Category Archives: Archaeology

Knossos after Fifty Years

Posted on 07/07/2023 by carolinemmurray

No, we haven’t been to Crete after all our other recent jollies, merely (sic) to Oxford, to see the Ashmolean exhibition ‘Labyrinth: Knossos, Myth and Reality’. I have mentioned a few times recently the problem that I am having with … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Biography, Classics, Greece, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sant’ Apollinare

Posted on 09/06/2023 by carolinemmurray

Winding back a bit from our recent trip to the Netherlands, we had the great good fortune to spend ten days in Italy at the end of April, of which three were in Ravenna before going up to Venice by … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Biography, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Stones of Lecce

Posted on 12/01/2023 by carolinemmurray

I think it is safe to say that 2022 was not a good year for the vast majority of people worldwide. My own issues will definitely sound pathetic by comparison with those of most people, not least the entire population … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, History, Italy | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Thomas Spratt, R.N.

Posted on 05/01/2023 by carolinemmurray

I discovered the other day that Thomas Able Brimage Spratt (1811–88) donated seven items of archaeological interest to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1853–4. I knew him as the author of a two-volume Travels and Researches in Crete (1865), which was … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Bibliography, Biography, Botany, Classics, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Litter

Posted on 06/01/2021 by carolinemmurray

A couple of months ago, I became a signed-up, official Volunteer Litter-Picker for Cambridge City Council. This came about because I get furious about litter all the time, but had no idea what to do about it in any systematic … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Botany, Cambridge, Natural history | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Plant of the Month: July 2020

Posted on 26/07/2020 by carolinemmurray

The other day, I found myself standing under a Broussonetia tree in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden (so happily now reopened, though you do have to book), and was reminded of my oft-repeated note to self to find out more … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Botany, Exploration, Gardens, History, Museums and Galleries, Natural history, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Immortal Peacock

Posted on 26/09/2019 by carolinemmurray

I first saw a real live peacock when I was quite young, in Victoria Park in the city where I was brought up. An area of grass and trees very close to the railway station, and therefore – in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Classics, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Anon.

Posted on 07/09/2019 by carolinemmurray

I just made it to ‘Artist: Unknown: Art and Artefacts from the University of Cambridge Museums and Collections’, the current exhibition at Kettle’s Yard. (It continues until 22 September, but the Hedgehog ménage will be away – Venice, since you … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, History, Museums and Galleries, Natural history, Venice | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

In Brugge

Posted on 29/08/2019 by carolinemmurray

I begin thus because, as on previous visits, I noticed that the good people of what we tend to call Bruges would rather speak German or English, or indeed Chinese, than utter a word of French. But we were (for … Continue reading →

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The Great Belzoni

Posted on 23/07/2019 by carolinemmurray

… is today hung on display in the Fitzwilliam Museum – or, at any rate, a spectacular likeness produced after his death is. I mentioned this fascinating character several times in my previous blogging persona, but his arrival in Cambridge … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Biography, Cambridge, Exploration, History, Italy, London, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment