Read on Twitter
1/15 Hi, my name is Nick Booth, I’m the @SocMusArch Membership Secretary and Head of Collections @SSGreatBritain – and my Twitter paper is titled ‘Exciting Dull Objects’ – museum objects which may seem dull, but which #MuseumDocumentation shows to be anything but… #SMACon2020
2/15 I’m interested in this subject because for every ‘star’ object on display museums have thousands in store available for study, research, engagement. Not every archaeological dig will find treasure (or indeed any finds at all). But every object can tell a story. #SMACon2020
3/15 My first example comes from my first musuem job @Gfdheritage – just look at that piece of iron! Heavily corroded…but actually it’s not looking bad for a Roman pack saddle frame, excavated in Dorking in 1938 and believed to be the world’s only surviving example! #SMACon2020
4/15 Next example from @PetrieMuseEgypt and at first glance also appear to be corroded metal, although three pieces this time. However, these aren’t just any pieces of corroded metal…these are in fact made of meteorite iron, which makes these PREHISTORIC SPACE BEADS! #SMACon2020
5/15 Yes you read that correctly – these beads were excavated from grave 67 from a cemetery at Gerzeh prior to 1911. The occupant of the grave was laid to rest c3400BC, which make these the world’s oldest known example of worked iron. #SMACon2020
See - https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/82987
See - https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/82987
6/15 These @museuminthepark objects have previously been described as ‘very dull lumps of old wood’–but excavated in the 1960s near Nailsworth, Gloucester, these late Saxon / Early Norman horizontal water mill paddles are an amazing survival, and really not that dull. #SMACon2020
7/15 These handmade rivets @OrkneyMuseums are from a set of 310 excavated from a Viking faering, a type of boat, used for a 3 person burial from Scar, Sanday c875–950AD. A real rescue excavation - the link shows a wave breaking over the site! #SMACon2020 https://canmore.org.uk/site/3494/sanday-quoy-banks
8/15 Staying with a maritime theme – a plank of wood...
But a plank of wood from the Newport Medieval Ship @NewportMuseum - an extraordinary survival of a C15th vessel built in the Basque Country she apparently sank while undergoing repairs in Newport. #SMACon2020
But a plank of wood from the Newport Medieval Ship @NewportMuseum - an extraordinary survival of a C15th vessel built in the Basque Country she apparently sank while undergoing repairs in Newport. #SMACon2020
9/15 Made of oak, several of the planks preserve evidence of trimmed side branches with later tree ring growth, evidence of medieval forestry management, possibly by individuals who would not have been alive to fell the tree - suggesting medieval long term planning #SMACon2020
10/15 The 16th century now and a seemingly dull oyster shell @bristolmuseum…excavated from the moat at Acton Court, Glos, it contains preserved red pigment and was probably a palette used to prepare a wall painting ahead of a 1535 visit by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. #SMACon2020
11/15 Staying in Bristol – from excavations at The Great Western steam factory @SSGreatBritain – evidence for what is believed to be the first ever substantial use of Portland cement in the construction of a major building (another 1st for IKB) #SMACon2020
12/15 For my final example a very common and possibly much maligned type of find – a clay pipe from the site of Kings Dock, Liverpool, now with @MuseumLiverpool, late 19th Century (so quite late for a clay pipe). Stamped with the letters ‘L.R.M.S Co. L’ and ‘LAGOS’. #SMACon2020
13/15 This is the Lagos Ready-Money Store Co. Ltd, a company trading with West Africa. Similar examples have been found in Ghana & Nigeria – & Glasgow (place of production?). A very clear artefact link to the British Empire and it’s trade. #SMACon2020 https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/liverpool-lagos
14/15 I hope these examples, from pre-dynastic Egypt to C19th Bristol, have shown that not every interesting find looks interesting, but with careful excavation & good #MuseumDocumentation they can tell amazing stories. Please share your own examples! #SMACon2020
15/15 Refs –
3/15 - AS.15680 @Gfdheritage
4/15 - UC10738 - 40 @PetrieMuseEgypt
6/15 - STGCM 1967.170/1 & 2 @museuminthepark
7/15 - 1992.22 @OrkneyMuseums
8/15 - @NewportMuseum
10/15 - 36/1989/SF977 @bristolmuseum
11/15 - @SSGreatBritain
12/15 - MOL.2017.21 @MuseumLiverpool
3/15 - AS.15680 @Gfdheritage
4/15 - UC10738 - 40 @PetrieMuseEgypt
6/15 - STGCM 1967.170/1 & 2 @museuminthepark
7/15 - 1992.22 @OrkneyMuseums
8/15 - @NewportMuseum
10/15 - 36/1989/SF977 @bristolmuseum
11/15 - @SSGreatBritain
12/15 - MOL.2017.21 @MuseumLiverpool
