On March 8th, International Woman’s Day is celebrating its centenary, and the Petrie Museum is joining in by honouring Victorian writer Amelia Edwards, for without her, there may have never have been a ‘Petrie Museum’.
Amelia Edwards was a novelist and travel writer, as well as an Egyptologist. After visiting for the first time in Egypt 1873, she wrote a vivid account of her adventure in A Thousand Miles up the Nile. She was the driving force behind the establishment of the Egypt Exploration Fund (now the EES) in 1882 to promote the scientific exploration of Egypt and its monuments.
I’m not Egyptologist, I’m not archaeologist, but I want my own bequest, my money to go somewhere, where I could have studied myself
With the help of Flinders Petrie, she started her own private Egyptology teaching collection. I’m not Egyptologist, I’m not archaeologist, but I want my own bequest, my money to go somewhere, where I could have studied myself, she said.
When she died in 1892, Amelia Edwards left her large collection to UCL, as at the time, it was the only university to award degrees to women. These items, several hundred Egyptian antiquities, as well as her library of books, photographs and other documents concerning ancient Egypt, now form the core of the Petrie Museum. She also left funds to create Britain’s first professorship in Egyptian Archaeology and Philology at UCL, held first by Flinders Petrie.
To honour Amelia Edwards contributions, on March 8th, the Petrie Museum will install a bust of Amelia Edwards, and an image of her study, at its entrance. This will be followed by a performance in the museum of ‘Hers was the Earth…’, a one-woman show by Kim Hicks about the extraordinary life of Amelia Edwards.
The Petrie Museum might just be London’s best concealed treasure, so why not combine celebrating women’s achievements with your own little adventure and discovering (hint!) a hidden gem?
‘International Womens Day the Petrie Museum honours Amelia Edwards’ starts at 6 pm, on Tuesday March 8th 2011. Tickets are 10 for Friends and 12 for non-Friends. To book, and for more information, see the Petrie Museum website, or mail the PMF’s secretary at janpicton@ijnet.demon.co.uk.
Directions: I strongly advice against starting at the UCL main entrance at Gower Street and trying to find your way through the university building(s), unless you want to ‘discover’ the two Coptos Lions brought from Egypt by Flinders Petrie. The lions can be found before the Provost’s Office at University College London, near the embalmed body of Jeremy Bentham (to then get to the Petrie museum,follow these instructions, from (5) to (7)). But the quickest way to access the museum, is definitely via Torrington Place.
Evidence of early Iron Age settlements and Roman remains have found at Sutton borough, south London.
The infant burials and animal remains uncovered across the site are believed to be over 2000 years old.
The discoveries were made by workmen laying the foundations for the new Stanley Park High School on the former site of Queen Mary’s Hospital.
The site lies less than 100m to the northwest of one of the largest 150m in diameter Late Bronze Age hilltop enclosures in southeast England, discovered in the early 20th century.
The archaeological remains are typical of a late Iron Age and early Roman farming settlement. Likely, the area was once a small farming community made up of earth and timber roundhouses with thatched roofs.
The excavations have also uncovered Romano-British enclosures, numerous postholes and pits, many containing multiple animal burials.
These animals which were either whole or partly dismembered appear to have been deliberately sacrificed and deposited in deep (up to 4m) pits cut into the chalk bed rock.
“A very large number of domestic animal skeletons have been recovered – including horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and dogs, says Duncan Hawkins, lead archaeological consultant.
These animals which were either whole or partly dismembered appear to have been deliberately sacrificed and deposited in deep (up to 4m) pits cut into the chalk bed rock.
“This may represent some form of ‘closure’ ritual when the settlement passed out of use with the pits perhaps originally representing grain stores.”
Iron Age features, including a possible livestock pathway, shallow gullies and pits were also identified.
The school hopes that the discoveries can be shared with the pupils and used for inspiration in history lessons.
“Building work for our super new school continues while careful excavations are carried out. We are keen to learn more about the artefacts and stories behind them after they have been fully analysed – it will really help to bring ancient history to life for local children when they attend their new school,” says Graham Tope from Sutton Council.
Earlier this year, an astonishing Roman cavalry helmet was discovered in Cumbria. The helmet found complete with face mask is only the fifth known example discovered in the United Kingdom.
