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Book chapter
Greece and Egypt: reconsidering early contact and exchange
Scholarship has long recognized the vital significance of cross-cultural interaction to the development of the Mediterranean world of the early first millennium BC. Relations between Greece and Egypt, however, are often little considered in this context. Recent archaeological discoveries and the critical restudy of earlier fieldwork enable a fresh perspective...Villing, Alexandra
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Book
Charles Masson and the Buddhist Sites of Afghanistan: Explorations, Excavations, Collections 1832−1835
From 1833–8, Charles Masson (1800–1853) was employed by the British East India Company to explore the ancient sites in south-east Afghanistan. During this period, he surveyed over a hundred sites around Kabul, Jalalabad and Wardak, making numerous drawings of the sites, together with maps, compass readings, sections of the stupas...Errington, Elizabeth
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Book
Excavations at the British Museum: An Archaeological and Social History of Bloomsbury
In 1999 and 2007 respectively, the central courtyard and the northwest corner of the British Museum estate were redeveloped in order to create two iconic additions to the institution: the Great Court and the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre. The execution of these projects provided the opportunity to investigate the...Haslam, Rebecca ; Ridgeway, Victoria
London, British Museum, and archaeology
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Book
The Charles Masson Archive: British Library, British Museum and Other Documents Relating to the 1832–1838 Masson Collection from Afghanistan
Since its inception in 1993, the Masson Project has worked towards reconstructing the archaeological history of south-eastern Afghanistan through an early 19th-century collection of its antiquities now in the British Museum, in conjunction with comprehensive related manuscript records in the British Library. This is the collection and archive created by...Errington, Elizabeth
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Book
A Celtic Feast: The Iron Age Cauldrons from Chiseldon, Wiltshire
This volume presents for the first time the results of the excavation and scientific analysis between 2005 and 2013 of seventeen Iron Age cauldrons discovered in a large pit on farmland in the parish of Chiseldon, Wiltshire, and consequently acquired by the British Museum. The assemblage is unprecedented in many...Joy, Jody ; Baldwin, Alexandra
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Book
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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Book
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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Journal article
Refinements introduced in the Oddy Test methodology
The ‘Oddy test’ is an accelerated corrosion test introduced in the 1970s at the British Museum to identify materials likely to emit volatile substances that could harm museum artefacts. It is carried out in many museums all around the world, but not always using the same methodology, which makes it...Korenberg, Capucine ; Keable, Melanie ; Phippard, Julie ; Doyle, Adrian
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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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Book chapter
Rising above the propaganda: German medallic art in Britain (1914–1919)
During the First World War museums in Britain faced numerous challenges to their collecting and display strategies. Many museums were temporarily closed owing to a cut in government grant aid, which proved severely restrictive to available display space and caused considerable controversy, both in Britain and in Europe. In Vienna,...Hockenhull, Tom
medals and World War I
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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
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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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
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Journal article
'Museological Approaches to the Management of Digital Research and Engagement: The African Rock Art Image Project
The African Rock Art Image Project at the British Museum has documented and disseminated c. 24,000 digital images of rock art from throughout the continent, donated by the Trust for African Rock Art (TARA). The images were registered into the British Museum’s permanent collection and treated as objects in their...Anderson, Helen ; Galvin, Lisa ; de Torres, Jorge
rock art, Africa, archaeology, and Museum studies
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Journal article
Ancient encaustic: An experimental exploration of technology, ageing behaviour and approaches to analytical investigation
The composition of the ancient wax-based painting technique known as encaustic has long been the subject of debate. Ancient sources provide few details of the technology, and modern understanding of the medium is restricted to theoretical interpretation and experimental observation. In this multi-analytical collaborative study, a number of analytical approaches...Stacey, Rebecca J. ; Dyer, Joanne ; Mussell, C. ; Lluveras-Tenorio, A. ; Colombini, M.P. …
