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Book
The Metopes of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassai
This book brings together for the first time all of the fragments of sculpture which formed the metopes from the Temple of Apollo at Bassai. Recent research by the author and colleagues has yielded fresh discoveries in the British Museum, Athens and at the ancient site itself. Further sculptural fragments...Higgs, Peter John
Greek sculpture, Bassai, and metopes
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Book chapter
Conservation and the care of human remains in museums
In this chapter, the breadth, value, and distinctiveness of human remains in collections are explored. To place the conservation discussion in context, the various preservation methods of human remains along with the history of such collections, the development of relevant protocols, and the analytical possibilities are all briefly described. Conservation...Wills, Barbara
conservation, human remains, and museums
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Book
Encounters With Medals, 40 Years of BAMS Conferences
A review of medal scholarship, artist talks, historic venues and practical workshops held as part of conferences of The British Art Medal Society over 40 years since its foundation in 1982.Attwood, Philip ; Leavitt Bourne, Marcy ; Larkin, Janet
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Book chapter
A man of both Aššur and Kaneš: the case of the merchant Ḫabdu-mālik
In a letter dating to the reign of Zimri-Lim, the merchant Ḫabdu-mālik writes to the Mariote “Chief of the Merchants” Iddin-Numushda in order to enter a business agreement that he proposes they solidify through the marriage of their children. This letter has previously been discussed in relation to trading partnerships...Highcock, Nancy
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Journal article
A text of Shalmaneser I from Üçtepe and the location of Šinamu
This article presents a newly discovered cuneiform text from the site of Üçtepe in Diyarbakır province in southeastern Turkey. The text bears a previously unknown inscription of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser I. While incomplete, it never-theless gives the most extensive lists of the conquests of Shalmaneser I yet known, including...Genç, Bülent ; MacGinnis, John
Shalmaneser I, Assyria, and archaeology
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Book
Laying the Foundations: Manual of the British Museum Iraq Scheme Archaeological Training Programme
Laying the Foundations, which developed out of the British Museum’s ‘Iraq Scheme’ archaeological training programme, covers the core components for putting together and running an archaeological field programme. The focus is on practicality. Individual chapters address background research, the use of remote sensing, approaches to surface collection, excavation methodologies, survey...MacGinnis, John ; Rey, Sebastien
archaeology, Iraq, and training
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Book
Amber: From Antiquity to Eternity
Amber: From Antiquity to Eternity is a history of human engagement with amber across three millennia. The book vividly describes our conceptions, stories, and political and scholarly disputes about amber, as well as issues of national and personal identity, religion, art, literature, music and science. Rachel King rewrites amber’s history...King, Rachel
material heritage, history, and amber
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Book chapter
Iron Age brooches and bracelets from Burnby Lane and The Mile
Artefacts report and analysis of the brooches and bracelets from recent excavations in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire in light of new research and older finds.Adams, Sophia
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Book chapter
A Parthian Manor on the Lower Zab
MacGinnis, John
Lower Zab, Parthia, and archaeology
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Book
Pahu: Historical Collections, Artistic Continuance
This book results from an ongoing collaboration between the Benioff Oceania Programme at the British Museum and Dennis Kanaʻe Keawe, a Hawaiian artist and artisan specialised in pahu (drum) making and based in Hilo (Hawaiʻi). Shaped and nutured through the artist’s unique lens, this volume combines a renewed understanding of... -
Book chapter
Amanitore and Natakamani at Dangeil: reconstruction the sacred landscape of the 1st century CE
The sacred building program and landscape at Dangeil Sudan, initiated by the Kushite Rulers Natakamani and Amanitore during the 1st century CE is reviewed and evaluated.Anderson, Julie ; Mohamed Ahmed, Salah ; Khidir el-Rasheed , Rihab ; Suliman Bashir, Mahmoud
Kushite, Sudan, and architecture