Next month, the parade helmet will go on auction at Christie’s London, with Carlisle’s Tullie House Museum as one of the eager bidders for the 200,000 artefact.
Crosby Garrett Helmet Discovery
The helmet was discovered damaged it was broken in 67 pieces but near-complete by a metal detectoristat Crosby Garrett in Cumbria, in May 2010 (images of the headpiece in its discovery state can be seen on the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) website). The find was then restored by conservators at Christies.
It is a pity that the object was restored before there was any opportunity to examine it scientifically, as that would have given us more information about how it came to be in the ground, said Roger Bland, Head of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum.
‘Sports’ Helmet for the Roman Auxiliary Cavalry
The helmet is of the Phygian type (named for its shape, alike to a Phrygian cap), and dated to the late 1st or 2nd Century AD. It had a griffin figurine crest attachment.
Its facemask depicts an idealised youthful visage in Greek style, clean shaven with a head of luxurious curly hare.
In antiquity, the polished white-metal surface of the Crosby Garrett face-mask would have provided a striking contrast to the original golden-bronze colour of the hair and Phrygian cap.
Detail of the griffin at the top of the restored ‘Phrygian Cap’ and side view of the Roman helmet and facemask. Images copyright Christie’s.
In addition, colourful streamers may have been attached to the rings along the back ridge and on the griffin crest.
The Hippika Gymnasia
The Crosby Garrett Helmet would not have been worn in combat, but on the occasion of ‘cavalry sports’ events, the hippika gymnasia.
Arrian of Nicomedia, a Roman provincial governor under Hadrian, provides us with the only surviving contemporary source of information on cavalry sports events.
The historian describes, in an appendix to his Ars Tactica, how the cavalrymen were divided into two teams which took turns to attack and defend. Hesuggests that the wearing of these helmets was a mark of rank or excellence in horsemanship.
Top 3 Antiquities Sales at Christie’s
1. The Jenkin’s Venus – 7,926,650 in 2002 2. Canford Assyrian Relief – 7,701,500 3. Statue of Ka-Nefer – $2,816,000 See more
The Roman cavalry sports helmets are thought to have been commissioned and purchased by individual soldiers.
The helmet’s find spot has been visited by local archaeologists and PAS staff, and a preliminary assessment has been made of the discovery site.
So far, previously unknown evidence for human occupation in the immediate vicinity of the find spot has been revealed.
We very much hope to be able to investigate this further, as it is important to know as much as possible about the context of the find, said Sally Worrel, National Finds Adviser for PAS.
See the Crosby Garrett Helmet… now its still in the UK
The Crosby Garrett helmet will be on public display atChristie’s King Street salerooms from 14 September and at South Kensington from 2 to 6 October.On 7 October, it will be offered for auction at Christie’s (Lot 176 Sale 5488), where it is estimated to realise between 200,000 and 300,000.
“This is a hugely important discovery and we expect considerable interest at both the public preview and at the auction where it is sure to generate great excitement from museums and collectors alike, said Georgiana Aitken, Head of Antiquities at Christie’s London (read an interview with her on Auctioning Antiquities).
To prevent the Crosby Garrett helmet going abroad, one of the bidders will be Carlisle’s Tullie House Museum, but as pointed out by Roger Bland it is always difficult for a museum to acquire an object like this at auction.
We wish the Tullie House Museum best of luck, and fewest of competition!
* Wondering – we certainly did – why this valuable find does not fall under ‘The Treasure Act’ (which most of the time means valuation by the British Museum and purchase by a museum or a group of museums)? Apparently, an object needs to be over 300 years old when found (check) and contain at least 10 per cent by weight of precious metal (gold or silver) to be considered ‘treasure’. Yet, if a ‘hoard’ of Bronze Helmets would have been found (more than two?), it would have qualified as treasure.
The British Museum has announced that it is lending the Cyrus Cylinder to the National Museum of Iran. Together with two fragments of contemporary cuneiform tablets, it will be the centrepiece of an exhibition that celebrates a great moment in the history of the Middle East.
In a statement released today, the British Museum said that although political relations between Iran and the UK are at the moment difficult, the Cyrus Cylinder will after all be send to Tehran, where it will be on display for four months.
