Amongst the thousands of photographs, negatives, drawings, and academic material in the archives, a few objects of more personal interest were found, left at the bottom of boxes, or wrapped in amongst papers, perhaps an oversight. These items give us an insight into the personalities involved, and a more complete view of the whole process of exploration in the early part of the 20th century, the history, the discussions, the purpose and planning, and the physical and mental preparation, involved before, during and after the expeditions. A selection of these objects on display in the exhibition include:

From Christopher Cox's expeditions:

A pair of pince-nez glasses in a case, and A "Watkins Bee Meter", (with instructions, dated May 1924), both found amongst Sir Christopher Cox's boxes of negatives, a letter from Sir William Calder, sent to Cox at the very start of their plans to travel together in 1924, and many hundreds of "Squeezes" (paper impressions of inscriptions), Pencils, small brush, potsherds, coins, a card-holder, a small personal notebook containing "shopping lists", shoelaces, and a packet of Turkish cigarettes, all found inside a sock, in a biscuit tin full of film canisters

From Michael Ballance's expeditions:

International Driving Permits from the 1950s; a 1950s Passport containing many Turkish entry and exit stamps; British School at Ankara Permits; Map of Asia Minor; notebook containing lists of items needed on expeditions and important contacts

Click on each item listed above for a larger image