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Journal article
Authorship, image-making, and excess: William Hunter's Anatomia uteri humani gravidi tabulis illustrata (1774)
In 1774, the physician-anatomist William Hunter (1718–1783) published Anatomia uteri humani gravidi tabulis illustrata/The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus, Exhibited in Figures (1774). Issued as an elephant folio, the book is the culmination of twenty-four years of work and includes thirty-four plates with life-size hyper-naturalistic engravings by artists such...Hughes, Alicia
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Journal article
Report of the Portable Antiquities Scheme 2020
An annual report on finds reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme from the Post-Medieval period, featuring overall statistics and highlighted objects.Richardson, Ian ; Wyatt, Stuart
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Journal article
Acheulean variability in Western Europe: the case of Menez-Dregan I (Plouhinec, Finistère, France)
The establishment of the Acheulean in Europe occurred after MIS 17, but it was after the harsh glaciation of MIS 12 and during the long interglacial of MIS 11 that human occupation of Western Europe became more sustained, with an increased number of sites. Menez-Dregan I (Brittany, France) is one...Ravon, Anne-Lyse ; García-Medrano, Paula ; Moncel, Marie-Hélène ; Ashton, Nick
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Book
Painting Amara West: The Technology and Experience of Colour in New Kingdom Nubia
The first in a series of volumes generated by the British Museum's Amara West Research Project, this explores the use of pigments and the experience of colour in the town founded around 1300BC as a centre of the pharaonic administration of Upper Nubia (Kush). Combining scientific analyses, archaeological fieldwork, and...Fulcher, Kate
pigments, colour, and Amara West
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Journal article
Nubian agricultural practices, crops and foods: changes in living memory on Ernetta Island, Northern Sudan
Agricultural practices in northern Sudan have been changing rapidly but remain little documented. In this paper we aim to investigate changes to crops grown in living memory and their uses through interviews with Nubian farmers on the island of Ernetta. By exploring cultivation and crop processing practices, together with associated...Ryan, Philippa ; Kordofani, Maha ; Saad, Mohamed ; Hassan, Mohammed ; Dalton, Matthew …
agricultural heritage, crop diversity , and traditional ecological knowledge
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Book
The world of Stonehenge
Stonehenge is one of the best known, but most misunderstood, monuments in the world. Contrary to the common belief, it was not a static, unchanging structure built by shadowy figures or druids. Rather, it represents the cumulative achievement of numerous generations who were woven into a complex and widespread network...Garrow, Duncan ; Wilkin, Neil
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Journal article
The six recipes of Zhou: a new perspective on Jin (金) and Xi (锡)
Knowledge of alloying practices is key to understanding the mass production of ancient Chinese bronzes. The Eastern Zhou text, the Rites of Zhou, contains six formulae, or recipes, for casting different forms of bronze based on the combination of two components: Jin and Xi. For more than 100 years, the...Pollard, A.M. ; Liu, Ruiliang
six recipes, ancient Chinese texts, alloying practices, Bronze Age, China, and metallurgy
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Journal article
Early Islamic torpedo jars from Siraf: scientific analyses of the clay fabric and source of Indian Ocean transport containers
This paper concerns Sasanian to Early Islamic period transport containers, usually lined with bitumen, known as Torpedo jars. Widely distributed throughout the western Indian Ocean, with outliers as far west as Egypt and to the east in Indonesia, they are an important marker of maritime exchange. Their area of production...Tomber, Roberta ; Spataro, Michela ; Priestman, Seth
Torpedo jar; Siraf (Iran); scientific analyses; bitumen; Early Islamic
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Book chapter
Southward Ho! A journey from Ionia to Egypt
The presence of Ionians in areas to the south and south-east of the homeland as attested by inscriptions and pottery is reviewed. From the Dodecanese to the Nile Delta pottery from Ionia is found at many sites, mostly after ca. 640 BC, but evidence of Ionians themselves through inscribed texts...Johnston, Alan ; Villing, Alexandra
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Book
Munch and his World: Graphic Arts and the Avant-garde in Paris and Berlin
