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RemusIn this issue Think you know mummies? Think again…
Sutton who?
The history of the future
Summer 2014
Section Sub Head Welcome
This issue is packed with features about the Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons, the ancient Egyptians and lots more. You’ve been asking curators what it’s like to be a Viking, and you’ve told us what you thought of the Colombian gold exhibition. You can win a Viking book, find out all about mummies and even write your own history of the future.
If you want to share your poems, stories, travel journal entries or thoughts on your latest historical trip or discovery, email [email protected]
For more info about everything to do with being a Young Friend, head over to britishmuseum.org/youngfriends
These pictures are tangrams. You’ll see more of them throughout this issue.
Find out more on the inside back cover...
Left: The River Nile in Egypt, home to most of the mummies in the exhibition Ancient lives, new discoveries.
Andrew, Editor of Remus
Section Think you know mummies?
They’ve been scanned using the latest technology, and this has unlocked hidden secrets to build up a picture of what their lives were like.
There’s a new exhibition open at the Museum. It will introduce you to eight people from ancient Egypt and Sudan whose bodies have been preserved, either naturally or deliberately.
Think you know mummies?Think again…
Left: Curators from the British Museum and staff at the Royal Brompton Hospital CT scanning a mummy to see inside.
From a priest’s daughter to a temple singer, a middle-aged man to a young child, a temple doorkeeper to a woman with a Christian tattoo, find out how they lived and what happened to them after they died.
Gebelein man
Tjayasetimu
Unknown man
Roman man
Tamut
Roman child
Padiamenet
Sudanese woman
Three Egyptian amulets – charms that were thought to bring good luck and ward off evil.
Think you know mummies? Think again...
The image here on the opposite page shows the skeleton of a woman named Tamut inside her mummy-case. The hieroglyphs on the case tell us that she was a priest’s daughter, and one of a group of women who sang in the temple of the god Amun-Re.
Tamut’s mummy was CT scanned at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. The scans show that she was mummified according to the most elaborate process available at the time, and that her body is very well preserved.
From the scans, we can tell that she had reached adulthood by the time she died, around 900 BC in the city of Thebes (modern Luxor). Thebes was the site of the great temple of Karnak, the centre of the cult of Amun-Re, king of the gods.
The scans also revealed lots of amulets (charms that would protect the wearer or owner) and other magical objects beneath the wrappings.
They were believed to give power and protection to the dead person, and to help them to reach the afterlife in safety.
You can meet Tamut and seven other mummies in the exhibition Ancient lives, new discoveries, on display in Room 5.
Sponsored by Julius Baer. Technology partner Samsung.
Experts from the Museum place the mummy in
the CT scanner.
What is a CT scan?CT stands for ‘computerised tomography’ and this type of scan uses X-rays and a computer to create detailed images of the inside of the body. CT scans are usually used in hospitals to look inside living people. The CT scanner consists of an X-ray tube that rotates around, and an image of the scan is produced by a computer.
Sutton who? Sutton who?
What he found was an entire ship that had been buried, along with the possessions of an important man – including the helmet.
The gallery also displays objects from all over Europe in the early Middle Ages. Turn over to see some of the highlights in the new gallery...
Sutton who?
You can see the Sutton Hoo objects in the newly refurbished Room 41 – the Sir Paul and Lady Ruddock Gallery of Sutton Hoo and Europe AD 300–1100.
One of the most famous objects in the British Museum is the Sutton Hoo helmet. It was found in 1939 when a lady called Edith Pretty asked Basil Brown to excavate her estate at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk.
Animal Animal
Animal Animal
Bird
Bird
Serpent
Serpent
Two Serpents
Two Serpents
Animal
The treasures that were discovered transformed our understanding of the Anglo-Saxons, showing that they were skilled craftsmen and artists, and traded with people all across Europe. As well as the helmet, key pieces include the shoulder clasps, sword fittings and gold belt buckle.
Who was buried at Sutton Hoo? We don’t know for sure. It’s possible that we will never know. The leading candidate is Raedwald, king of East Anglia. He is thought to have died in AD 624 or 625.
