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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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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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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
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Journal article
Assyrian palaces: from their foundation to their destruction in antiquity
The more recent synthesis in English to explore all aspects of Assyrian palaces and their decorationSimpson, St John
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Journal article
The haunting of Assyria: a chilling new detail from the Sack of Nimrud
Discusses a previously unrecognised ancient graffito on an Assyrian sculptureSimpson, St John
iconoclasm, graffiti, and Assyria
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Journal article
Some weapons to take away: the spread of decorated projectile points across Magdalenian societies
This paper presents a consideration on the spread of decorated weapon tips across Magdalenian societies. Based on a comprehensive review of the ten types of decorations identified on weapon tips from south-western France, the comparative analysis of their distribution shows their value to document both short and long distances relationships,...Lucas, Claire
Weapon, Magdalenian, and Portable art
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Journal article
Tantra: Enlightenment to Revolution
A scholarly overview of the British Museum's 2020 exhibition, Tantra: enlightenment to revolution.Ramos, Imma
British Museum, Tantra, and exhibition
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Journal article
An old problem in a new light: elemental and lead isotopic analysis of Luristan Bronzes
The emergence and provenance of the Luristan Bronzes has been a subject of interest for many decades. This paper presents the results of elemental and lead isotopic analysis of a series of Luristan Bronzes discovered from recent excavations in the Sangtarashan sanctuary, as well as an extensive comparative study on... -
Journal article
Heavy metal and the beauty industry: an unexpected connection from ancient Afghanistan
Explores the relationship between facial whiteners, cosmetic containers and by-products of the metal industry by reference to archaeological finds from Afghanistan and objects seized by UK law enforcement and now in the National Museum of AfghanistanSimpson, St John
Afghanistan, cosmetic, and Bronze Age
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Journal article
The art of gardens: an introduction
This volume argues that looking at gardens through the lens of art and aesthetics generates new insights into the role that gardens have for those who make and depend on them. Drawing on some of the debates around the anthropology of art, we suggest that aesthetics provides a rich analytical...Bolton, Lissant ; Mitchell, Jean
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Journal article
Weathering climate change in archaeology: conceptual challenges and an East African case study
Research on the social dimensions of climate change is increasingly focused on people's experiences, values and relations to the environment as a means to understand how people interpret and adapt to changes. However, a particular challenge has been making seemingly temporally and geographically distant climate change more immediate and local...Petek-Sargeant, Nik ; Lane, Paul J.
Weather, Climate change, Kenya, Environmental humanities, East Africa, and Ilchamus
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Journal article
Coin hoards from England, Scotland and Wales 2021
Early Medieval, archaeology, hoards, Post-Medieval, numismatics, coins, Medieval, Iron Age, and RomanGhey, Eleanor ; Andrews, Murray
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Journal article
FLAME‐D database: an integrated system for the study of archaeometallurgy
This paper discusses the reorganisation of archaeometallurgical legacy data for future research. When archaeometallurgical research aims to answer questions that involve significant movements of raw material or metal objects, it needs to rely on large sets of data. These data are available but scattered across hundreds of publications, where they...Perucchetti, L. ; Bray, P. ; Felicetti, A. ; Sainsbury, V. ; Howarth, P. …
Bronze Age, archaeometallurgy , and database
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Journal article
Between Apollo and Osiris: Egyptianising East Greek pottery, translating gods and cross-cultural interaction in the 6th century B.C
Relatively few Greek fine ware vessels have been uncovered in Egyptian contexts of the late 7th and 6th centuries B.C., the majority of East Greek production. Remarkably, though, the shape and imagery of a good number of them seem to reference local Egyptian customs and ideas, notably Osirian religion and...Villing, Alexandra
Apollo, East Greek pottery, Typhon, Greeks in Egypt, and Greek mythology
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Journal article
Pandemic, protests and building back: 20 months at the British Museum
This article is a personal reflection that examines the impact of the pandemic on the British Museum’s (BM) onsite interpretation and audiences; however, it is informed by robust visitor insight and evaluation as well as by direct experience. Quotes from the public are incorporated throughout. Covid-19 led to the BM’s...Frost, Stuart
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Journal article
New insights on interpersonal violence in the Late Pleistocene based on the Nile valley cemetery of Jebel Sahaba
The remains of 61 individuals buried in the cemetery of Jebel Sahaba (site 117) offer unique and substantial evidence to the emergence of violence in the Nile Valley at the end of the Late Pleistocene. Excavated and assessed in the 1960s, some of the original findings and interpretations are disputed....Crevecoeur, Isabelle ; Dias-Meirinho, Marie-Hélène ; Zazzo, Antoine ; Antoine, Daniel ; Bon, François
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Journal article
Ancient anomalies: Twinned and supernumerary incisors in a medieval Nubian
During the analysis of a skeletal assemblage from a medieval cemetery in Nubia (c. AD 500–1550), a young adult female with abnormally developed maxillary incisors was discovered. The possible causes of the two dental anomalies found in this individual and their archaeological context are discussed. The remains are from a...Phillips, Emma L.W. ; Irish, Joel D. ; Antoine, Daniel
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Journal article
Time to be nosy: Evaluating the impact of environmental and sociocultural changes on maxillary sinusitis in the Middle Nile Valley (Neolithic to Medieval periods)
Objective To investigate the prevalence of maxillary sinusitis in people who lived in the Middle Nile Valley across different periods, cultures, and environmental conditions. Materials 481 skeletons from 13 sites, curated at the British Museum, London, were analysed. The sites ranged in date from the Neolithic to Medieval periods (c....Davies-Barrett, Anna M. ; Roberts, Charlotte A. ; Antoine, Daniel