Munch and his World: Graphic Arts and the Avant-garde in Paris and Berlin is a visually stunning publication which offers new insights into the life and world of the artist Edvard Munch. The art of Edvard Munch is striking for the originality and universality of its themes, which cross moments...Bartrum, Giulia
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Journal article
Early evidence for cancer in Sudan: an advanced example of bone metastases from ancient Nubia (circa 2500–2050 BCE)
WHO reports that cancer is currently a leading cause of death worldwide. An increasing body of bioarchaeological research offers new insights into the past prevalence, epidemiology, and evolution of cancer. An archaeological example from the Northern Dongola Reach in Upper Nubia, Sudan, is presented in this Perspectives piece.Whiting, Rebecca ; Phillips, Emma L. W. ; O'Flynn, Daniel ; Antoine, Daniel
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Book
The Hay Archive of Coptic Spells on Leather: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Materiality of Magical Practice
The Hay archive of Coptic manuscripts consists of seven fragmentary sheets of leather bearing spells for divination, protection, healing, personal advancement, cursing and the satisfaction of sexual desire. Purchased from the heir of the Scottish Egyptologist and draftsman, Robert Hay (1799–1863), the manuscripts arrived at the British Museum in 1869....O'Connell, Elisabeth
Egyptology, papyrology, Coptic studies, and religious studies
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Journal article
Light production by ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers of the Circum-Baltic
Artificial illumination is a fundamental human need. Burning wood and other materials usually in hearths and fireplaces extended daylight hours, whilst the use of flammable substances in torches offered light on the move. It is increasingly understood that pottery played a role in light production. In this study, we focus... -
Journal article
A multi‑scalar investigation of the colouring materials used in textile wrappings of Egyptian votive animal mummies
Commonly exhibited in museum galleries, animal mummies have been the focus of interest of both visitors and researchers alike. The study of these animal remains not only provides new insights into embalming techniques, but also brings a unique perspective on religious, social and economic practices. Twenty animal mummies are discussed...Tamburini, Diego ; Dyer, Joanne ; Vandenbeusch, Marie ; Borla, Matilde ; Angelici, Debora …
animal mummies; archaeological textiles; organic dyes; tannins; ancient Egypt
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Journal article
A unique Late Cypriote Bronze Age jar from Demetrios Pierides’ excavations in Cyprus, formerly in the Joseph Altounian Collection, Mâcon, France, and the circulation of Cypriote antiquities in the 19th century AD
An account of a unique Late Cypriote Bronze Age jar from Demetrios Pierides’ excavations in Cyprus, formerly in the Joseph Altounian Collection, Mâcon, France, and a discussion of what it can reveal about the circulation of Cypriote antiquities in the 19th century.Kiely, Thomas ; Merrillees, Robert
19th century, archaeology, and Cyprus
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Journal article
Robert Lang and the archaeology of Cyprus
An overview of Sir Robert Hamilton Lang, Acting Vice Consul and Consul of Cyprus from 1871-2, who acquired many artefacts from excavations in Cyprus.Kiely, Thomas
19th century, archaeology, and Cyprus
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Book
Ancestors, Artefacts, Empire: Indigenous Australia in British and Irish Museums
Museums across Great Britain and Ireland hold Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (collectively referred to as ‘Indigenous’) cultural heritage of exceptional value which is largely unknown, rarely seen and poorly understood. Gifted, sold, exchanged and bartered by Indigenous people, and accepted, bought, collected and taken by travellers, colonists, explorers, missionaries,...Sculthorpe, Gaye ; Nugent, Maria ; Morphy, Howard
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Book
Hokusai: The Great Picture Book of Everything
The accompanying hardback title to the British Museum exhibition Hokusai: The Great Picture Book of Everything. This landmark publication documents a major new discovery of over 100 drawings by the foremost Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. Acquired by the British Museum in 2020, these previously unpublished drawings had been forgotten for...Clark, Tim
drawings, Japanese art, and Hokusai
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Book chapter
Cipro, fra Torino e Londra. I Cesnola e il British Museum/Cyprus, From Turin to London. The Cesnolas and the British Museum
An overview of the collections of Cypriot artefacts in the British Museum and the Musei Reali di Torino and connections with the Cesnola family.Kiely, Thomas
archaeology and Cyprus
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Book chapter
Mummified human remains from Ancient Egypt and Nubia: an overview and new insights from the British Museum collection
An overview of the mummified human remains from Ancient Egypt and Nubia in the British Museum collection as well as a summary of new insights.Vandenbeusch, Marie ; Antoine, Daniel
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Journal issue
Sudan & Nubia Volume 25
Volume 25 of Sudan & Nubia journal, edited by Julie Anderson with contribution from 49 authorsAnderson, Julie
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Journal article
Rediscovering Nestawedjat: Embalming residue analyses reunite the mummified remains of an ancient Egyptian woman with her coffins
Long held museum collections can sometimes lack a clear provenance or context. Here, an ancient Egyptian mummified individual in the British Museum collection was reconnected with a set of three coffins in an interdisciplinary study using bioarchaeological, scientific and Egyptological analyses. Previously assigned as male, based on earlier X-rays due...Vandenbeusch, Marie ; Stacey, Rebecca ; Antoine, Daniel
Ancient Egypt; mummification; embalming; FTIRGC–MS; 25th Dynasty; British Museum; CT scanning
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Journal article
Cultural mosaics, social structure, and identity: The Acheulean threshold in Europe
The period between 600 and 400 ka is a critical phase for human evolution in Europe. The south and northwest saw a dramatic increase in sites, the spread of handaxe technology alongside bone and wooden tool manufacture, efficient hunting techniques, and the use of fire. Lithic assemblages show considerable variation,...Ashton, Nick ; Davis, Rob
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Journal article
Coastal curios? An analysis of ex situ beach finds for mapping new Palaeolithic sites at Happisburgh, UK
Recent archaeological discoveries from exposures of the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Happisburgh, UK, have radically changed interpretations of the nature and timing of early hominin occupation of northern latitudes, but this in situ archaeology is only one part of the picture. Surface finds of Pleistocene mammalian remains have been found...Bynoe, Rachel ; Ashton, Nick ; Grimmer, Tim ; Hoare, Peter ; Leonard, Joanne …
Happisburgh; human footprints; Lower Paleolithic; Early Pleistocene; Britain; Europe
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Journal article
Molecular analysis of black coatings and anointing fluids from ancient Egyptian coffins, mummy cases, and funerary objects
Black organic coatings and ritual deposits on ancient Egyptian coffins and cartonnage cases are important and understudied sources of evidence about the rituals of funerary practice. Sometimes, the coatings were applied extensively over the surface of the coffin, resembling paint; in other cases, they were poured over the mummy case...Fulcher, Kate ; Serpico, Margaret ; Taylor, John H. ; Stacey, Rebecca
archaeology; ancient Egypt; coffins; mass spectrometry; chromatography
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Journal article
The Early Bronze Age at Kınık Höyük (Niğde): a preliminary analysis
A preliminary analysis of the Early Bronze Age at of Kınık Höyük-NiğdeHighcock, Nancy ; Matessi, Alvise
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Journal article
Layer by layer: the manufacture of Graeco-Roman funerary masks
Ptolemaic cartonnage masks were produced by layering textiles – or reused papyrus sheets – with plaster and glue. Despite the use of the same basic components, the process of manufacture could vary depending on shape, size, time and place. This article aims to clarify the production methods and the different...Vandenbeusch, Marie ; O'Flynn, Daniel ; Moreno, Benjamin
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Journal article
Pilgrim Badges of St Edmund of East Anglia
It was common for medieval pilgrims visiting holy sites to purchase souvenirs celebrating the cults of local saints and then touch these upon associated relics. Such items not only became signs of the places journeyed to, but also – it was believed – took on mystical properties that might cure...Lewis, Michael
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Journal article
The coin
The article is one of a series on the history of objects and covers the origins and adoption of the coin in ancient and modern societies.Ghey, Eleanor
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Journal article
Provenance reinterpretation of some early Egyptian copper alloy artefacts
This paper presents a new provenance evaluation of recently published Egyptian copper alloy artefacts dating to the Protodynastic and Old Kingdom periods. The excavation context of a Protodynastic chisel from Elkab is considered in detail to provide a nuanced interpretation of its dating. In turn, the broader implications of this...Archaeometallurgy; Copper alloy; Protodynastic Egypt; Old Kingdom Egypt; provenance; lead isotopes
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Journal article
Analytical Pyrolysis and Mass Spectrometry to characterise lignin in archaeological wood
This review describes the capability of analytical pyrolysis-based techniques to provide data on lignin composition and on the chemical alteration undergone by lignin in archaeological wooden objects. Applications of Direct Exposure Mass Spectrometry (DE-MS), Evolved Gas Analysis Mass Spectrometry (EGA-MS), and single and double-shot Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) in archaeological...archaeological wood; lignin; analytical pyrolysis; mass spectrometry
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Journal article
Multi-scale characterization of unusual green and blue pigments from the Pharaonic town of Amara West, Nubia
Pigments from paint palettes and a grindstone excavated from the pharaonic town of Amara West (c. 1300–1050 BCE), which lies between the Second and Third Cataracts of the Nile, were examined using polarized light microscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy with... -
Journal article
Spicing wine at the symposion: fact or fiction? Some critical thoughts on material aspects of commensality in the Early Iron Age and Archaic Mediterranean world
Interpretations of metal graters and pottery tripod bowls as Leitfossils of a trans-Mediterranean ‘orientalizing’ culture of spiced-wine consumption have of late become a staple of scholarship on sympotic banqueting, shaping our perception of ancient wine-drinking and its role in cross-cultural interaction in the first half of the first millennium BC....Villing, Alexandra
Archaic Greece, Symposion, and Foodways
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Journal article
The Hallaton Ingot: silver in Iron Age Britain
This article is a case study of the detailed contextual and scientific analysis of a single object, moving beyond a conventional object biography to consider flows of materials and shifts in meaning and value. The object is a simple triangular silver ingot from the Late Iron Age shrine site at...Farley, Julia
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Journal article
A revised terrace stratigraphy and chronology for the early Middle Pleistocene Bytham River in the Breckland of East Anglia, UK
The Bytham River was one of the major pre-Anglian (MIS 12) rivers of eastern England. Flowing from the Midlands to the East Anglian coast, it has been recognised at numerous sites by its distinctive lithological suite, containing significant quantities of quartzite, quartz and Carboniferous chert that originate from central England....Bytham River; early Middle Pleistocene; UKESR dating; Lower Palaeolithic
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Journal article
New radiocarbon dates and environmental analyses of finds from 1903 excavations in the eastern plot of the Tashtyk cemetery of Oglakhty
The early Tashtyk cemetery site of Oglakhty in Minusinsk basin is best known because of the exceptional state of preservation of some of the organic objects found there in excavations in 1903 and 1969. The chronological and spatial development of this extensive cemetery have not been clearly explored until now....Cartwright, Caroline ; Simpson, St John ; Makarov, Nikolay ; Pankova, Svetlana
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Journal article
Conserving, analysing and studying the ‘Hay cookbook’: Revelations from ancient ‘magical’ texts on leather
Seven early medieval leather documents were conserved and studied as part of a small British Museum Research project. Thought to be from the Theban Necropolis (Upper Egypt) and dating to c. 740-810AD, they are written in Coptic. The largest extant manuscript is known today as the ‘Hay Cookbook’, which, together...Wills, Barbara ; Zellmann-Rohrer, Michael ; Skinner, Lucy ; O'Connell, Elisabeth R. ; Stacey, Rebecca …
Manuscript, Leather, and Conservation
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Journal article
Establishing the production chronology of the iconic Japanese woodblock print ‘Red Fuji’
First printed in 1831, ‘Red Fuji’ by Hokusai is one the most iconic Japanese woodblock prints and thousands of impressions were printed from its original set of woodblocks, often in different colour schemes and using different printing effects for different editions. The aim of our research was to systematically study...Korenberg, Capucine ; Derrick, Michele ; Pereira-Pardo, Lucía ; Matsuba, Ryoko
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Journal article
Revealing relationships: colonial photograph albums of the Niger Delta at the British Museum: a case study
The focus of this paper is a collection of photographs currently housed in the British Museum. Two albums (British Museum reference numbers Af,A46 and Af,A47) are identified as belonging to Arthur Purt, thought to be a European trader in the Niger Delta in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries....Anderson, Helen
Nigeria, Photographs, and Colonial
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Journal article
Шкатулки бронзового века: экзотические импорты,подражания-скевоморфы и локальное производствоот Центральной Азии до Шумера
Discusses archaeological finds of inlaid boxes at Bronze Age sites in Iraq, shows how some originated in the Indus Valley and how other types of box were carved from stone or made from fired clay in Arabia, Iran and Central Asia, probably as imitations of ones in organic materials that...Simpson, St John
box, Ancient Near East, and Bronze Age
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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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Book
Thomas Becket: murder and the making of a saint
The murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170 sent shockwaves across medieval Europe. He rose from ordinary beginnings in London to become chancellor to King Henry II and then Archbishop of Canterbury, making him one of the most powerful men in England. Becket’s fortunes changed when...de Beer, Lloyd ; Speakman, Naomi ; Koopmans, Rachel
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Book
Peru: a journey in time
The accompanying catalogue to the British Museum exhibition Peru: a journey in time. The environments of the Central Andean region in Peru, South America, are some of the most geographically rich and diverse in the world. This publication highlights the history, beliefs and cultural achievements of the different peoples who...Cooper, Jago ; Pardo, Cecilia
archaeology, Peru, and material culture
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Book
Nero: the man behind the myth
One of the best known figures from Roman history, Nero (r. AD 54–68) is most often characterised as a tyrannical and ineffectual ruler, who fiddled while Rome burnt. Such a reputation has, however, been shaped by ancient literary sources written by his adversaries and enemies and, in light of new...Opper, Thorsten
Nero, Roman empire, and history
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Book
Museum, Magic, Memory: Curating Paul Denys Montague
An investigation of the work of curation and of reactivating a colonial era collection by working with communities of origin, told through the lens of a particular collection made by Paul Montague in New Caledonia in 1914.Adams, Julie
Curation, Museum, and Anthropology
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Book
Making Change: The Decimalisation of Britain’s Currency
On a grey, drizzly Monday, 15 February 1971, Britain went decimal. Ten years in the planning, ‘D-Day’ upended a currency system that had been unchanged for more than a millennium. A national effort requiring cooperation at every level of society, many expected decimalisation to be a disaster. This is the...Hockenhull, Tom
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Book
The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry: Unravelling the Norman Conquest
Political intrigue and treachery, heroism and brutal violence, victory and defeat - all this is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, an epic account of one of the pivotal episodes in English history embroidered on a strip of linen. Famously, it shows the stricken Anglo-Saxon king Harold dying on the battlefield...Musgrove, David ; Lewis, Michael
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Book
Journal Special Issue: The Art of Gardens: Views from Melanesia and Amazonia
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...Mitchell, Jean ; Bolton, Lissant
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Book chapter
Visitors to the rainforest: Engagements with environments and outsiders in far north Queensland.
The chapter discusses a series of objects in UK museums (including the British Museum) from the Queensland tropical rainforest region. The discussions are linked by ideas of visitors to the rainforest, both European and Pacific Islander. The chapter proposes that the barkcloth made in the region may have been introduced...Bolton, Lissant
bark blanket, bicornual basket, sword club, fire drill (bagu), painted shell. and Anthropology, material culture. Queensland, Vanuatu.
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Book chapter
Buried archaeological materials
Ceramics, stones, metallic objects, bones, leather, wood and textiles are among the most important categories of archaeological remains. The information carried by these materials is often invaluable, as they represent precious and sometimes unique windows into past civilizations and into the evolution of humankind. Scientific research has the aim of...Tamburini, Diego
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Book chapter
Sîn city: new light from old excavations at Ur
The city of Ur first commanded serious Assyriological attention in 1850s. A series of explorations by British consul Taylor showed the promise held the by site and would reveal the city’s ancient name. Ur was soon enthusiastically connected with Ur of the Chaldees, known from the Bible as home to...Taylor, Jonathan
Iraq, Excvations, and Archives
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Book chapter
The Ashurbanipal Library project at the British Museum
It was a remarkable stroke of luck that the first large corpus of cuneiform texts to be rediscovered in Mesopotamia was the Library of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria (668–c. 630 BC). It quickly became the foundation stone on which the modern study of Assyriology was built. The Library remains a...Taylor, Jonathan
cuneiform, library, and digitisation
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Book chapter
The Roman coins from Exeter and its hinterland
An analysis of Roman coins finds from Exeter, set against the context of other Roman towns and Roman Devon and the South-WestMoorhead, Sam ; Brown, Andrew
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Book chapter
Use of decorated silver plate in Imperial Rome and Sasanian Iran
This chapter explores the production of silver plate in the late Roman and Sasanian Empires as luxury tablewares for both secular and religious use and suggests that parallels between forms and decoration may provide clues for links (e.g. trading and diplomacy) between the two respective imperial courts during late Antiquity.Hobbs, Richard
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Book chapter
Divine depictions: first representations of gods in Egypt
Ancient Egyptian iconography is characterised by the depictions of gods and goddesses. The number of deities appearing on tomb and temple walls and in religious literature grew steadily throughout the Pharaonic period. As foreign influences shaped, consolidated and altered the Egyptian identity, assimilations and comparisons with foreign gods enriched the...Regulski, Ilona
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Book chapter
The new mint under Nicomedes I (c. 278-255 BC)
This paper examines the foundation of the royal Bithynian mint under Nicomedes I (c. 278-255 BC). It analyses the silver and bronze coinages produced through die studies and metrology, and considers the evidence for the location of the mint and the date of first production.Dowler, Amelia
numismatics, Nicomedes I, and Bithynia
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Book chapter
A technical study of the Royal Clock Salt
The cameo heads on the base of the Clock Salt were examined using digital microscopy. . It was possible to take high-magnification images of the heads and use them for investigating potential materials from which they might have been created. The aim was to discover whether they were made from...Meek, Andrew ; Cooke, Oliver ; Shearman, Fleur ; Ling, Denise ; Cartwright, Caroline …
digital microscopy, marine shell cameos, and scientific research
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Book chapter
The Macabi Island wooden sculptures
Scientific identification using scanning electron microscopy revealed that wood from the algarrobo tree had been selected for making the iconic Macabi Island sculpturesCartwright, Caroline
scanning electron microscopy, Macabi Island, and wood anatomy
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Book chapter
The coffin of Takabuti
Description of coffin belonging to ancient Egyptian mummy of a woman named Takabuti, dating to the 25th Dynasty.Taylor, John
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Book chapter
Systems of value in Vanuatu: reflections on the Ambae textile complex
This chapter discusses the diverse forms of value attached to plaited pandanus textiles on Ambae, an island in the south-western Pacific nation of Vanuatu. I explore their cultural and historical contexts and show the dynamic nature of textiles both as types or categories, and as individual items. Textiles are made...Bolton, Lissant
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Book chapter
Le trésor de l’Oxus
Short essay describing the circumstances of the discovery and later history of displays of the Oxus Treasure in the British MuseumSimpson, St John