One of the chief tasks of our generation is to build a global community, where peoples of differing ideologies can live together in respect and harmony, said Karen Armstrong, author and commentator on religious affairs and a British Museum Trustee.
At a time of political tension, it is essential to keep as many doors of communication open as possible. We all have much work to do to build a peaceful world. This cultural exchange may make a small but timely contribution towards the creation of better relations between the West and Iran.
Objects are uniquely able to speak across time and space and this object must be shared as widely as possible.
In 2004, Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, wrote in ‘The whole world in our hands’ that the Cylinder may indeed be a document of human rights, and clearly linked with the history of Iran, but that it is in no real sense an Iranian document: it is part of a much larger history of the ancient Near East, of Mesopotamian kingship, and of the Jewish diaspora. According to McGregor, it is one of the British Museum’s tasks to resist the narrowing of the object’s meaning and its appropriation to one political agenda.
The two fragments of tablet that will accompany the Cylinder were also found in nineteenth century British Museum excavations in or near Babylon.
These fragments were identified by experts at the Museum earlier this year as being inscribed with parts of the same text as the Cylinder but do not belong to it. They show that the text of the Cylinder was probably a proclamation that was widely distributed across the Persian Empire.
Originally, the Cylinder was inscribed in cuneiform and buried in the foundations of a wall after Cyrus the Great, the Persian Emperor, captured Babylon in 539 BC. It stayed buried there until it wasdiscovered by an excavation team from theBritish Museumin 1879, which brought the ancient document to England. Cyrus’ Cylinder has been in London ever since.
The clay document records that, aided by the god Marduk, Cyrus captured Babylon without a fight. According to Cyrus (this part of the document is written as he himself is speaking)he abolished the labour-service of Babylon’s free population and restored shrines dedicated to Marduk and other gods. He also repatriated deported peoples who had been brought to Babylon; the decree that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild The Temple.
It is because of these enlightened acts, which were reasonably rare in antiquity (and quite the opposite of Nebuchadnezzar’s behaviour), that the Cylinder has become a symbol of tolerance and respect for different peoples and different faiths.
You could almost say that the Cyrus Cylinder is A History of the Middle East in one object and it is a link to a past which we all share and to a key moment in history that has shaped the world around us, comments MacGregor, referencing the museum’s ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’ project.
Objects are uniquely able to speak across time and space and this object must be shared as widely as possible, he adds.
What would you ask Bettany Hughes?Let us know in the comments below and we’ll mention your questions to her when she makes the next entry in her Heritage Key Video Journal!
It was with odd reluctance that I took the hand of a pretty young girl in Room 17 of the British Museum on Saturday afternoon as she dragged me to the opposite side of the hall containing the stunning Nereid Monument, but through her broken English, she assured me I wasn’t about to meet my maker as she placed me in position in a crowd slowly forming a circle.
I’ve visited the British Museum in Bloomsbury, London countless number of times, but I’d never seen what was about to happen next. It took me a moment to realise the girl who’d been so insistent on taking my hand was not wearing any shoes, and then I noticed her attire, which probably wouldn’t have been amiss in ancient times. On spotting the topless young man, I realised that something was about to happen which would require a camera. What happened next was nothing like the surreal protest against the BP Oil Spill that hit the British Museum last week, but an unexpected dance performance in the space in front of the Nereid Monument.
Watch the slideshow to see photographs of the dance performance, which lasted for approximately 15 minutes and was nicely composed and synchronised. There was no music, but there didn’t need to be – the three dancers moved around with grace as the crowd looked on with wide smiles. The trio were very animated in their movement and interacted with the crowd as part of the dance routine, running up to the various people stood around and examining them in curiosity (including yours truly, who was a resting post for topless young man).
The trio finally settled on a young lady in a black dress who was then blindfolded and became part of the performance, worshipped by the trio of dancers as she demises to the ground before being slowly revived. As her shoes are returned to her, the trio discreetly disappeared before I could find out who they are or anything more about the performance.
Were you at the British Museum on Saturday afternoon and witness the performance in Room 17? Have you seen other improptu performances at the British Museum? Leave a comment below!