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Journal article
' A Shield Loaded with History: Encounters, Objects and Exhibitions
This article discusses an Aboriginal shield in the British Museum which is widely believed to have been used in the first encounter between Lieutenant James Cook's expedition and the Gweagal people at Botany Bay in late April 1770. It traces the ways in which the shield became ‘Cook-related’, and increasingly...Nugent, Maria ; Sculthorpe, Gaye
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Journal article
A corroboree for the Countess of Kintore: Enlivening histories through objects
This paper discusses a corroboree performed in Darwin in 1893 to illustrate the potential of British ethnographic collections for researching overlooked historical events. The performance was brought to light after a collection of Aboriginal artefacts used in it was noted and examined by the author in the collections of Marischal...Sculthorpe, Gaye
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Journal article
The Qatar-Sudan Archaeological Project – Drones and Doors. Dangeil 2017−18
Recent excavations and conservation initiatives at Dangeil focused on several areas within the sacred enclosure of the late Kushite, 1st century AD Amun temple including the southern half of the temple’s monumental pylon entrance, the south-east side of the peristyle hall, and the northern half of the first hall. Work...Anderson, Julie ; elRasheed, Rihab Khidir ; Bashir , Mahmoud Suliman
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Book
Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives
Catalogue accompanying the exhibition Exploring the ancient lives at the Queensland Museum, Australia, held from 16 March 2018 to 26 August 2018. Featuring more than 200 artefacts from the world famous Egyptian collections of the British Museum, the exhibition and book provided an insight into the life and death of...Antoine, Daniel ; Vandenbeusch, Marie
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Book chapter
A visitor-focused approach to interpretation and learning
An illustrated overview of the British Museum's interpretation and learning programme centred around the Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World that opened at the British Museum in 2018. The chapter discusses new way of interpreting objects in the Museum's collection based on years of visitor research as well as...Frost, Stuart
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Book chapter
Recent discoveries at Dangeil, Nile State: exploring the Amun temple complex
A summary of the recent discoveries at Dangeil, Sudan, specifically the Amun temple complex in a collection of essays dedicated to the archaeology and the ancient history of Nubia.Anderson, Julie ; Bashir, Mahmoud Suliman ; Ahmed , Salah Mohammed
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Book chapter
Die sozioökonomische und politische Kontext der Archäologie auf Zypern im 19. Jahrhundert
A study of the socio-economic and political situation linked to archaeology in 19th-century Cyprus in a volume about the German archaeologist, Max Ohnefalsch-Richter.Kiely, Thomas ; Merrillees, Robert
archaeology and Cyprus
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Book chapter
Auf Max Ohnefalsch-Richter Spuren im British Museum
An overview of the relationship between the archaeologist Max Ohnefalsch-Richter Spuren and the British Museum.Kiely, Thomas
British Museum, archaeology, and Cyprus
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Book chapter
Monumentality and urbanisation in Late Bronze Age Cyprus: rethinking Schaeffer’s Bâtiment 18 at Enkomi
A study of monumentality and ubanisation in Late Bronze Age Cyprus, with a particular reappraisal of Schaeffer's Batiment 18 at the site of Enkomi.Kiely, Thomas
Bronze Age, archaeology, and Cyprus
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Book chapter
Cyprus and Assyria
A overview of the relationship between Cyprus and Assyria at the time of Ashurbanipal in an exhibition catalogue to accompany the 2018 British Museum exhibition, I am Ashurbanipal: king of the world, king of Assyria.Kiely, Thomas
Assyria, Ashurbanipal, archaeology, and Cyprus
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Research report
Understanding and Monitoring the Cromer Forest-bed Formation
The Cromer Forest-bed Formation that is exposed on the foreshores of the Suffolk and Norfolk coasts is of critical importance in understanding the earliest human occupation of northern Europe, but is under continual destruction from coastal erosion. This report is the culmination of a four year programme to monitor and...Ashton, Nick ; Lewis, Simon G. ; Parfitt, Simon A. ; Bates, Martin R. ; Bates, Richard …
coastal; environmental studies; geoarchaeology; palaeolithic
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Journal article
The use of erbium lasers for the conservation of cultural heritage. A review
