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Rounded With a Sleep: The Transitional Role of Grave Goods in the Archaeology of Ritual and Emotion
(2026)
Wilkin, Neil
Although grave goods have been a major concern in archaeology since its inception, the question of what objects buried with the dead actually do—in both ritual and emotional terms—has remained relatively opaque and understudied. This paper addresses the issue directly, illuminating the ways graves goods served to unstitch the dead from the ‘objective’ quotidian life of the ‘self’ and enter into ‘subjective’ communities of the dead; how objects buried in graves can simultaneously belong to the dead and the living, playing an importantly paradoxical role in navigating journeys between the needs and identities of the living, dying and the dead and the role of grave goods in addressing and transforming the anxieties caused by death and the creation of positive psychological emotional benefits, community cohesion and solidarity. To develop these ideas, I draw attention to the similarities between the concept of ‘transitional objects’, which serve to bridge subjectivity and objectivity (inner and outer worlds), and grave goods, both of which can be understood in terms of ritual processes and ritualized acts.
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Navigating the Customs House, Then and Now: A Synthesis of British Colonial Collecting in Australia, 1788–1823
(2023)
Simpson, Daniel
Amid growing public and academic interest in the identification and return of Aboriginal objects acquired by Britain from Australia after 1788, enquiries into the disputed origins of the British Museum’s ‘Gweagal shield’ have highlighted the need for new and better forms of provenance research. This article explores a novel methodology and source of information: British Treasury and customs records detailing the descriptions, values, and duties paid upon a vast number of colonial collections of Aboriginal objects, human remains, and natural history specimens known to have disembarked in Britain between 1788 and 1823. By positing a new provenance for the ‘Gweagal shield’ – namely, that it may have accompanied Bennelong, Yemmerrawanne and Arthur Phillip on their passage to England in 1793 – the article explores the potential of such records for highlighting what, when, how, and from whom Australian collections arrived in Britain in this early and hitherto little-understood period.
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Heritage Protection: The Law in Practice
(2026-05-28)
Artemiuk, Jakub
;
Lewis, Michael
The law is the law’, or so it seems. In practice, laws must be interpreted, and heritage laws are a prime example. Lawmakers (i.e. politicians and lawyers, hopefully working in consultation with enforcement agencies and heritage practitioners) may have general and specific views on how laws operate in practice and how that vision may be realised; after all, new laws are generally designed to change the status quo or (at least) protect it. It is also possible that the practical implementation of certain heritage law(largely the responsibility of law enforcement agencies) might evolve from this. This can be attributed to cultural or societal issues and/or (most likely) due to resource allocation. In this paper, we take the example of processing treasure finds in parts of the United Kingdom, specifically in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which are covered by the Treasure Act 1996, and (secondly) ways of dealing with avocational metal-detecting, in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, where most archaeological works, including metal-detecting, are licenced. These examples will show that the law is open to interpretation that this is often due to resourcing (or lack thereof), and that practices will vary from one territory/jurisdiction to another.
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Casting new light on the Lower Niger Bronzes, Nigeria: A curatorial and scientific investigation
(2026-09)
Armigliato, Alessandro
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Perucchetti, Laura
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Hudson, Julie
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Coulson, Imogen
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Babalola, Abidemi Babatunde
The southern Nigerian copper-alloy collections cared for by the British Museum include artefacts from well-known centres – Benin, Ife, Igbo-Ukwu – and a lesser-studied group, the so-called Lower Niger Bronzes (LNBs). Spanning the 10th–19th centuries CE, LNBs likely originate from multiple Niger Delta casting centres but remain relatively unknown outside scholarly circles due to limited object history documentation and scientific analysis. This study focuses on 40 bells—the collection’s most numerous category—using digital microscopy, XRF, and X-radiography to investigate alloy composition, production techniques, and interregional connections. Results reveal a heterogeneous assemblage shaped by diverse alloy recipes and metallurgical traditions, including the incorporation of zinc-bearing alloys. Certain forms, such as Inverted Tulip and Horn Head bells, show coherent metallurgical patterns, suggesting distinct production choices/strategies. By integrating compositional data with typology, curatorial research, and legacy data, this study establishes a framework for refining object attributions and reconstructing artefacts “life histories”. These findings provide new insights into the technological, cultural, and regional dynamics of southern Nigerian copper-alloy production and highlight the complex interconnections between local, regional, and global trade networks, offering a foundation for future interdisciplinary research.
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A Newly Discovered Tabletâ€ Making Facility in Nineveh: Insights From Scientific Analysis
(2026-05-05)
Jean, Mathilde
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Spataro, Michela
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Taylor, Jonathan
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Ulian, Gianfranco
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Valdré, Giovanni
This paper addresses the question of tablet technology in the Neoâ€ Assyrian capital city of Nineveh. Recent excavations in the lower town of Nineveh by the Iraqi–Italian Archaeological Expedition uncovered an exceptional assemblage of more than 200 tablets from an elite residence that appears to have included a scriptorium. This study presents scientific analysis of five newly discovered tablets from this assemblage, and a clay lump from the same context, in the form of petrography and geochemical analysis. The results show that the tablets were made from highly calcareous clays, with a variety of clay processing techniques ranging from nonprocessed and little homogenised clays to highly levigated clays and organicâ€ rich, possibly tempered clays. The composition of the clay lump matches that of one of the tablets discovered in the same context, suggesting that this tablet would have been made on site from the clay available in the facility. This study provides important insights for the interpretation of the context as a possible workshop for tabletâ€ making outside of the wellâ€ known royal context and also highlights the diversity of tablet clays represented in this building.
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ARCH-ON: A new ontological framework to describe archaeological objects for Digital Humanities research
(2026-03-03)
Deckers, Pieterjan
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Hyvà¶nen, Eero
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Lewis, Michael
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Oksanen, Eljas
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Rantala, Heikki
This paper presents the idea and preliminary results of the ARCH-ON (Archaeological Ontologies) pilot project. This project aims to lay the groundwork for the semantic description and classification of archaeological artefacts, enabling new approaches to the recording, study, international data harmonization and public accessibility of information regarding material culture from the past.
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Bronze production in the Po Plain: technological evidence from the Middle – Late Bronze Age site of Solarolo (Northern Italy)
(2026-06)
Armigliato, Alessandro
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Rademakers, Frederik W.
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Cattani, Maurizio
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Cavazzuti, Claudio
The second half of the 2nd millennium BCE was a period of technological and economic transformation in Europe, marked by intensified metallurgical production and extensive exchange networks. Communities in the Po Plain (Northern Italy) played a pivotal role in bronze production and in mediating the diffusion of metallurgical knowledge between continental Europe and the Mediterranean. Despite significant advances in recent decades, research on metal artefacts has focused predominantly on typological analyses, often overlooking production evidence such as technical ceramics and secondary by-products, limiting our understanding of metallurgical processes and their socio-economic contexts. The Bronze Age settlement of Solarolo (c.1650–1200 BCE), one of the largest in the eastern Po Plain, has yielded a rich assemblage of metallurgical remains, including crucibles, by-products and finished objects, making it an ideal case study to investigate metal production in the region. Through Digital Microscopy and SEM-EDS analysis, this study examines resource acquisition, technological organization, and the site’s role within Po Plain metalworking networks. Results indicate that copper, often acquired in a partially refined state, was further purified on-site and deliberately alloyed with tin, likely using cassiterite, demonstrating specialised metallurgical knowledge and active bronze production rather than simple remelting/recycling. Technological parallels with contemporary sites suggest a complex, socially stratified system of metal production across the Po Plain, characterized by standardized practices, shared techniques, and coordinated access to raw materials. Overall, this research enhances our understanding of Middle-Late Bronze Age metalworking and the socio-economic dynamics of Po Plain communities, paving the way for extended comparative studies.
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Pastoralists, travellers and miners in the Atbai Desert (Sudan): surveys and excavations at Khor Rafit
(2026-01-02)
Cooper, Julien
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Whiting, Rebecca
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CzyÅ¼ewska-Zalewska, Ewa
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Rammutloa, Kefilwe
Owing to the remote terrain and difficulty of logistics, archaeological investigations of the Atbai Desert of Eastern Sudan are in their infancy. As part of a larger project aimed at surveying and documenting sites at threat from modern gold mining, in 2019 the Atbai Survey Project investigated the site of Khor Rafit, a multi-period site with importance both to ancient nomadic groups and foreign urban states (Rome, the Arab-Islamic Caliphate, Nubia) that were involved in gold extraction there. Surveys and excavations at the site revealed extensive gold-mining operations and a large cemetery exhibiting the burials of local pastoralist nomads, as well as Neolithic burials and rock-art sites. The local archaeology bears witness to the as yet unexplored interactions between nomads and foreigners in the gold mines of the Atbai Desert. Moreover, Khor Rafit was a vital watering station and strategic stopping-point on the long-distance trade route known as the Korosko Road, an important desert bypath shortening the route between Lower and Upper Nubia. With ongoing destruction at such sites from unregulated gold mining, archaeological operations at Khor Rafit and other sites in the Atbai should be conducted with urgency.
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Gold and sweat: A science-based investigation of the Chinese method of black patination
(2025)
Benzonelli, A.
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Freestone, I.C.
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Lin, J.
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Martinà³n-Torres, M.
The patination of copper alloys using chemical means to turn their surfaces black is well-documented historically in China and Japan, and purportedly used in ancient Egypt, Greece, Mycenae, and the Roman world, but we know remarkably little about the origins and eventual transmission of this technology. To solve this question, there is the need to compare the materials and technologies used in different cultures, as well as to understand the corresponding patination mechanisms. Here we present the results of an experimental and analytical project that sought to reproduce and study a traditional patination method recorded in China. This involved the patination of copper alloys containing small amounts of precious metals, which were coloured by natural sweat through handling. Based on the analysis by colorimetry, OM, pXRF, SEM-EDS, XRD, Raman, and UV–VIS spectroscopy of experimental tokens and historic artefacts at the British Museum, we explain the effects of tin, silver and gold in the colour and texture of the black patinated materials, as well as the role of sweat and handling. We propose a detailed explanation for the mechanism of patination by handling, making emphasis on the role of precious metals and tin in the patina formation, and present a model of patination that will allow for comparison with patinated materials from other regions and periods.
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Animal rib tools in Bronze Age mining: insights from the Great Orme (UK) and Kartamysh (Ukraine) copper mines
(2026-04)
Zagorodnia, Olga
This paper presents the results of a functional analysis of a relatively underexplored category of bone tools – primarily made from animal ribs – discovered within Bronze Age copper mining contexts. The study examines 30 bone artefacts associated with copper ore extraction from the Great Orme mines in North Wales, UK. Comparisons are made with rib tools from the well-studied bone tools collection from the Kartamysh mines in eastern Ukraine. Functional evidence enables the reconstruction of tool kinematics and offers new interpretations regarding how the tools were used. Experimental research at the Kartamysh mines has previously identified a distinct class of bone tools used for stirring and sweeping copper ore particles during wet beneficiation. Here, the functions of similar artefacts from the Great Orme mines are explored. A brief review of other ore-processing sites employing wet beneficiation is also presented. Findings from both sites suggest variability in how ancient miners utilized rib tools for extraction and ore processing activities. However, the Great Orme collection requires further detailed examination and additional experimental research.
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