How many ancient artefacts are on show at the British Museum? Sounds like an easy question: after all, surely it’s just a case of finding the right person and writing down a figure, right? I mean, the British Museum is the second most visited museum on the planet behind the Louvre, and well over half the Louvre’s collection is non-ancient (for an explanation of what ‘ancient’ actually is check out Jon’s blog here) – someone must know how much stuff is on show. For the short story, the numbers and how I came to my conclusions click here. If not read on and suffer with me.
First port of call: the museum’s press office, who could only tell me the museum holds a total of around 6,000,000 artefacts. Around? It’s not a great omen if the press office doesn’t even know its own total collection, let alone how much of that has made it from storage into display cases. I was whisked off to another department:”We have around six million items in total, sir, but I’m not sure of the number on display – maybe one of our guidebooks has what you’re after.”
Sounds like an easy question, right? Wrong.
No other web source had the answer, unsurprisingly, so it was off to the BM itself, on a balmy summer’s afternoon, to find out for myself just what its magic number was. My first port of call was the information desk. By definition that was where I should be looking, right? Again, no. I had a very nice flick through some of the museum’s guidebooks, and a perfectly pleasant conversation, but no number. So armed with nothing but a phone, notepad and a C in GCSE Maths I set off in search of the British Museum’s magic number (see the British Museum’s top ten treaures here).
I quick foray into the Egyptian Gallery later I’d noted 160 Egyptian artefacts, alongside 100 Near Eastern pieces (I counted the Assyrian Lion Hunt as one item). There were even fewer in the nearby Greek marbles room – just thirty with the controversial Elgin Marbles counted as one. But these were three of what I’ve cleverly dubbed the BM’s ‘big’ rooms, the showcase bits with the headline treasures like the aforementioned marbles and the Rosetta Stone. On my reckoning there are eight of these, counting the famously beautiful stair wells.
That leaves another 87 rooms unaccounted for 85 when you consider that two of the rooms, ‘Enlightenment’ and ‘Life and Death’ are non-ancient. So I headed up to some of the ‘small’ rooms to see what they would add to the number. ‘Greeks in Italy’: 740 (roughly, mind I couldn’t count each and every item individually). ‘Cyprus’: 400; ‘Tomb of Nebamun’: 100 and the upstairs Egyptian galleries a whopping 1,500 between the four of them. Based on that information, and by checking how large or small the rooms are, I finally found my (rough) answer: 43,000.
How did I get 43,000? I flattened out each ‘big’ room’s items at 100, and multiplied by six. I then added this figure to that of the smaller rooms, which I averaged at 500 items per room. I then rounded down ever-so-slightly, though I think this number is fairly accurate. Even if I’m a fair distance out my number betrays a massive discrepancy between the museum’s six million artefacts in total and what’s on show: less than one per cent. I think we’d all like to explore the British Museum’s vast archives, but judging by this you’d be dead before you made it halfway.
Ever wondered what lies beneath some of London’s biggest religious buildings? Cathedrals and other religious structures are often built on ancient sites that have had temples or churches built on them time and time again since early Roman times. They are urban landmarks, similar to roads and boundaries, which tend to retain their position throughout the ages, with modern town planners rebuilding on the same spot.
They have been focal points for many major historical events, such as the invading Vikings burning down an early church at the site of St Paul’s, or in epoch-making events such as London’s Great Fire. The history of what lies beneath London’s cathedrals (and Westminster Abbey) is also the history of the city.
It was the churchmen who reclaimed some of the water-logged land around Westminster after the Romans left, while it’s known that St Paul’s and Southwark (home to Southwark Cathedral and St George’s Cathedral) were settled and built upon during the Roman sojourn in London.
The Roman House and Industry Under St Paul’s Cathedral
Sir Christopher Wren’s St Paul’s Cathedral was built following the 1666 Great Fire of London and was officially completed in 1710. It replaced the old St Paul’s, which had stood there since the 11th century, although it underwent various stages of work and expansion. The current St Paul’s Cathedral is the fourth cathedral, according to the cathedral’s own web site, to stand on that spot on top of Ludgate Hill.
The first cathedral dedicated to St Paul was built on Ludgate Hill in 604 AD for the bishop of the East Saxons, Mellitus. Made of wood, the structure burned down in 675. It was then rebuilt only to be destroyed again by the Viking invaders in the 10th century, and a third cathedral made of stone was then erected.