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Book chapter
The visual representation of ghosts in Early Modern Japan
An examination of representations of ghosts in early modern Japan, including paintings, woodblock prints and books, kabuki theatre and martial ghosts.Buckland, Rosina
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Book chapter
Word and image in the drawings of Unica Zürn
An investigation of the interaction between word and image in the composite anagram poem-drawings of the Surrealist artist Unica Zürn.Seligman, Isabel ; Seligman, Isabel ; Mason, Louis ; Kivland, Sharon ; Newman, Michael ; Macfarlane, Kate …
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Book chapter
Early medieval industries of Khurasan and evidence for the mining, working and export of talc cooking pots, and small items of jet and turquoise
Discussion of textual evidence for the exploitation of different resources in Khurasan, and how archaeological evidence from Merv shows the import of talc cooking pots, and small items of jet and turquoise from neighbouring highland Iran in the early medieval period, with the implications that they raiseSimpson, St John
archaeology, Khurasan, and Merv
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Book chapter
Site-by site research on first millennium AD textiles from Egypt at the British Museum: conservation and documentation of archaeological collections
The chapter outlines recent approaches to conservation of and research on First Millennium AD textiles excavated in the early 20th century under the auspices of the Egypt Exploration Fund, Byzantine Research Fund and British School of Archaeology and now held in the British Museum. Systematic documentation and publication of First...Harrison, Anna ; O'Connell, Elisabeth ; Pritchard, Frances
research, conservation, and Textiles
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Book chapter
A carrier bag theory of drawing
This essay examines drawing as a technology, using the lens of author Ursula Le Guin's 1986 essay 'A Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction' to reflect on many of the drawings exhibited as part of the Drawing Room's 'Drawing Biennial 2021'.Seligman, Isabel
biennial, carrier bag, and drawing
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Conference paper (published)
Remote monitoring for museum pests ‐ a 21st century approach
Monitoring insects is a fundamental element of Integrated Pest Management, and advanced planning is crucial to enable staff suitable time to replace monitors, identify insects and respond to concerns. As is fairly standard in Museum and other heritage collections, the British Museum, undertakes quarterly monitoring and teams of trained collections...Austin Gonzalez, Carlos ; Marasco, Tatiana ; Portoni, Fabiana ; Kelley, Patrick ; Doyle, Adrian
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Book chapter
An analysis of coca leaves
Six Paracas/Nasca textiles with embroideries were scientifically examined not only to identify the fibres, but also to see if any of the textile bags contained traces of coca leaves. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that one of these bags still contained tiny traces of coca leaves.Cartwright, Caroline
coca leaves, textile bags, and Peru
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Exhibition catalogue
Ancient Greeks: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes
This is the catalogue to accompany the British Museum's International Touring exhibition Ancient Greeks: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes currently in Australia, moving to Auckland, New Zealand next year. It features text by Dr Peter John Higgs, Curator, British Museum, with an introductory essay by Professor Alastair Blanshard, University of Queensland,...Blanshard, Alastair ; Burton, Diana ; Higgs, Peter John
Sport, Greeks, and Competition
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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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Book
Precious Treasures from the Diamond Throne: Finds from the Site of the Buddha’s Enlightenment
The Mahābodhi temple at Bodhgayā in eastern India has long been recognised as the place where the Buddha sat in meditation and attained enlightenment. The site, soon identified as the ‘Diamond Throne’ or vajrāsana, became a destination for pilgrims and a focus of religious attention for more than two thousand...Willis, Michael
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Book
Charles Masson: Collections from Begram and Kabul Bazaar, Afghanistan, 1833–1838
From 1833–8, Charles Masson (1800–1853) was employed by the British East India Company to explore the ancient sites in south-east Afghanistan. In return for funding his exploration of the ancient sites of Afghanistan, the British East India Company received all of Masson’s finds. These were sent to the India Museum...Errington, Elizabeth