Particulate matter, Upper respiratory tract disease, Air quality, and Sudan
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Journal article
Successes and challenges in laser cleaning metal artefacts: A review
Over the past fifty years, laser cleaning has progressively become an established conservation cleaning treatment for a range of artefacts, including stone, ceramics and paintings. While its application to metal is not widespread, there have been several reports of laser cleaning on metal artefacts. However, the findings of these studies...Bertasa, Moira ; Korenberg, Capucine
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Journal article
There’s more to a vessel than meets the eye: Organic residue analysis of ‘wine’ containers from shipwrecks and settlements of ancient Cyprus (4th–1st century )
Despite growing evidence to the contrary, wine remains the assumed content of many types of ancient pottery. Vessels from the Kyrenia and Mazotos shipwrecks, and Yeronisos island presumed to have contained wine were subjected to three different extraction protocols to test the assumption that these vessels were used to import... -
Journal article
Technical steps towards enhanced localization of proteins in cultural heritage samples by immunofluorescence microscopy and micro-reflectance imaging spectroscopy
This study presents the results obtained during the optimization phase of a protocol based on immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM) with the aim to characterize and localize proteins in fluid-rich samples of cultural heritage interest. Chicken serum albumin from chicken blood was considered the primary target. Ovalbumin from chicken egg albumen (egg... -
Journal article
Putting the pieces back together: Rembrandt's Lamentation drawing under the microscope
A thorough examination of Rembrandt’s early drawing of the Lamentation at the Foot of the Cross in the British Museum (Benesch 154; registration number Oo,9.103) using magnification (x10), transmitted light, infrared imaging and Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), in order to conclusively establish the construction of the paper and the different...Horbatsch, Olenka ; Snow, Rebecca ; Taylor, Samantha
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Journal article
A non-invasive investigation of Egyptian faience using Long Wavelength Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) at 2 μm
Egyptian faience is a non-clay ceramic semi-transparent material formed of a quartz core and alkali-lime glaze. Previous investigations have identified production techniques by using microstructure images obtained from invasive methods. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive 3D imaging technique that produces virtual cross-sections of transparent and semi-transparent materials. A...Read, Margaret ; Cheung, C. S. ; Liang, Haida ; Meek, Andrew ; Korenberg, Capucine
Egyptian faience, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and microstructure
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Journal article
Re-membering Osiris: Late Period casting moulds and Osirian ritual
In 1969, a unique set of Late Period bronze casting moulds was discovered at the Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis illustrating the chaîne opératoire of the lost-wax technique. Usually only mould fragments, if anything at all, remain in the archaeological record, but this assemblage presents complete examples representative of different phases of...Verly, Georges ; Auenmüller, Johannes ; Delvaux, Luc ; W. Rademakers, Frederik
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Journal article
The bad side of recycling: the use of ancient coins as a source of material for modern forgeries
A group of six coins from Ithaca in the British Museum collection has been analysed using a bench Bruker Artax X-ray fluorescence spectrometer on a polished surface. The coins can be stylistically divided into two variants. The analysis highlighted that the two variants are chemically different, with one suspected of...Perucchetti, Laura ; Dowler, Amelia
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Journal article
Counting when, who and how: visualizing the British Museum’s history of acquisition through collection data, 1753–2019
This paper critically examines the possibilities of using the British Museum’s collection database as a research tool to examine acquisition history. It publishes initial findings from the author’s research into the history of the collection through a quantitative analysis of collection data. Rather than focusing on individual collectors, collections or...MacDonald, Isobel
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Journal article
Metal-detecting rallies: characterizing the phenomenon, understanding the challenges, and identifying strategies for heritage protection
Hobby metal detectorists search for archaeological finds as individuals and within groups, the latter being the focus of this article. Such groups come together as “clubs” and “meetings,” but also as part of large, often commercially run events typically known as “rallies.” All these activities are attractive to detectorists because...Wessman, Anna ; Deckers, Pieterjan ; Lewis, Michael ; Thomas, Suzie ; Nolet, Katelijne
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Journal article
The first preliminary report of the Khirbat Umm al-Ghuzlān Excavation Project: investigating an EB IV olive processing site in north Jordan
The evidence from Khirbat Umm al-Ghuzlān suggests that this enclosure site served a specialised economic purpose in the Early Bronze Age (EB) IV (ca 26/2500-2000BC). Given the site’s location, it is likely that it was used as a processing centre for upland horticultural crops such as olive, which grow better...Fraser, James ; Cartwright, Caroline ; Zoubi, N. ; Carr, A. ; Handziuk, N. …
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Journal article
Coherent changes in wood charcoals, site occupation and lithic technology across the MIS 4/3 transition at Klein Kliphuis rock shelter, South Africa
We explore the correspondence between changing palaeoenvironments, patterns of site use, and lithic technology at the rock shelter site Klein Kliphuis (South Africa) across the interval 65–55 000 years before present. This period coincides with the termination of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4, and the disappearance of an iconic late...Mackay, Alex ; Cartwright, Caroline R.
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Journal article
‘A Very Curious Series of Paintings’: Marco Ricci’s Paintings on Leather
The 2017 Royal Collection Trust exhibition ‘Canaletto and the Art of Venice’ necessitated the examination and conservation treatment of eight paintings by the artist Marco Ricci (1676–1730). Marco’s artworks were unusually catalogued as ‘tempera on kidskin leather’, however it became apparent that internationally widespread confusion and inconsistency existed in the...Turner, Emma