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Journal article
Investigating the Potential of the Er:YAG Laser for the Removal of Cemented Dust from Limestone and Painted Plaster
A successful application of Er:YAG laser for the cleaning of a restored Assyrian relief sculpture from the British Museum collection is presented. Displayed in the gallery, the sculpture has darkened over time due to the natural deposition of dirt, in particular on restored parts. Since traditional cleaning methods have demonstrated...Melita, Lucia Noor ; Węgłowska, Katarzyna ; Tamburini, Diego ; Korenberg, Capucine
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Journal article
There's a lot I have to tell everyone!': Medals by Marie Uchytilová-Kučová
‘How could an unknown girl from a tiny country tell something to the world and be heard?’ This was the question that preoccupied Marie Uchytilová (1924-89), twenty-one years old and living in war-torn Czechoslovakia in 1945. The answer came through art, ‘which can speak all the languages of the world’,...Hockenhull, Tom
Czechoslovakia, medals, and socialism
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Journal article
Pigments, incense, and bitumen from the New Kingdom town and cemetery on Sai Island in Nubia
An analysis of paints found in ceramic sherd palettes from the 18th Dynasty (1548-1302 BCE) Pharaonic town on Sai Island in Upper Nubia using polarised light microscopy and infrared spectroscopy revealed pigments from the standard Egyptian repertoire: red and yellow ochres, Egyptian blue, calcite, gypsum, anhydrite, and the bright white...Fulcher, Kate ; Budka, Julia
Egyptian blue, Canopic jars, Incense, Ancient Nubia, Pigments, Pistacia resin, and Bitumen
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Journal article
The wood charcoals from Sheri Khan Tarakai: a case study in environmental archaeology and palaeoecology
The wood charcoals from the early village site of Sheri Khan Tarakai (c. 3800 – 2900 cal. BC) in the west of Bannu District (Pakistan) are the principal focus of this paper. Twenty six taxa of woody plants (trees and shrubs) were identified and their spatial, contextual and temporal distributions... -
Journal article
Using analytical pyrolysis and scanning electron microscopy to evaluate charcoal formation of four wood taxa from the caatinga of north-east Brazil
People in north-east Brazil mostly rely on fuelwood and charcoal for domestic energy consumption. Traditionally, four local wood taxa (Mimosa tenuiflora, Mimosa ophthalmocentra, Croton sonderianus and Cenostigma pyramidale) from the caatinga have been selected for this purpose. As the final quality of charcoal is directly related to the charring conditions,... -
Journal article
Trends in Myanmar wall paintings from the eleventh to the twentieth centuries
Wall paintings in Myanmar have a long history. Extant remains date as far back as the eleventh century, and murals continue to be produced today. This paper is based on the survey of more than 150 temples in the central zone of Myanmar, exploring the imagery to consider its role...Green, Alexandra
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Journal article
Archaeology at ras Muari: Sonari, a Bronze Age fisher-gatherers settlement at the Hab River mouth (Karachi, Pakistan).
This paper describes the results of the surveys carried out along Ras Muari (Cape Monze, Karachi, Sindh) by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Lower Sindh and Las Bela in 2013 and 2014. The surveyed area coincides with part of the mythical land of the Ichthyophagoi, mentioned by the classical chroniclers.... -
Journal article
Harold-as-Aeneas? The influence of the Aeneid on a rescue scene in the Bayeux Tapestry
This article examines a particular scene in the Bayeux Tapestry where Earl Harold of Wessex rescues Normans from the River Couesnon (Brittany/Normandy) in reference to a similar scene in the Aeneid. It considers the qualities of the 'heroes' in both scenes - Harold and Aeneas - and considers the a...Rollason, Nikki K. ; Michael, Lewis
art, Aeneas, Harold of Wessex (Harold II), Aeneid, and Bayeux Tapestry
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Journal article
The palm tree ryal of Mary Queen of Scots revisited
An investigation of the unusual design of this coin, a tortoise climbing up a palm tree.Cook, Barrie ; Archibald, Marion
palm tree, coinage, tortoise, ryal, and Mary Queen of Scots
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Journal article
Ethnobotany of Hawaiian figure sculpture
Anecdotal theories about traditional uses of Polynesian woods in relation to social and religious practices were tested using comparative wood identification. The woods used to make 135 figure carvings from the Hawaiian archipelago were identified and compared with 23 figure carvings from elsewhere in Polynesia (especially Tahiti and the Marquesas)....Rudall, Paula J. ; Cartwright, Caroline
ethnobotany, Polynesia, and wood anatomy
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Journal article
Bitumen from the Dead Sea in Early Iron Age Nubia