The characteristics of erbium lasers (Er:YAG) make them a promising tool for the conservation of cultural heritage, and yet they still remain less widespread than other lasers in this field. This review aims to summarise, compare and evaluate the results of case studies and experiments published so far about Er:YAG...Pereira-Pardo, Lucía ; Korenberg, Capucine
Erbium laser cleaning; paintings; stone varnishes; overpainting crusts
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Journal article
(Re)sources: Origins of metals in Late Period Egypt
Metal trade and access to raw materials during the Late Bronze Age—roughly covering the New Kingdom in Egypt—have received substantial attention from past and present scholarship. Despite copper and lead remaining essential commodities afterwards, our knowledge about their supply during the Iron Age and later periods, in contrast, remains limited,...Masson-Berghoff, Aurélia ; Pernicka, Ernst ; Hook, Duncan ; Meek, Andrew
faience, Late Period, lead isotopes, metal, and Egypt
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Journal article
Detection of opium alkaloids in a Cypriot base-ring juglet
A method has been developed for extracting poppy alkaloids from oily matrices, specifically lipid residues associated with archaeological ceramics. The protocol has been applied to fresh and artificially aged poppyseed oil and to residue from a Late Bronze Age Cypriot juglet in the collections of the British Museum. The juglet...Smith, Rachel K. ; Stacey, Rebecca J. ; Bergström, Ed ; Thomas-Oates, Jane
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Journal article
Ancient encaustic: An experimental exploration of technology, ageing behaviour and approaches to analytical investigation
The composition of the ancient wax-based painting technique known as encaustic has long been the subject of debate. Ancient sources provide few details of the technology, and modern understanding of the medium is restricted to theoretical interpretation and experimental observation. In this multi-analytical collaborative study, a number of analytical approaches... -
Journal article
Museological approaches to the management of digital research and engagement: The African Rock Art Image Project
The African Rock Art Image Project at the British Museum has documented and disseminated c. 24,000 digital images of rock art from throughout the continent, donated by the Trust for African Rock Art (TARA). The images were registered into the British Museum’s permanent collection and treated as objects in their...Anderson, Helen ; Galvin, Elizabeth ; de Torres Rodriguez, Jorge
archaeology, Museum studies, and Africa
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Journal article
A corroboree for the Countess of Kintore: enlivening histories through objects
This paper discusses a corroboree performed in Darwin in 1893 to illustrate the potential of British ethnographic collections for researching overlooked historical events. The performance was brought to light after a collection of Aboriginal artefacts used in it was noted and examined by the author in the collections of Marischal...Sculthorpe, Gaye
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Book chapter
Beyond the boundaries of the Periplus: the Persian Gulf route in the supply to Myos Hormos and Berenike
This article compares the quantity of Parthian and Sassanian pottery found at the Egyptian Red Sea ports of Myos Hormos and Berenike. It demonstrates greater interconnections during the Sassanian period than the Parthian, correlating to the rise in international importance of the Sassanian empire.Tomber, Roberta
Parthian pottery, Myos Hormos, Red Sea, Sassanian pottery, Berenike, and Persian Gulf
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Book
Relics and Relic Worship in Early Buddhism: India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Burma
Among the world religions, only Buddhism and Christianity attach a central significance to the role of relics. These two traditions however, are different in both conceptual and material terms. In Buddhism, the most sacred relics are those considered parts of the cremated remains of the Buddha: a hair, a tooth,...Stargardt, Janice ; Willis, Michael
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Book
Seals and Status: Power of Objects
For 7,000 years, seals have functioned as signs of authority. This publication deals specifically with aspects of status in the history of seals, exploring this theme across a diverse range of cultural contexts – from the 9th century through the Early Modern period and across the world, looking at Byzantine,...Cherry, John ; Berenbeim, Jessica ; de Beer, Lloyd
art history and History
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Book
Dea Senuna: Treasure, Cult and Ritual at Ashwell, Hertfordshire
The hoard of Romano-British temple treasure discovered at Ashwell, Hertfordshire, in 2002, was a unique and sensational find. Comprised of some 27 gold and silver objects, it appears to have been buried in the later 3rd or 4th century AD. It includes an important silver-gilt figurine, a splendid suite of...Jackson, Ralph ; Burleigh, Gilbert
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Book
Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic Glyphs and Stamp Seals in the British Museum
Stamp seals were used in a similar way to modern signet rings: a negative object used to impress a design into another material, often clay. They appeared around 7000 BC and have remained in use in parts of the world continuously until the present day. This volume focuses on the...Denham, Simon
material culture, Neolithic, Middle Eastern archaeology, and stamp seals
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Book
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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Journal article
The use of wood-based products in showcases: an insight into current practices
It has long been established that wood emits volatile organic compounds that can be harmful to museum collections. An online survey was conducted to assess whether museums still used wood and composite wood inside showcases and, should this be the case, what strategies they employed to reduce the risk posed...Bertolotti, Giulia ; Korenberg, Capucine
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Journal article
Aux origins de la conservation des peintures coréennes: le constat d’état du Portrait du roi Taejo et sa conservation (1763–64) (The origins of the conservation of Korean paintings: the condition report of the Portrait of King Taejo and its preservation (1763–1764))
A quite exceptional document drawn up by the court in 1763-1764 is held in the Jangseogak Archives, Gyeonggido, near Seoul (South Korea); it is a manuscript related to the condition assessment and restoration of a royal portrait of King Taejo, known the first ruler during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). Painted...Kim-Marandet, Meejung
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Book
I Object: Ian Hislop's Search for Dissent
A visual history of dissent, told through objects that challenge authority, published to accompany the exhibition at the British Museum co-curated by the satirist Ian Hislop. Challenging authority is an essential ingredient in the development of human civilisation. Across millennia, it has acted as a driving force behind social and...Hislop, Ian ; Hockenhull, Tom
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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
Human occupation of Northern Europe in MIS 13: a response to comments by Gibbard et al. (2019)
In a recent paper (Lewis et al., 2019) we reported the results of geological and archaeological investigations at Happisburgh Site 1. We also considered the significance of the site for understanding the human occupation of northern Europe during the early Middle Pleistocene. In a comment on the paper, Gibbard et...Lewis, Simon ; Ashton, Nick ; Hoare, Peter G. ; Parfitt, Simon
Happisburgh; human footprints; Lower Paleolithic; Early Pleistocene; Britain; Europe
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Journal article
‘A bastion of colonialism’: public perceptions of the British Museum and its relationship to empire
This article uses visitor research to explore public attitudes to the British Museum and perceptions of its relationship to the history of the British Empire. Firstly, it provides an analysis of direct messages received by the Museum over a twelve month period via letters, emails and comments on social media...Frost, Stuart
British Museum; colonialism; imperialism; exhibitions; visitor research
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Journal article
QSAP: Dangeil 2018-19. Conservation challenges and an ever-expanding sacred landscape
Recent excavations and conservation conducted in the late Kushite temple complex at Dangeil over the course of the Qatar-Sudan Archaeological Project (2013-2019) have revealed many surprises and provided much information about this ancient edifice. Of note, work in the Amun temple’s peristyle court exposed the processional way through the building...Anderson, Julie ; Guiducci, Francesca ; Hajduga, Roksana ; Bashir, Mahmoud Suliman ; elRasheed , Rihab Khidir
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Journal article
Making pottery in the Nile Delta: ceramic provenance and technology at Naukratis, 6th–3rd centuries BC
The interdisciplinary study of Egyptian- and Greek-style pottery found in the Nile Delta aims to test and expand the potential of different scientific methods to identify regional variation and cultural traditions in ceramic fabrics from a relatively uniform geological setting. Neutron activation analysis (NAA), polarised light microscopy and SEM-EDX analyses...Spataro, Michela ; Mommsen, Hans ; Villing, Alexandra
SEM-EDX, Polarised microscopy, NAA, Egyptian pottery, and chaîne opératoire
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Book
Inscriptions of the Aulikaras and Their Associates
The Aulikaras were the rulers of western Malwa (the northwest of Central India) in the heyday of the Imperial Guptas in the fifth century CE, and rose briefly to sovereignty at the beginning of the sixth century before disappearing from the spotlight of history. This book gathers all the epigraphic...Balogh, Dániel
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Book
