An ancient Egyptian pot sat unnoticed in a Cornwall garage for years; when researchers examined it, its label helped solve a century-old archaeological mystery

A seemingly ordinary object can sometimes preserve a remarkable trail into the past. That happened with a small black and red pot discovered among belongings stored in a garage in Cornwall. Its significance became clear only after researchers analyzed a surviving paper label attached to it.

The discovery was made by Guy Funnell and Amanda Hawkins while they were clearing a garage containing possessions belonging to Funnell's father. Funnell recognized the pot from family memories, but its possible archaeological importance emerged after he associated it with a BBC documentary regarding Egyptologist Flinders Petrie.

Funnell contacted Alice Stevenson, curator of the Petrie Museum in London, after recognizing a possible connection. For Stevenson, the discovery was particularly significant because the pot had retained its original identification card.

The small card provided a major clue

The surviving card explained the object as “Libyan Pottery” from 3,000 B.C. It also identified Prof WM Flinders Petrie as the person who found the material during excavations in 1894-5.

A faint number written in pencil on the card and the pot offered an important connection to Petrie's excavation documentation. Stevenson was able to match the number 1754 with records linked with the archaeological material.

The Petrie Museum holds the original excavation records and hundreds of objects originating from the same Egyptian cemetery. That collection enabled the researchers to place the previously overlooked garage find within a much larger archaeological record.

The discovery has also raised questions regarding the way archaeological material was distributed after Petrie's excavations. During the late 19th century, Petrie sent substantial quantities of material from Egypt to universities and museums that supported his work. Objects were also given to people who visited archaeological excavations.

The card appears to have been professionally printed and featured an Egyptian-style border. Its wording, together with the number written on it, provided a link between the pot, Petrie's excavation and the surviving museum records.

A family story survived with the pot

The object's journey after leaving Egypt is less certain, although the Funnell family's account offers an unusual explanation for how it eventually reached Britain.

Funnell's mother remembered that his grandfather, Charles Funnell, had obtained the pot to settle several taxi fares that had not been paid. The transaction was said to have taken place in the 1950s, when the object was accepted in place of payment by a taxi driver in High Wycombe.

Funnell himself only vaguely recalled seeing the pot during his childhood. The family story became more intriguing once Stevenson started investigating the object's archaeological background.

She believes the person associated with the pot may have been Joseph Grafton Milne, a curator at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Milne passed away in 1951, but records show that he visited Petrie in Egypt during the 1890s.

Another object provides a possible connection between Milne and the pot. The Ashmolean Museum possesses a bowl from Milne's collection that came from the same grave as the Cornwall pot. Stevenson believes Milne probably acquired both pieces from Petrie.

The pottery was not actually Libyan

The label's description eventually proved to be incorrect. The pottery was determined to be Egyptian rather than Libyan.

Petrie had initially classified the distinctive vessels differently because their black, fire-scorched rims set them apart from other pottery he encountered. French scholar Jacques de Morgan later established that the pieces were Egyptian and pre-Dynastic.

That conclusion also changed their estimated age. The pottery was discovered to be 600 years older than Petrie had originally believed.

Petrie's reaction to the correction was itself unusual. Stevenson described that the archaeologist not only found that his interpretation was wrong but also acknowledged the mistake publicly.

From a garage to museum display

The pot's physical condition reflects its long history. It had been broken during antiquity and suffered another break thousands of years later before being repaired with superglue.

Yet the small card accompanying it may prove just as valuable to researchers as the pottery itself. The label offers evidence that similar identification cards may have accompanied other objects distributed from Petrie's excavations.

Stevenson believes discovering additional cards could help researchers follow archaeological material that moved from Egyptian excavations into museums and private collections around the world.

The Cornwall pot is now undergoing conservation. It is being loaned to the Petrie Museum for a year, after which it will have an opportunity to be viewed in its museum setting.

Following conservation, the object is due to appear at the museum's Festival of Pots, transforming an overlooked item from a Cornwall garage into a surviving link to a much older archaeological history.

Source: The Guardian

FAQs:

1. What was discovered in the Cornwall garage?

A small black and red ancient pot was discovered among family possessions in a Cornwall garage. It was accompanied by an old cardboard label.

2. Who found the ancient pot?

Guy Funnell and Amanda Hawkins found the object while clearing a garage. The garage contained possessions belonging to Funnell's father.