The first known bishop of London was Restitutus, who was named among the attendees of the Council of Arles in 314 AD. However, it’s not known where his cathedral would have been located but on top of Ludgate Hill may have been a possibility, with its position overlooking the City of London, to the west of the established Roman trading town of Londinium that existed in the fourth century.
According to the cathedral’s website, there have been religious monuments and churches at the site of St Paul’s since Roman times. When Sir Christopher Wren was preparing the foundations for the current St Paul’s, he recording finding several archaeological layers and objects. He wrote: We discovered quantities of urns, broken vessels and pottery ware. Graves of several ages and fashions in strata, or layers of Earth, one above another… manifestly shew’d a great antiquity from the British and Roman times.
During building and restoration works at St Paul’s Cathedral in recent years, evidence of Roman archaeological layers have been found. In 1999, building work in Paternoster Square uncovered some Roman remains, which turned out to be signs of a Roman home, dating from 70-160 AD. The house would at that time have been situated a few hundred metres inside the city walls and would have existed at a time when Londinium was rebuilding itself after Boudicca’s attack. The mid first century AD was a time of prosperity for the Roman town, when the population peaked at between 45,000 and 60,000.
The archaeologists also found iron slag in a pit beneath the square, suggesting that there was some industry going as well at that point. A map of Roman London from the University of Denver shows that just to the north of St Paul’s there were some kilns, while to the south there were Roman temples, and baths to the east.
During Roman times the river Fleet an important tributary to the Thames, which now runs underground from Hampstead Heath reaching the Thames at Blackfriars Bridge would have been a major river and clearly visible from the top of Ludgate Hill.
Southwark: From Roman Army Camp to Cathedral Site
There are two cathedrals in Southwark one is the famous Southwark Cathedral, and the other is dedicated to St George. Both are in an historic part of London that was first made habitable by the Romans, where Shakespeare’s original globe theatre would have once stood, as well as the Tabard Inn, made famous by Chaucer, and two notorious medieval prisons the Clink and the Marshalsea. The site was also named in the Domesday Book, which mentions a church there in 1086.
Before Claudius‘s conquest of 43 AD, the area was a marshy salt flat, which the Romans bridged, reclaimed and developed. They constructed the southern river bank and made the area, which would have been flooded at each high tide, inhabitable.
The South Bank area became a Roman army camp and a flourishing community grew up around the camp to cater for all the soldiers’ needs, including a number of brothels.
From that point on, the trading town on the north bank of Londinium sprung up, but the south bank would also have been a bustling scene of Roman traders and citizens making a life for themselves near the Thames.
It’s believed that a Roman villa once stood on the site of Southwark Cathedral, while a fourth century pagan statue was discovered in a well underneath the cathedral during an excavation in 1977.
An archaeological excavation at the site of Southwark Cathedral between 1998 and 2001 found evidence dating back to the neolithic period. The findings are published in the book Millennium Excavations at Southwark Cathedral by Divers, Mayo and Cohen.
The Historic Island of Westminster?
The London Borough of Westminster is far outside the old city walls of Roman London, but it too has plenty of pre-medieval history. The piece of land where Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament now stand was once known as Thorney Island and, as the name suggests, during Saxon times (seventh to ninth centuries) the area was riddled with water channels.
It would have been marshy, rural and far more difficult to get around than the large open squares and wide roads that characterise the area today. The first known church was built there in the seventh century AD. The area grew in importance when Edward the Confessor moved his royal palace there in the eleventh century.
Westminster Cathedral (near Victoria station) is a beautiful building often overlooked by visitors to London, as well as Londoners themselves. It was built between 1895 and 1903, and its white and pink layered brickwork wouldn’t look out of place in a Tuscan piazza. Like Westminster Abbey just up the road, the cathedral is also built on land that once formed part of the boggy hinterland outside Roman Londinium. The area was once known as Bulinga Fen and was developed by the Benedictine monks who owned Westminster Abbey.
During the 19th century, the land was used to build a prison for minors (below 17 years old). Another prison Tothill Fields Bridewell existed near the site from the 17th century. Part of the land was also wasteland, where a ring used for bull-baiting once stood.