A Buddhist Ritual Manual on Agriculture: Vajratuṇḍasamayakalparāja - Critical Edition and Translation
This volume is the first in-depth study of a recently discovered Sanskrit dharani spell text from around the 5th century CE surviving in two palm-leaf and three paper manuscript compendia from Nepal. This rare Buddhist scripture focuses on the ritual practice of thaumaturgic weather control for successful agriculture through overpowering...Hidas, Gergely
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Book
Reimagining Captain Cook: Pacific Perspectives
The accompanying publication to the British Museum exhibition Reimagining Captain Cook: Pacific Perspectives, held from 29 November 2018 – 4 August 2019. On the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook’s extraordinary voyages of exploration, this publication reflects on and charts the enduring legacies of his encounters with Pacific peoples. Objects...Adams, Julie ; Bolton, Lissant
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Book
Salamis-Toumba. An Iron Age Sanctuary in Cyprus Rediscovered. Excavations of the Cyprus Exploration Fund
An edited volume on the Cyprus Exploration Fund's excavations at the Iron Age sanctuary of Salamis-Toumba.Kiely, Thomas ; Karageorghis, Vassos
archaeology and Cyprus
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Book chapter
The use of an Er:YAG laser in the removal of biological growth from polychrome archaeological terracotta figurines from Cyprus
The British Museum preserves a large and archaeologically important collection of painted terracotta and limestone figurines from ancient Cyprus. These were the subject of a collaborative conservation and study programme as part of the Cyprus Digitisation Project. The figurines were covered by dark and ingrained speckles of biological growth, possibly...Pereira-Pardo, Lucía ; Camurcuoglu, Duygu ; Orsini, Miriam ; Weglowska, Katarzyna ; Kiely, Thomas …
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Book chapter
Taharqo and his descendants: a statue cache upstream of the Fifth Nile cataract
A study of the statues of Taharqo and his descendants upstream of the Fifth Nile cataract in a collection of essays on Egyptian statuary from the Old Kingdom to Late Antiquity.Anderson, Julie ; Ahmed, Salaheldin Mohammed ; Bashir , Mahmoud Suliman ; elRasheed, Rihab Khidir
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Book chapter
From Salamis to Bloomsbury: Transporting the Bull’s Head Capital to the British Museum
An account of the transportation of the famous marble bull's head capital discovered in the 1890 excavations at Salamis to the British Museum.Kiely, Thomas
archaeology, Cyprus, and Salamis
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Book chapter
Poachers turned gamekeepers? The British Museum’s archaeological agents in Cyprus, 1893−1899
An account of the agents working for the British Museum in Cyprus in the late 19th century.Kiely, Thomas
19th century, archaeology, and Cyprus
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Book chapter
Scanning Sobek. Mummy of the Crocodile God
Ancient Egyptians always had an intense and complex relationship with animals in daily life as well as in religion. Despite the fact that research on this relationship has been a topic of study, gaps in our knowledge still remain. In a volume with over 30 contributions that explore Human-Animal relationships...Anderson, Julie ; Antoine, Daniel
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Journal issue
Sudan & Nubia Volume 23
Volume 23 of Sudan & Nubia, edited by Julie Anderson with 54 authors. PDF freely downloadable from http://www.sudarchrs.org.uk/resources/publications/journal-sudan-nubia/#toggle-id-23Anderson, Julie
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Other
British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan (BMSAES) Issue 24
Editorial This special issue of BMSAES publishes papers and additional reflections arising from two workshops organised at the British Museum in 2011 and 2013 as part of the British Museum’s Naukratis Project. Contributions by archaeologists, Classicists, Egyptologists and other specialists explore the diverse and sometimes contrasting narratives of the different...British Museum
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Journal article
Landscapes, environments and societies: The development of culture in Lower Palaeolithic Europe
Identification of cultural groups is rare in the early Palaeolithic due to site formation processes including taphonomy and the effect of raw material and site function. This paper reviews a critical period in Europe at about 400 ka (MIS 11) when we may be able to identify such groups. This period,...Davis, Rob ; Ashton, Nick
Middle Pleistocene; Europe; Lower Palaeolithic culture; Acheulean; handaxes; fire
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Journal article
Human occupation of northern Europe in MIS 13: Happisburgh Site 1 (Norfolk, UK) and its European context
The timing, environmental setting and archaeological signatures of an early human presence in northern Europe have been longstanding themes of Palaeolithic research. In the space of 20 years, the earliest record of human occupation in Britain has been pushed back from 500 ka (Boxgrove) to 700 ka (Pakefield) and then...Lewis, Simon ; Ashton, Nick ; Field, Michael H. ; Hoare, Peter G. ; Kamermans, Hans …