He became high-king (Bretwalda) in AD 616. According to the Venerable Bede (a monk who wrote a chronicle of Anglo-Saxon England), Raedwald converted to Christianity on a visit to Kent, but then returned to paganism when he came home! He even built a small cross next to his pagan shrine.
Cracking the code of Anglo-Saxon art
Anglo-Saxon art was often very complicated, and included lots of patterns and animals.
This gold belt buckle from the Sutton Hoo ship burial features birds and beasts wrapped around each other. It would have taken many, many hours to make and showed that the owner was a very important person.
This is a replica showing what the helmet probably looked like when it was buried.
What’s in the new gallery? What’s in the new gallery?
What’s in the new gallery?
Curators Sue Brunning (right) and Rosie Weetch take us through some of the new gallery’s finest objects.
The Lycurgus Cup In the new gallery the 1,600-year-old cup is lit so you can see the colour shift from jade green to blood red.
Mosaic floor from Vandal-ruled Carthage, in North Africa. A new addition to Room 41.
Here’s Sue checking off pieces of the Cuerdale Hoard – a huge hoard of Viking silver from Cuerdale in Lancashire.
The 9th-century Fuller Brooch is so stunning it was thought to be fake. Its decoration is the earliest personification of the 5 senses:
Brooch from Lombard Italy decorated with many beasts.
1. Taste2. Sight3. Hearing4. Smell5. Touch
1 4
5
2
3
The inscription on this medal translates as ‘Dance of Death’. A skeleton is leading soldiers to their death
This medal shows a sleeping British general with soldiers coming out of his mouth while he dreams.
The First World War
The First World War – 100 years ago this year
The British Museum is taking a slightly different approach.There is currently a display in Room 69a called The other side of the medal: how Germany saw the First World War. It features a selection of medals made by artists who lived and worked in Germany between 1914 and 1918.
You might think of medals as being awarded to soldiers for bravery or long service, but they have also been used by artists since the Renaissance to make a statement or commemorate events. Many of the German artists used the format of the medal to express the horrors of war and suffering of mankind.
It’s a reminder that all sides in the First World War suffered terrible loss of life and endured extreme hardship.
2014 marks 100 years since the beginning of the First World War. There will be many events and exhibitions that will commemorate this important event across the world.
The other side of the medal will be on display until 23 Nov 2014 in Room 69a.
Book review
It’s good for kids because the diagrams and pictures are cartoony – there’s a funny one where one soldier is walking out of time with the rest, and one of a tortoise wearing a Roman helmet.
The best bit is ‘Battle tricks’ – you need to keep your back to the sun so your enemy will be blinded, and remember to check the wind direction so you can kick dust into their eyes.
You’ll learn lots of things, like that naughty soldiers were sent to see the legate (the big boss), and that certain people need to stand in certain places in parades – like prisoners of war and animals for sacrifice. And you can use a shield as a weapon – boom! Not many people know that.
This book is quite extreme in places – like where they throw severed heads at the enemy.
Book review by Tommy Hunt
But I’d recommend it to my teacher and kids of 7 and up. I’d give it VIII out of X!
Eagle-eyed readers will note that this article appeared in a previous issue of Remus but with the wrong text! D’oh! It’s OK, we’ve made the person responsible write out 500 times ‘I must read Remus properly before it is printed.’ In Latin. – Ed.
The Usborne Official Roman Soldier’s Handbook
By Lucia Fabricius Imperiosa aka Lesley Sims
Illustrated by Spurius Hostilius Bibulus aka Ian McNee
This book is an easy to read instruction manual with some serious detail and a sense of humour.
