Mysterious Archaeology: Agatha Christie!
Agatha Christie (taking photo), the famous murder mystery author, was married to Archaeologist Max Mallowan (far left in photo) a former staff member of the Institute of Archaeology and the British Museum London. Agatha Christie's picnic hamper is in the collection at the UCL IoA, and her book 'Come Tell Me How You Live' is written about her time on excavation!
Women power in Archaeology - Dorothy Garrod!
The first professor at Cambridge University (in any subject/department) was Prof Dorothy Garrod who became Disney Professor of Archaeology at Cambridge on 6 May 1939, a post she held until 1952. The Cambridge Review reported "The election of a woman to the Disney Professorship of Archaeology is an immense step forward towards complete equality between men and women in the University" (Wikipedia)
Swash-buckling Archaeology: Indiana Jones!
Indiana Jones may just be a character in a film about Archaeology (well, losely about Archaeology - maybe 'extreme' archaeology ed.) - but the actor Harrison Ford donated his hat and whip from Temple of Doom to the Institute of Archaeology at UCL in order to help finance their Wolfson Science Laboratories. There is no a fancy plaque in the basement as a testament to the event - apparently, and this may be an old wives tale, Harrison came to the grand opening - but since they didn't have social media then, we shall never know how true this is!
Royalty and Archaeology: Richard III
"In August 2012, the University of Leicester in collaboration with the Richard III Society and Leicester City Council, began one of the most ambitious archaeological projects ever attempted: no less than a search for the lost grave of King Richard III. The last English king to die in battle.
Incredibly, the excavation uncovered not only the friary of Grey Friars but also a battle-scarred skeleton with spinal curvature. On 4th February 2013, the University announced to the world's press that these were the remains of King Richard III." Taken from: https://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/
The Secretum: The British Museum's secret room...
"What's more secret than a secretum? The British Museum's secretum, or as it was originally titled, the Cabinet of Obscene Objects, was created in the wake of 1857's Obscene Publications Act. It had about 200 objects that were labelled by the museum curator as 'abominable monuments to human licentiousness'. The room was only available to gentlemen with a special permit. They needed to show 'mature years and sound morals' to qualify for this; we envisage a rigid Victorian test to determine whether one was worthy enough to enter." Taken from http://londonist.com/london/secret/facts-about-the-british-museum
