Reblogged from balkancelts:

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One of the most interesting Celtic artifacts to have ‘wandered’ into the Varna Museum in northeastern Bulgaria is a bronze zoomorphic head. Recently published by Vincent ‘Disney’ Megaw and the Thracologists Mircheva and Anasstassov, this bronze mount is executed in the Celtic ‘Plastic Metamorphosis’ style common across Europe in the La Têne B1 – C2 period. The plastic metamorphosis style in Celtic art is characterized by the blending of human, animal, plant, and abstract forms; complex compositions incorporating various forms of symmetry, resulting in stylized, often grotesque, images.

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Mystery Seaside Town

Some of the old photographs and glass plate negatives in our archive have no labels and we are having trouble working out where they were taken. Do you recognize this British seaside town? The glass plate photograph was taken in about 1910. Was the photographer standing on a pier to take the picture? How much has the seafront changed since this picture was taken?

The Congregational Meeting House, Witney c. 1930. Photo: Stuart Piggott

Another mystery – solved. We knew that this photograph, taken by archaeologist Stuart Piggott in c.1930, was of a building in Witney, Oxfordshire, but where? One of our volunteers did some sleuthing, and discovered that it is the old Congregational Church, built in 1828, and demolished in 1976 to make way for a supermarket. Thanks, Roelie!

Special thanks to the students from Chenderit School who worked s0 hard to organise the event – great job! – and to Christ Church for looking after the teams. Extra thanks to  inspirational teacher Johnathan Briggs, and to everyone who contributed to the workshops.

The Chenderit organisers introducing the competition. Photo: Megan Price.

Thank you also to all our volunteers and everyone who has helped us in the archives in 2012 – we appreciate your help!

Front and back cover of Programme and Abstracts from the first International Symposium on C-14 and Archaeology held at Groningen in 1981, with Martyn Jope’s pencilled notes.

Professor Martyn Jope of the Queen’s University, Belfast was active in the promotion of archaeological science. He was one of a group of scholars who developed and promoted research in radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis, collagen and molecular archaeology. Our small archive of Jope’s reserach notes, correspondence, offprints and other material relating to archaeological science has now been catalogued by our fieldwork student, Charlotte Robinson, and the outline of the archive is available at http://www.arch.ox.ac.uk/files/institute/Martyn%20Jope%20Archive.pdf. This archive is the history of archaeology in the making….

We came across this photograph in our lantern slide collection and thought of Movember! There are some excellent beards here too.

We think this picture was taken round about 1900, but we have no more information about it at all. Who are the people? Where are they digging? What were they digging? Who took the photograph?

If you can shed any light on this picture, we would be grateful.

For example, this is the Pyramid Tomb of Cestius at Rome. Do you know what it looks like now? We think the photograph was taken in about 1910 – do you know differently? How much in this photograph has changed over time, and when did the changes take place? Let us know if you have answers – help us to build up a heritage timescape of ‘then’ to ‘now’ by sending us pictures or information.

Extracts from the exhibition’s visitor’s book

Fantastic contribution to our knowledge of the history of Oxford and its people

I’m told this is a good exhibition – but I’ve spent all the time talking to old friends! I’ll come back to see the exhibition next week!

Wonderful display and opportunity to highlight present-day refugees’ plight

I had no prior knowledge of anything to do with Jacobsthal, and found his history to be intriguing

Brilliant exhibit! And the story of but one man

A fascinating insight into the horrors of Hitler’s destructive urges, through the eyes of one great man. Thank you.

Excellent, sobering, inspiring

A very interesting perspective on being a refugee in Oxford. I’m only visiting from Denmark

 I love the smells! My favorite is the Bubblegum and the worst is the mustard gas! Phewy! The typewriter was fun too!

I am the daughter of a German Political Refugee who was also interned … Please contact me.

Chilling reminder of what it was like not so long ago

Very interesting – I shall tell my cousins (whose mother’s family died in Auschwitz). Sensitively curated

I particularly liked the stories of others who came to Oxford as children

A moving commemoration of a very remarkable scholar (former colleague of Jacobsthal)

 I had never heard of this man and know nothing about Archaeology – but found the story of his life and work fascinating

A magnificent achievement, pulling together such an interesting story from a collection of ignored papers

Very moving, happy to see how Oxford has been a melting pot of cultures

Seeing the actual documents / cards that the refugees were issued made me feel what it was like for them in a way no book / article / programme had before

A truly fabulous exhibition, and a very important story

So interesting to track the personal histories – essential testimony for the future

Excellent exhibition – Very interesting on Jacobsthal himself and his life in Oxford. But I also found the film fascinating. Will bring my teenage daughter and anyone else I can interest!

Never thought of the Nazis appropriating archaeology to prop up their ‘Master Race’ theory. Will wear my Celtic jewellery with extra pride now.

A very emotional experience for me as my parents were so welcomed here

How important to hear these stories – we must never forget

Beautifully organized and presented exhibition, very well researched. Much enjoyed. Will return.

Found the film fascinating

Fantastic. I shall tell all and bring my family

Wonderful display – clear text-filled boards tell an amazing and important story

Unforgettable part of my Oxford trip

Extraordinarily detailed and thought provoking on so many different levels both past and present. What a feast of visual and oral history

I really loved the interviews with the people who moved to Oxford in the war … some of them were very moving!

A wonderful and moving exhibition, which shows how much refugees have given to this country

Thank you for remembering

An absolutely fascinating account of the child refugees who were lucky to escape to England

Persecution and Survival:  the Paul Jacobsthal Story

by Sally Crawford and Katharina Ulmschneider, 2012

‘Hitler will have my papers destroyed!’

Professor Paul Jacobsthal was a prominent and influential German arcaeologist whose world was turned upside down when Hitler came to power. Jacobsthal fell foul of the Nazis because he was Jewish, and because he wrote about one of the politically most dangerous topics in archaeology – Early Celtic Art. Jacobsthal fled to Oxford, where he found refuge at Christ Church college – but his troubles were not over.

Based on thousands of newly-discovered letters, Sally Crawford and Katharina Ulmschneider uncover the fascinating story of one man’s experience of persecution, exile, and starting again. This is a war story you won’t read in the history books.

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We have had many enquiries about this booklet, which we produced to accompany the Jacobsthal Exhibition at the Oxford Town Hall Gallery. It has 27 pages, and contains 19 colour and black and white illustrations. If you would like to buy a copy, please email: archivist@arch.ox.ac.uk.

What the papers say:

“excellent and easy to read…gives a wonderful insight into what it was like to be a refugee lucky enough to be given a new lease of life in Oxford”  Oxford Times

Piggott grew up with poetry. As a child, his grandfather wrote him a new poem every birthday. His father had poetry published in the local newspaper. But neither his father nor his grandfather wrote the poem we came across today. It is addressed to Piggott’s aunt Florence. She normally lived with her parents in West Challow, but it seems she was away in Northamptonshire, where she had fallen ill. Perhaps Piggott had a poetic grandmother, too?