Beyond El Dorado sleepover
The sleepover in January was themed around the exhibition Beyond El Dorado: power and gold in ancient Colombia. Here’s a selection of photos from the sleepover, as well as what some of you thought about it:
Beyond El Dorado sleepover
I loved the exhibition, everything was fascinating. My favourite objects were the three jaguars and the crocodile with its baby. I saw lots of animals from frogs to snakes to the Colombian Batman!!!Adam Benaben, 11
I really enjoyed this sleepover and exhibition. I liked all of the activities and going to bed at midnight. Hal Glover, 10
This was an exciting exhibition about the meaning of gold in ancient Colombia. Today was a great experience. I found it great fun and learnt a lot. Sam Cohen, 10
Beyond El Dorado sleepover
My favourite object from the exhibition is the little gold panther/frog ‘it does look like a frog, but it’s a jaguar! –Ed’. I like it because it has every little detail engraved on it.Betsy Bolton, 10
Most things are made of gold. They had a whole case full of bat things. My favourite was a chest ornament.Justina O’Hara, 9
I loved learning the Colombian song and dance, but making the ancient headdress was best because it looked authentic.Lucas Janssens, 9
The history of the future? The history of the future?
The history of the future? The British Museum Guide, 2069
We are pleased to welcome you to the world-renowned British Museum, the friendly Museum of the Future as we like you to think of us. As you step out of the lift of the 100-storey Forecourt Heliport you will be faced with a colonnade painted in a gentle pastel pink especially selected by our psychiatric adviser to make you feel at home.
Inside the door, computer-composed light music will release all your preresistance and tensions, and there you will be greeted personally by the British Museum Greeting Keeper of the week who will tell you just how pleased we Trustees are to have the honour of your company…
The main exhibition runs in a circle round the ground floor, and you will be taken round it in your chair on a continuous moving band at 3kph. We regret that you must be strapped in for the trip as we could not guarantee to recover you if you fell from the band into the pit below it.
This is overrun with a population of savage cats estimated to have increased to several thousand since they were declared a Protected Cultural Property in 2047. The exhibition begins with the Old Stone Age, seen from the point of view of a visionary technologist of the
Old Stone Age. His recreated thoughts are broadcast over your headphones. And so it goes on right up to the present day, which is described in a concluding 15-minute recorded lecture called ‘The Present: Prelude to the Future’. We hope in this way to educate your historical imagination.
The theme of every one of our labels (they are in six-feet-high neon lettering easily read at 3kph) is improvement. We show clearly and graphically just how the artefacts of each age were an improvement on those preceding.
There are a number of special and temporary exhibitions. In the North Entrance, there is a selection of ‘The 10 Most Famous Objects of the British Museum’. The objects are displayed in a large circle so that they can be seen from the glass dome of the One Day World Tour Company thermonuclear craft when it has descended through
the hinged roof for its 5-minute stop. Other visitors can see the objects at the same time from the outer perimeter. The objects are of course plastic reproductions made by our laboratories.
We have pioneered a one-year rotation system. This means that, apart from the mechanised main exhibition already described, the British Museum antiquities collections are shown in a continuous series of one-day specials.
By coming every weekday for a year you can see everything we have. You are asked to be tolerant of the large numbers of staff (with small vehicles) who in the morning are taking away yesterday’s quota and in the afternoon are assembling tomorrow’s. Your stay will not be complete without a visit to the publicateria, where food and coffee machines are alternated with the automatic vendors of publications, postcards and replicas.
In 1969, one of the curators wrote an article in the staff magazine about what he thought the British Museum would be like 100 years from then – in 2069. The piece is intended to be funny and is a commentary on the direction he thought the Museum was heading in.
Other things that happened in 1969
• Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon
• The Beatles released their album Abbey Road
• The Woodstock Festival is held in upstate New York
• Children’s TV programme Sesame Street is first broadcast
• The Boeing 747 (a jumbo jet) makes its first flight
• Actress Jennifer Aniston, musician Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), and paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson are born
Reading between the lines, he doesn’t like having too many visitors (the Museum today is the most visited attraction in the UK), and he hates having history ‘dumbed down’ (we would probably say ‘accessible and understandable’).
His piece also talks about making replicas of objects, which we can now do using a 3D printer! We even have a Top 10 objects list and a restaurant overlooking the Reading Room…
Two things you need to know: the Museum used to have cats who lived on the site, and the Reading Room in the middle of what is now the Great Court used to be where the British Library was (it moved out in 1997 to a different building).
The publicateria is situated in a huge transparent plastic platform fitted across the dome of the Reading Room. This not only uses valuable space, but allows you, while having your meal, to look down on the wonderful scene of scholarly activity below you. Down there in the Reading Room, tens of thousands of research students work intensively through their two-hour shifts – the extension to 24-hour opening admits twelve shifts a day.
You can also see the amusing scenes when a student’s two-hour meter runs out, lets out a loud alarm bell, and sets off a mechanism which propels him automatically out of the door if he has not left within 60 seconds. You, of course, will be equipped with a similar 60-minute meter. Our popularity has led naturally to this measure. So don’t spend too long reading this, but get on with your visit!
Taking a picture of the mummies with a tablet. Photo: Benedict Johnson.
The inside of the Reading Room.
The British Museum in the future The British Museum in the future
Will it be in the same place? Will the building be new or different? How will we see the objects? What objects will be on display? Maybe there will be things like videos instead of objects. Maybe we won’t need museums at all… (not really!)
Write your own history of the future of the Museum and send it to: Young Friends, The British Museum Friends,Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DGWe’ll print the best ones next time!
What do you think the British Museum will be like in 100 years?
Right: The new World
Conservation and Exhibitions Centre
opened this year.
Below: The first exhibition in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery this year had the surviving timbers of a whole Viking ship!
Right: The Great Court opened
in 2000.
Left: The famous columns were built in the 1840s.
Ask an expert Ask an expert
Ask an expert
This issue Tom Williams, Project Curator of the recent Vikings exhibition answers your questions about the Vikings!
Why did Vikings want to raid people and villages? James Lamont, 8
What were their places of worship called and what were they like? Justina O’Hara, 8
What was life like for Viking children? Lucas Janssens, 9
Pillaging was only one aspect of what a Viking might get up to – they were also traders and explorers as well.
But for a monk who had seen his monastery being pillaged, the church treasure stolen, the local villages burned and his fellow monks and neighbours killed or enslaved, the Vikings would have seemed like a pretty fearsome bunch! Conquest and settlement sometimes followed violent raiding.
This is what happened in the north and east of England when, after a century of raids, a great army of Vikings arrived and killed the English kings of Northumbria and East Anglia.
After that the Vikings decided to stay in those areas permanently, and lived as traders and craftspeople.
Were they really that scary? If they spent most of their time pillaging villages why was it that they decided to settle in certain places? Rachel Brahams, 11
Viking children didn’t have to go to school, but would have been expected to help their communities at work and learn the skills of farming, ship-building, fighting, spinning and weaving, and other crafts.
What they did would have depended on whether they were boys or girls and how wealthy their families were. But it wasn’t all work – model boats and pieces from board games survive to tell us that the Vikings also made time for playing.
One of the main reasons was to get their hands on wealth. Sometimes this was silver and gold – coins, jewellery and expensive furnishings from churches and monasteries.
But it also included the people themselves, who were captured and taken off as slaves.
Many of these slaves were sold on at markets, but they were also kept in Scandinavia, where they were called thralls (this is where we get the English word ‘enthral’)
Vikings didn’t have a single name for their sacred places. Often they were outdoors, and offerings were made at groves, lakes or other places believed to be sacred to a particular god.
Some place-names in Scandinavia survive that include the name of a god, like Odenslunda (Odin’s Grove) in Sweden.
There were also buildings that were used for sacrifice and religious purposes, and these were called vé or hörgr. By the end of the Viking Age, most Vikings were Christians and were building churches.
These churches were made of wood and were similar to some slightly later buildings that still survive in Norway.
Below: A Viking raid on a monastery.
Left: Thor threatens to knock Loki’s head off!
Below: A Thor’s hammer pendant.
Discover the epic saga of the last Viking – Harald Hardrada
The Tale of King Harald: The Last Viking Adventure is a brand new illustrated adventure telling the story of King Harald Sigurdsson, the last king of the Vikings – also known to history as Harald Hardrada (meaning ‘hard ruler’).
