Cultural History

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — British pop star Phil Collins on Tuesday handed over his vast collection of artifacts related to the Battle of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution to the state of Texas.

For this episode, Ask An Archaeologist journeyed across the Charles River to the Semitic Museum at Harvard to speak to the Deputy Director and Curator, Dr. Joseph Greene. We asked Dr. Greene two viewer submitted questions. How do objects end up in museums? What do you do with artifacts when they’re not on display? Check […]

A new report reveals that few museums have inscribed their collections in the National Cultural Heritage Registry— and some museums don’t even know how many artifacts they have.

The historic Smithsonian National African-American History Museum has received its first arrivals that will be on display for all to see at its grand opening…

Panels from a seaside mansion at Herculaneum, which like Pompeii was overwhelmed by Vesuvius in AD79, go on display

A survey by the Society of Museum Archaeologists (SMA) has exposed a lack of storage space and curatorial expertise in English museums dealing with archaeological archives.

The survey of 134 museums found that 36 could not accept archaeological archives because of lack of space.

It also revealed that museums in 47 local authorities were no longer collecting, while 70% of museums had no specialist archaeology curator.

SMA chairwoman Gail Boyle said: “Many of the museums that responded are local authority museums that have no statutory funding, so they are often targeted [for cuts]. It has become prevalent over time and is getting worse.

“Archaeological field units are having to store their work, as there is nowhere for them to deposit it.