Bitumen has been identified for the first time in Egyptian occupied Nubia, from within the town of Amara West, occupied from around 1300 to 1050 BC. The bitumen can be sourced to the Dead Sea using biomarkers, evidencing a trade in this material from the eastern Mediterranean to Nubia in...Fulcher, Kate ; Stacey, Rebecca ; Spencer, Neal
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Journal article
Objectifying processes: The use of geometric morphometrics and multivariate analyses on Acheulean tools
Nowadays, the fruitful discussion regarding the morphological variability of handaxes during the Middle Pleistocene has reached a decisive moment with the use of more accurate statistical methods, such as geometric morphometrics (GM) and multivariate analyses (MA). This paper presents a preliminary methodological approach for checking the utility of these new...García-Medrano, Paula ; Maldonado-Garrido, Elías ; Ashton, Nick ; Ollé, Andreu
Boxgrove, Middle Pleistocene, handaxes, multivariate analyses, geometric morphometrics, Swanscombe, and Acheulean
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Journal article
Khirbet Ghozlan
The site of Khirbet Um al-Ghozlan sits on a steep knoll overlooking the Wadi Rayyan in north Jordan. Because it is only 0.4 ha in size, most surveys would classify the site as a hamlet or village. In this respect, Khirbet Ghozlan sits comfortably within our traditional understanding of the...Fraser, James ; Cartwright, Caroline
olive oil, olives, Jordan valley, Early Bronze Age IV, Olea europaea, and Khirbet Um al-Ghozlan
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Journal article
A scientific study of Eastern Zhou bronze weapons with tin-rich surface decoration
In this paper we examined three bronze weapons with tin-rich surface decoration from the Eastern Zhou period: a sword (1966,0222.1) with a trellis pattern, a spearhead (1947,0712.426) with a hexagonal star pattern in the British Museum collections, and a sword (GT698) with a trellis pattern from a private collection. These...Wang, Quanyu ; Chen, Yi ; O'Flynn, Daniel
bronze weapon, tin-rich decoration, trellis pattern, and Eastern Zhou
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Journal article
The Beau Street Hoard - what happened next?
Interpreting over 17,000 Roman coins Since the discovery of the Beau Street Hoard in Bath in 2007, years of research have illuminated the contents of this huge collection of late 3rd-century Roman coins, revealing new clues to why it might have been buried.Ghey, Eleanor
archaeology, numismatics, and Roman
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Journal article
A conversation with Roger Keyes
Impressions asked Timothy Clark, newly retired Head of the Japanese Section, Asia Department at the British Museum, to ask Roger Keyes about his work and his recollections. They sat down together in the Asia Study Room at the British Museum on March 26, 2019.Clark, Timothy ; Keyes, Roger
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Journal article
The art of hunting: coordinating subsistence laws with Alaska native harvesting practices
This paper explores the socioeconomic relationships between Alaska Native harvesting practices, the laws that regulate those practices, and Alaska Native art. In the 21st century, indigenous residents of northwestern Alaska incorporate harvesting activities into their travels between small rural communities, regional centers, and larger Alaskan cities. These harvests efficiently coordinate...Lincoln, Amber
art, markets, Arctic, Inuit, and anthropology
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Journal article
Manufacturing techniques of Eastern Zhou bronze ding vessels with short legs: a case study of bronze ding (1949,0711.1) in the British Museum collection
This paper presents a detailed technical study of a Chinese bronze ding vessel with a bulging body, three short legs and a lid in the British Museum collection (1949,0711.1). It is a representative product made by the pattern-block method of the Houma foundry, the largest foundry site of the Eastern...Wang, Quanyu ; Su, Rongyu ; O'Flynn, Daniel ; Chen, Yi
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Journal article
A coin of Augustus struck at Butrint
This article discusses a coin of Augustus struck at Butrint, found on excvations at Butrint, which possibly shows either Aeneas or Ascanius (Julius). It is appended to an article about related sculpture found at ButrintMoorhead, Sam
Coin, Aeneas, Augustus, Ascanius, Roman Provincial, Roman, and Butrint
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Journal article
Forgeries of Hellenistic bronze coins of Ithaca
This article examines the stylistic and metal composition differences between two variants of the bronze Odysseus/Cock type from Ithaca. It posits that Variant 2 is a forgery, which must have been produced after the Hellenistic period but before the end of the 19th century. It also identifies a historic substitution...Dowler, Amelia ; Perucchetti, Laura
British Museum, copper, metal composition, Hellenistic, X-ray fluorescence, copper alloy, numismatics, tin, coins, bronze, forgery, zinc, and Ithaca
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Journal article