Competition Competition
Based on a true story, Harald’s adventure takes him from a frightened teenager to wealthy and powerful warrior and finally, to a ruthless and tyrannical king, whose ambition leads him to a futile, yet glorious death at the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066.
You could win a copy of this Viking adventure. Just answer the question below:
To enter, send your answer by 1 October to:
Young Friends Competition,The British Museum Friends,Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG
Harald died at which famous battle of 1066?
a. Battle of Hastings
b. Battle of Stamford Bridge
c. Battle of ChelseaWin!
In this exciting, action-packed tale, Harald journeys across the world from Scandinavia to Russia, Byzantium, Sicily, Turkey, Palestine and finally England.
Travelling overland and by sea he gathers wealth, recognition and power, and along the way meets a range of famous and flamboyant historical figures including Cnut the Great, Prince Jaroslav of Kiev, the Empress Zoe and King Harold of England.
The book is written by Thomas Williams, Project Curator of the BP exhibition Vikings: life and legend. The illustrations are by Gilli Allan, who is Tom’s mum!
Terms and conditions apply. See britishmuseum.org/youngfriends and click ‘Competitions’.
Do you want to come to a sleepover? You get to explore the Museum at night through storytelling and activities. You’ll enjoy four exciting activities themed around the special exhibitions, then spend the night sleeping in the Egyptian and Assyrian galleries. In the morning, before the Museum opens, you’ll learn more about the exhibition.
The next sleepovers are:
Ming China 4–5 October
Ming China 1–2 November
How to book
You can now book Young Friends’ events online. Simply visit britishmuseum.org/youngfriends when booking opens and add your Membership number on checkout. If you have any problems, call 020 7323 8195.
We send emails with details of forthcoming sleepover dates and when online booking opens. We don’t want you to miss out, so ask a parent or guardian to contact us and we will add you to the list! Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.*price per person
Vikings sleepover
Swords, ships, shields and helmets with no horns! You all seemed to have a great time at the last sleepover...
Vikings sleepover
Vikings sleepover
only £35*
Fun facts about Vikings Fun facts about Vikings
Fun facts about Vikings
go to britishmuseum.org and type ‘go berserk’ into the search box…
Viking means ‘pirate’. They
earned their name by raiding and fighting abroad. At home, the Vikings were farmers, but they discovered that piracy was more profitable! They attacked their neighbours in Britain and Europe. Vikings went on to settle in Iceland, Greenland and even North America (long before Christopher Columbus).
The Viking ruler Eric Bloodaxe got his name
when, as a young man in Norway, he murdered several of his brothers. From AD 947 to 954 he ruled part of England from Jorvik (York). Eric often took time off from ruling to go and raid and murder in Scotland and Ireland. He was eventually killed in battle by the king of Wessex.
Viking men and women both had long hair. Combs
were probably used to remove head lice, not just to make hair look tidy.
Most Vikings did not read or write. When they did though,
they used letters called runes. They are designed to be carved onto wood, stone or metal. Sometimes runes were thought to have magical powers.
Viking helmets didn’t have horns
on them! Neither did Celtic ones usually, but there is a horned Celtic helmet in the Museum’s collection. It was found in the River Thames and dates to around 150–50 BC.
King Cnut (Canute) was such a powerful king that his
followers told him he could even stop the tide coming in. So he went down to the beach and tried to stop the tide to show them they were wrong. He just got wet.
This story was first told long after Cnut died, and probably never happened!
Cnut was the first Viking to rule the whole of England, from 1016 to 1035. He was also king of Denmark and Norway.
The name ‘Hell’ is related to Hel in Norse mythology.
Hel was the goddess of the underworld, which took her name. It was a miserable place, surrounded by a freezing river full of knives. The souls of the dead crossed over a bridge guarded by a giantess. In Hel they waded through rivers of blood, serpents’ poison dripped onto them from the roof, and they could only drink goats’ urine! Yuk!
Vikings did not have surnames like ours.
Instead they were named after their fathers and part of their names said whether they were his son or daughter. A family tree might look like this. They still use a similar system in Iceland today!