Happisburgh; human footprints; Lower Paleolithic; Early Pleistocene; Britain; Europe
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Journal article
Evidence of an Ancient Archive? The Papyrus British Museum EA 9961
Used on both sides, the papyrus British Museum EA 9961 reproduces a marsh scene on the recto and a copy of the myth of Isis and her seven scorpions in cursive hieroglyphs on the verso. Although the high quality of the illustration is the most striking feature, the text has...Vandenbeusch, Marie
tomb decoration, papyrology, papyrus gathering, British Museum EA 9961, magic, Bird hunting, and Isis and the seven scorpions
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Journal article
Production and function of Neolithic black-painted pottery from Schela Cladovei (Iron Gates, Romania)
This paper presents for the first time the results of a combination of petrographic, geochemical and organic residue analyses of early Neolithic ceramics from the Iron Gates region of the Danube basin. Eleven early Neolithic potsherds from Schela Cladovei (Romania) were analysed in detail. The results of the petrographic analysis... -
Journal article
Palaeodemographic modelling supports a population bottleneck during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in Iberia
Demographic change lies at the core of debates on genetic inheritance and resilience to climate change of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. Here we analyze the radiocarbon record of Iberia to reconstruct long-term changes in population levels and test different models of demographic growth during the Last Glacial-Interglacial transition. Our best fitting demographic... -
Journal article
Developing a systematic approach to determine the sequence of impressions of Japanese woodblock prints: the case of Hokusai’s ‘Red Fuji’
Ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints were mass-produced in the Edo Period and early impressions of a given print are generally of higher quality and more sought after by connoisseurs than late impressions. The present publication presents an innovative approach that combines the classical method of examining line quality with a systematic... -
Journal article
Borders and interruptions
While museums are perceived as institutions dedicated to the dissemination and exchange of culturally diverse knowledges, museum scholarship has been hampered by a lack of multilingual networks and publications necessary for the exchange of museological perspectives between different linguistic, regional, and national communities. At the same time, the museum decolonization... -
Journal article
Emissions from MDF: governing factors and mitigation strategies
Many museums use elements, such as baseboards and inserts, made of medium density fibreboard (MDF) inside showcases. MDF is manufactured by bonding wood fibres with a resin. It emits volatile compounds that can be harmful to a wide range of museum objects, including formaldehyde. There is currently no entirely effective...Korenberg, Capucine ; Bertolotti, Giulia
MDF, showcases, VOCs; pollutants, wood, barrier film, and fibreboard; sealant
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Journal article
The chaîne opératoire of 6th millennium BC pottery making in the Maritsa Valley, Bulgaria: ceramics from Nova Nadezhda
40 potsherds and five other fired clay fragments from the prehistoric site of Nova Nadezhda in Bulgarian Thrace were analysed by archaeometric techniques. Twenty sherds and a daub fragment were analysed in thin section by optical microscopy; these thin sections, and thick sections of a further 24 sherds were also... -
Journal article
Historical formulations of lake pigments and dyes derived from lac: A study of compositional variability
“Lac” is a term referring to a pink-red-purple organic colourant derived from an insect and used as a lake pigment or a dye. Although historical sources indicate extensive usage, findings in historical samples remain scarce and are based on the detection of laccaic acids A and B, which are the...lac; shellac; historical recipes; photo-induced luminescence; HPLC-MSPCA
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Journal article
Fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy and multispectral imaging for the non-invasive investigation of Asian colourants in Chinese textiles from Dunhuang (7th-10th century AD)
The archaeological complex of Dunhuang (northwestern Gansu, China) is considered a pearl on the Silk Road and the content of its caves revolutionised oriental studies. The British Museum hosts a significant number of textiles and textile fragments from the site. Although mostly catalogued and studied from the point of view...Tamburini, Diego ; Dyer, Joanne
Dunhuang, Asian dyes, Silk road textiles, Multispectral imaging, and FORS
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Journal article
Developing a systematic approach to determine the sequence of impressions of Japanese woodblock prints: the case of Hokusai’s ‘Red Fuji’
Ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints were mass-produced in the Edo Period and early impressions of a given print are generally of higher quality and more sought after by connoisseurs than late impressions. The present publication presents an innovative approach that combines the classical method of examining line quality with a systematic... -
Journal article
The potential of triterpenoids as chemotaxonomic tools to identify and differentiate genuine, adulterated and archaeological balsams
Plant exudates have been extensively used in the past for different applications related to their olfactory, physical or medical properties. Their identification in archaeological samples relies, notably, on the characterisation of chemotaxonomic molecular markers but is often hampered by the severe alteration of their typical genuine molecular signature due to...Courel, Blandine ; Adam, Pierre ; Schaeffer, Philippe
Styrax, Liquidambar, Myroxylon, GC/MS, 6‑oxygenated oleanolic acid, 3-epi oleanolic acid
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Journal article
Twisted handaxes in Middle Pleistocene Britain and their implications for regional-scale cultural variation and the deep history of Acheulean hominin groups
A better understood chronological framework for the Middle Pleistocene of Britain has enabled archaeologists to detect a number of temporally-restricted assemblage-types, based not on ‘culture historical’ schemes of typological progression but on independent dating methods and secure stratigraphic frameworks, especially river-terrace sequences. This includes a consistent pattern in the timing...White, Mark ; Ashton, Nick ; Bridgland, David
ovate handaxes, social networks, Middle Pleistocene, hominin settlement, and Acheulean
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Journal article
From site to museum: a critical assessment of collection history on the formation and interpretation of the British Early Palaeolithic record
The British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic record makes an important contribution to understanding the early occupation of northern Europe, in particular, through the detailed, systematic and multidisciplinary excavations of key sites. However, it is the historic collections, amassed by a large number of collectors over a 100-year period from the...Harris, Claire R.E. ; Ashton, Nick ; Lewis, Simon G.
Collecting, UK, Museum, Early Palaeolithic, and Handaxes
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Journal article
Investigating the use of Paleolithic perforated batons: new evidence from Gough’s Cave (Somerset, UK)
Perforated batons, usually made from a segment of antler and formed of a sub-cylindrical shaft and at least one perforation, have been documented across Europe from sites throughout the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic. The function of perforated batons is still debated. We present here three Magdalenian perforated batons from the... -
Journal article
Investigating Asian colourants in Chinese textiles from Dunhuang (7th-10th century AD) by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry – towards the creation of a mass spectra database
A broad palette of natural dyes is often mentioned with reference to dyed textiles from ancient China. However, few scientific works address the problem of correctly identifying these dyes, often referring simply to unidentified sources. The aim of this work was the creation of a database of mass spectra of...Tmaburini, Diego
HPLC-MS, Tandem mass spectra, Asian dyes, Chinese textiles, Dunhuang Silk Road
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Journal article
Pottery technology in the Tang dynasty (ninth century ): archaeometric analyses of a Gongyi sherd found at Siraf, Iran
In 1969–70, a single Tang dynasty blue-spotted Gongyi sherd was found at Siraf, Iran, the main trading port on the Persian Gulf in the early Islamic period. This is the only known example of Chinese blue-and-white ware, whether low- or high-fired, found in the Middle East from such an early... -
Journal article
The curation and display of Lindow Man
Lindow Man is one of the best-preserved Iron Age bog bodies from Europe. Since his discovery in August 1984, he has been on almost permanent display to the public and the subject of close scientific scrutiny. This article focuses on the life of Lindow Man since his discovery, charting how...Joy, Jody ; Farley, Julia
display, ethics, preservation, wetlands, museum, curation, human remains, and Bog body
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Journal article
Insights from nondestructive geochemical analyses of Hacienda Grande (Puerto Rico) and Salt River (Virgin Islands) Saladoid and Ostionoid ceramics
After decades of archaeological excavations, legacy collections present us with vast reservoirs of untapped research potential. By studying Ceramic Age (ca. 500 bc–ad 600) Caribbean pottery from Hacienda Grande (Puerto Rico) and Salt River (St. Croix), this exploratory study devised a method for the use of nondestructive geochemical analyses (portable...Van Thienen, Vince ; Martínez Milantchí, María Mercedes
legacy collection, ceramic practice, Caribbean archaeology, cultural interaction, and geochemistry
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Book
