdeHighcock, Nancy ; Matessi, Alvise
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Journal article
Layer by layer: the manufacture of Graeco-Roman funerary masks
Ptolemaic cartonnage masks were produced by layering textiles – or reused papyrus sheets – with plaster and glue. Despite the use of the same basic components, the process of manufacture could vary depending on shape, size, time and place. This article aims to clarify the production methods and the different...Vandenbeusch, Marie ; O'Flynn, Daniel ; Moreno, Benjamin
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Journal article
Pilgrim Badges of St Edmund of East Anglia
It was common for medieval pilgrims visiting holy sites to purchase souvenirs celebrating the cults of local saints and then touch these upon associated relics. Such items not only became signs of the places journeyed to, but also – it was believed – took on mystical properties that might cure...Lewis, Michael
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Journal article
The coin
The article is one of a series on the history of objects and covers the origins and adoption of the coin in ancient and modern societies.Ghey, Eleanor
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Journal article
Provenance reinterpretation of some early Egyptian copper alloy artefacts
This paper presents a new provenance evaluation of recently published Egyptian copper alloy artefacts dating to the Protodynastic and Old Kingdom periods. The excavation context of a Protodynastic chisel from Elkab is considered in detail to provide a nuanced interpretation of its dating. In turn, the broader implications of this...Archaeometallurgy; Copper alloy; Protodynastic Egypt; Old Kingdom Egypt; provenance; lead isotopes
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Journal article
Analytical Pyrolysis and Mass Spectrometry to characterise lignin in archaeological wood
This review describes the capability of analytical pyrolysis-based techniques to provide data on lignin composition and on the chemical alteration undergone by lignin in archaeological wooden objects. Applications of Direct Exposure Mass Spectrometry (DE-MS), Evolved Gas Analysis Mass Spectrometry (EGA-MS), and single and double-shot Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) in archaeological...archaeological wood; lignin; analytical pyrolysis; mass spectrometry
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Journal article
Multi-scale characterization of unusual green and blue pigments from the Pharaonic town of Amara West, Nubia
Pigments from paint palettes and a grindstone excavated from the pharaonic town of Amara West (c. 1300–1050 BCE), which lies between the Second and Third Cataracts of the Nile, were examined using polarized light microscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy with... -
Journal article
Spicing wine at the symposion: fact or fiction? Some critical thoughts on material aspects of commensality in the Early Iron Age and Archaic Mediterranean world
Interpretations of metal graters and pottery tripod bowls as Leitfossils of a trans-Mediterranean ‘orientalizing’ culture of spiced-wine consumption have of late become a staple of scholarship on sympotic banqueting, shaping our perception of ancient wine-drinking and its role in cross-cultural interaction in the first half of the first millennium BC....Villing, Alexandra
Archaic Greece, Symposion, and Foodways
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Journal article
The Hallaton Ingot: silver in Iron Age Britain
This article is a case study of the detailed contextual and scientific analysis of a single object, moving beyond a conventional object biography to consider flows of materials and shifts in meaning and value. The object is a simple triangular silver ingot from the Late Iron Age shrine site at...Farley, Julia
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Journal article
A revised terrace stratigraphy and chronology for the early Middle Pleistocene Bytham River in the Breckland of East Anglia, UK
The Bytham River was one of the major pre-Anglian (MIS 12) rivers of eastern England. Flowing from the Midlands to the East Anglian coast, it has been recognised at numerous sites by its distinctive lithological suite, containing significant quantities of quartzite, quartz and Carboniferous chert that originate from central England....Bytham River; early Middle Pleistocene; UKESR dating; Lower Palaeolithic
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Journal article
New radiocarbon dates and environmental analyses of finds from 1903 excavations in the eastern plot of the Tashtyk cemetery of Oglakhty
The early Tashtyk cemetery site of Oglakhty in Minusinsk basin is best known because of the exceptional state of preservation of some of the organic objects found there in excavations in 1903 and 1969. The chronological and spatial development of this extensive cemetery have not been clearly explored until now....Cartwright, Caroline ; Simpson, St John ; Makarov, Nikolay ; Pankova, Svetlana
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Journal article
Conserving, analysing and studying the ‘Hay cookbook’: Revelations from ancient ‘magical’ texts on leather
Seven early medieval leather documents were conserved and studied as part of a small British Museum Research project. Thought to be from the Theban Necropolis (Upper Egypt) and dating to c. 740-810AD, they are written in Coptic. The largest extant manuscript is known today as the ‘Hay Cookbook’, which, together...Wills, Barbara ; Zellmann-Rohrer, Michael ; Skinner, Lucy ; O'Connell, Elisabeth R. ; Stacey, Rebecca …
Manuscript, Leather, and Conservation
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Journal article
Establishing the production chronology of the iconic Japanese woodblock print ‘Red Fuji’
First printed in 1831, ‘Red Fuji’ by Hokusai is one the most iconic Japanese woodblock prints and thousands of impressions were printed from its original set of woodblocks, often in different colour schemes and using different printing effects for different editions. The aim of our research was to systematically study...Korenberg, Capucine ; Derrick, Michele ; Pereira-Pardo, Lucía ; Matsuba, Ryoko
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Journal article
Revealing relationships: colonial photograph albums of the Niger Delta at the British Museum: a case study
The focus of this paper is a collection of photographs currently housed in the British Museum. Two albums (British Museum reference numbers Af,A46 and Af,A47) are identified as belonging to Arthur Purt, thought to be a European trader in the Niger Delta in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries....Anderson, Helen
Nigeria, Photographs, and Colonial
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Journal article
Шкатулки бронзового века: экзотические импорты,подражания-скевоморфы и локальное производствоот Центральной Азии до Шумера
Discusses archaeological finds of inlaid boxes at Bronze Age sites in Iraq, shows how some originated in the Indus Valley and how other types of box were carved from stone or made from fired clay in Arabia, Iran and Central Asia, probably as imitations of ones in organic materials that...Simpson, St John
box, Ancient Near East, and Bronze Age