Harald
Erik Haraldson
Astrid Erikdaughter Olaf Erikson
Taken from 500 Things To Know About The Ancient World
The Vikings left their mark on place names
across the UK and Ireland. They include Grimsby (Grim’s village), Lowestoft (Hlothver’s homestead) and Skegness (Skeggi’s headland).
byr (modern -by) farm or village
thorp (modern -thorpe) farm or village
toft homestead
holmr (modern -holme) island or reclaimed land
nes (modern -ness) headland
fjell (modern -fell) mountain
dalr (modern -dale) valley
bekkr (modern -beck) brook/stream
North Atlantic Ocean
North Sea
Black Sea
Caspian Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Secret tip
Left: This is a 19th-century print of Cnut and the sea.
Above: A coin with Eric Bloodaxe’s name on it.
Left: Not a Viking helmet! This one is Celtic. Viking helmets didn’t have horns.
Below: A Viking comb.
Right: Runes on the Franks Casket, made of whalebone.
Mystery objectWord search
It’s time for a new feature – mystery object! Each issue we’ll print an object and ask you to tell us what you think it’s for.
This month, we have…
Word searchCan you find all the words hidden in the grid above?
Activity boxHow many triangles can you see in this picture? (Hint: there may be more than you think...)
So what was it used for? Hint: it’s not a guitar!
Send your answer to:
Young Friends, The British Museum Friends,Great Russell Street,London WC1B 3DG
or email [email protected]
and we’ll print some of your answers in the next issue. We’ll also reveal what it is!
Mystery object
SHABTIEMBALMERSCARABPRIESTCEREMONYNATRON
BANDAGESTOMBUNDERGROUNDSARCOPHAGUSFUNERALMUMMY
LINENAMULETMASKCOFFINTaken from the Mummy Activity Book by Judy Lindsay
Taken from the Mummy Activity Book by Judy Lindsay
Above: Large jar decorated with dragons. China, Ming dynasty, 1426–1435.
Left: Handle of a presentation sword. China, Ming dynasty, 1402–1424. © Royal Armouries.
Ming China produced some of the highest quality objects ever made – there’s a reason that Ming vases sell for millions of pounds!
Themes of other temporary exhibitions in 2014 include witches in prints and drawings, the last 600 years of German history, Buddhism in Thailand and Burma, and an enormous print by Albrecht Dürer, made for an emperor…
Coming soon
From September you’ll be able to explore a golden age in China’s history, when China was a global superpower run by one family – the Ming dynasty.
They moved the country’s capital to Beijing and built the famous Forbidden City. The Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644, but the exhibition will focus on the 50 years between 1400 and 1450.
You will see porcelain (china from China!), gold, jewellery, furniture, paintings, sculptures and textiles – from museums across China and the rest of the world. A lot of the objects have only been discovered very recently and have never been seen outside China.
The BP exhibition Ming: 50 years that changed China is on in Room 30 from 18 Sep 2014 to 5 Jan 2015.
Keep up to date atbritishmuseum.org
Coming soon
Smashing Chinese vases (and much more!)
What is a tangram?
Tangram
What is a tangram? You might have noticed we’re using a series of pictures in Remus. They are all made up from a shape puzzle called a tangram.
A tangram is a puzzle that orginated in China. The seven pieces make up a square but can be rearranged to make almost infinite shapes.
The word ‘tangram’ is probably made up from the Chinese word ‘tang’ (as in the Tang dynasty), and the Greek word ‘gramma’ (meaning ‘to do with writing’).
Send pictures of your tangram to:
Young Friends, The British Museum Friends,Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG
This curious box from the Museum’s collection is made of mammoth ivory and contains a tangram puzzle. It’s from Yakutsk in Siberia.
The British Museum FriendsGreat Russell StreetLondon WC1B 3DGbritishmuseum.orgT +44 (0)20 7323 [email protected]© The Trustees of the British Museum 08/2014
Every reasonable effort has been made to seek appropriate permission for material used in Remus. All information correct at time of print.
£2 where sold. Free for Young Friends of the British Museum.
The British Museum Friends is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee which exists to support the British Museum.
Registered charity number 1086080Company registration number 04133346