Abydos: The Sacred Land of the Western Horizon. Proceedings of the Annual Egyptological Colloquium at the British Museum ‘Abydos: the sacred land at the western horizon
This volume is the first of two complementary volumes that explore Abydos through the lenses of the latest archaeological, archival and collections research, building upon a colloquium and workshop held at the British Museum in 2015. A second volume (Abydos in the First Millennium AD, BMPES 9) presents a focussed...Regulski, Ilona
Archaeology, Egypt, and Abydos
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Book
Statues in Context: Production, Meaning and (Re)Uses
Moving beyond typological and stylistic discourses on Egyptian statuary, the papers gathered here seek to explore the architectural, cultic and production contexts of statuary, to shed light on religious or cultural practices, and the political or economic agenda behind the display or hiding of these sculptures. How and why were...Masson-Berghoff, Aurélia
archaeology, Egyptology, statues, Egyptian sculptures, and Egyptian bronzes
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Book
Inspired by the East: How the Islamic world Influenced Western Art
A broad view of the West's complex relationship with the Middle East and North Africa, told through a selection of exquisite art objects. This publication accompanies the exhibition 'Inspired by the East: how the Islamic world influenced Western art' organized by the British Museum and the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia.Greenwood, William ; de Guise, Lucien
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Book chapter
Egyptian and Cypriot stone statuettes in context at Late Period Naukratis
Naukratis held a privileged position as a controlled port of trade and base for traders from its founding at the end of the seventh century BC until the establishment of Alexandria. This study will focus on the Cypriot and Egyptian stone statuettes that dominate the figurine assemblage during this important...Thomas, Ross
Greek religion, Egyptian religion, Statuettes, ARCHAEOLOGY: Naukratis, Greek temples, Domestic religion, Figurines, and Terracottas
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Book chapter
The Roman pottery from Kab Marfu’a
This article looks at a pottery assemblage from the emerald processing site of Kab Marfu'a in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Dating primarily between the second and fourth centuries AD, it is functionally unusual, comprising a high percentage of imported amphorae and vessels for storage and pouring.Tomber, Roberta
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Book chapter
The Neo-Assyrian Empire
Brereton, Gareth
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Book chapter
Origins of metals for countless bronzes
The proliferation of votive and ritual bronzes during the Late Period would have required a steady supply of metals, in the shape of either bronze scrap or raw materials — not only copper, but also lead, which often formed a high percentage of their alloys. While the use of recycled...Masson-Berghoff, Aurélia ; Pernicka, Ersnt
Egypt, metal, trade, supply of metal, workshop, chemical analyses, provenance, recycling metal, lead isotopes, and Egyptian bronzes
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Book chapter
Metal conservation, cellulose nitrate and the Oddy Test
Conservation materials such as coatings, adhesives and consolidants are often applied to museum objects and, as such, are present in stores or display cases. It is necessary to check they do not emit volatiles that are harmful to object materials and one way this can be done is with the...Eggert, Gerhard ; Bette, Sebastian ; Ziegler, Julia ; Korenberg, Capucine ; Kuiter, Rebekka …
Frigilene, cyanide, HMG, cellulose nitrate, silver, Oddy test, and conservation materials
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Book chapter
Museum, magic, memory: a curatorial aesthetic imaginary
The space of the museum offers a unique opportunity to concretise the possibilities of new aesthetic imaginaries, from the curation of large-scale exhibitions to the intimate gaze invited by an object plucked from anonymity in storage and placed in a vitrine. In this essay, I explore an exhibition I curated...Adams, Julie
Museums, New Caledonia, collecting, and curation
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Book chapter
Identifying ancient Egyptian coffin woods from the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge using scanning electron microscopy
This chapter presents the results of a major programme of wood identifications of a large number of Egyptian coffins in the Fitzwilliam Museum collection. It exemplifies the range, use and limitations of local woody resources, as well as the selective import of prestige timbers, fundamental to the development of a...Cartwright, Caroline R.
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Book chapter
Money and representation: text, image and message
An examination of the roles of text and image in the three major traditions of world coinage in the period 1400-1700.Cook, Barrie
text, coinage, Coin, authority, and numismatics, image