Westminster Abbey stands on what was known during the 10th century as Thorney Island. It was during 960 AD that a group of Benedictine monks first settled there, led by St Dunstan the Bishop of London. In the 11th century, Edward the Confessor moved his royal palace to the site of Westminster Abbey and he built a church dedicated to St Peter there in 1065. The present day building was begun by Henry III in 1245 and has been added to throughout the centuries.
A small Roman settlement may have existed in the area around today’s Marylebone Lane. The River Tyburn (now covered over) runs through this area, lending its name to the Tyburn Settlement, which as well as its possible Roman roots, was certainly populated in Saxon and Medieval times. The famous Tyburn Tree (the public gallows from the 14th to the 18th centuries) was just west of Tyburn, near today’s Marble Arch.
To summarise, we may not know what lies under London’s cathedrals, and archaeologists may never be allowed to find out. But given the tendency for churchmen throughout history to build monuments over monuments, we can bet that these handsome structures have fascinating secrets hidden beneath them.
This Saturday Britain’s next great boxing hope ( all tabloids) Kevin Mitchell faces off against Aussie Michael Katsidis for the WBO Interim Lightweight title at West Ham’s Upton Park. Anyone who’s seen Katsidis, 29, in action will know 25-year-old Mitchell is walking into an epic battle. And though he’s expected to defeat his antipodean opponent, Mitchell’s rise to stardom could well be dealt a Greek tragedy.
Katsidis’ back is even emblazoned with a tattoo of the Vergina Sun, a decorative symbol associated with Alexander the Great’s father Philip II of Macedon. It is who I am – and I am so proud of who I am, he tells the BBC. (Greeks) love what I do in their name – that I walk out there with my heart on my sleeve, with the Greek warrior helmet – and they love their boxing.
“Greeks love what I do in their name – that I walk out there with my heart on my sleeve, with the Greek warrior helmet.”
True to his Greek ancestory Katsidis remains philosophical on his chances against Mitchell, a true-born Eastender being carried on a wave of publicity. He can’t be disrespected. He can’t be underestimated either. But I believe when it comes to the eighth, ninth and 10th rounds and he’s going back to his stool and he’s lucky to be able to stand up, he’s cut everywhere and he’s got nothing left in his body, nothing I say beforehand will have made a difference to the fight.
There are no plans for the future,” Katsidis adds. “Every fight I’ve had has been a war and I can’t see this being any different. Kevin Mitchell beware: few have gone to war with a Spartan and survived.
It’s the end of the Ancient World in London video series! We’ve travelled up and down the country getting the inside line on London’s impressive history, and we’ve seen no small number of ancient wonders along the way. So here’s a video of our best bits and what we thought of them – from the rebellion of Boudicca to the fearsome Maunsell Sea Forts.
During the video series we’ve been digging up London’s history, and found there’s an entire world beneath our feet (or above if you’re on the tube). Take our trip round Roman London with Ian Smith, for example, when we learnt how amazing ancient artefacts like the Battersea Shield are being found on the banks of the Thames all the time – or that there’s a layer of burnt earth up to a metre thick, left by Boudicca and her bloodthirsty hoards almost two thousand years ago.
Fast forward almost four thousand years and we were sent into the heart of the Second World War effort at some of London’s strangest landmarks: the Maunsell Sea Forts: six spidery towers sticking out of the Thames Estuary like rusty Triffids. The water may have been choppy but Jamie was in his element, and saw how the city has relied on the river since time began.
It may be the end of our video series, but don’t forget we’ve got a whole host of other videos, from King Tut’s treasures to the landscape of Stonehenge, on our dedicated video page. What did you think of the Ancient World in London? To let us know, and to have your say on the world’s hottest heritage topics, or email us direct. You can also follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and iTunes. Heritage Key – Unlock the Wonders.
Earlier this year, an astonishing Roman cavalry helmet was discovered in Cumbria. The helmet found complete with face mask is only the fifth known example discovered in the United Kingdom. 
Detail of the griffin at the top of the restored ‘Phrygian Cap’ and side view of the Roman helmet and facemask. Images copyright Christie’s.
The British Museum has announced that it is lending 