The Great Wave: how to identify reproductions
Korenberg, Capucine
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Journal article
Peasants, produce and tractors: farming scenes on Communist banknotes
Communist regimes in the twentieth century deployed a common visual language through banknote imagery, forging new narratives framed within the context of shared political and economic goals. In particular, farming imagery came to dominate banknote design. All communist regimes pursued extensive agricultural reform, from the ownership of land to the...Hockenhull, Tom
communism, currency, and agriculture
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Journal article
The British Museum and the State Hermitage Museum: collaboration, exhibitions, research
Explores the long history of collaboration between these two museums through exhibitions, conferences, research, scientific exchanges and archaeological excavations over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, and shows how museums exercise soft power and maintain dialogues even in challenging political timesSimpson, St John
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Journal article
Coin hoards from England, Scotland and Wales 2020
An annual summary of coin hoards from England, Scotland and Wales found up to the end of the year before the year of publication of the journal.Ghey, Eleanor ; Andrews, Murray
Medieval, Iron Age, hoards, coins, archaeology, Early Medieval, Roman, Post-Medieval, and numismatics
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Journal article
Variable Ovicaprid Diet and Faecal Spherulite Production at Amara West, Sudan
This paper presents the results of integrated geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical analyses of desiccated and charred ovicaprid dung pellets from the New Kingdom pharaonic settlement of Amara West (Sudan). These analyses reveal diagnostic phytolithic evidence for considerable variations in plant diet amongst the site’s ovicaprid population. These data shed light on...Dalton, Matthew ; Ryan, Philippa
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Journal article
The scientific study of the materials used to create the Tahitian mourner's costume in the British Museum collection
The British Museum houses one of the few examples of a complete mourner's costume from Tahiti in the world. For the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook's first voyage, the costume was displayed for the first time in over forty years. The conservation assessment of the numerous parts that compose the...Tamburini, Diego ; Cartwright, Caroline R. ; Adams, Julie
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Journal article
Enlightenment architectures: the reconstruction of Sir Hans Sloane’s cabinets of ‘Miscellanies’
Focusing on Sir Hans Sloane’s catalogue of ‘Miscellanies’, now in the British Museum, this paper asks firstly how Sloane described objects and secondly whether the original contents of the cabinets can be reconstructed from his catalogue. Drawing on a sustained, digitally augmented analysis – the first of its kind –...Sloan, Kim ; Nyhan, Julianne
British Museum, digitization, collections, cabinets, Sir Hans Sloane, catalogues, and digital humanities
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Journal article
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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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
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 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
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
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 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
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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Journal article
Periodontal disease and ‘oral health’ in the past: new insights from ancient Sudan on a very modern problem
As one of today’s major oral health issues, periodontal disease affects populations worldwide. Here, methods used to record its past prevalence are reviewed, including the problems associated with the use of measurements to record bone loss. Clinical and bioarchaeological research offers strong support for the Kerr method that records interdental...Whiting, Rebecca ; Antoine, Daniel ; Hillson, Simon
bioarchaeology, interdental septum, Periodontal disease , Sudan, and Kerr method
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Journal article
Shashotep-Shutb: An Ancient City Rediscovered
The British Museum Asyut Region Project aims at reconstructing and preserving the deep history of the Asyut region through survey and documentation of its pharaonic and post-pharaonic heritage, including the varied responses of local communities who live atop the layers of history below. Two initial field seasons have concentrated on...Regulski, Ilona ; Bunbury, Judith ; Marchand, Sylvie ; Gabel, Ann-Cathrin ; Chauvet, Barbara
Asyut; augering; Middle Egypt; settlement archaeology; survey
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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. …