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The Monastery of St Moses, Syria: The Pottery

Despite there being almost 1,400 years of occupation at Deir Mar Musa, strangely the overwhelming majority of the pottery found at the site can be assigned to the "Mamluk" period. The period of Mamluk rule in Greater Syria (1260-1516) generally reflects an archaeological horizon that

The Monastery of St Moses, Syria: The Frescoes

A report on Deir Mar Musa would not be complete without an account of the frescoes. Others have done most of the work studying these paintings, but my architectural study of the monastery buildings has certainly provided important informaton about the rationale for the last phase of frescoes (for

The Monastery of St Moses, Syria: The Cave Survey

The first field-walks took place in 2004, but recorded survey of the area began in 2005 with a rapid series of transects across the catchment of the valley.  Some of the caves were clearly situated in locations which were now difficult to get to, and I rather suspected that if I did not have a

Origins of a Collection: A look at R.S. Williams' Historic Musical Instruments

I Have a House and Land in Kent. Compsed by Thomas Ravenscroft (arranged by Richard M S Irwin for Flute, Violin, Bassoon and Harp), 1611. *Please Note: This composition is not from the exact period as the ROM's Hooked Harp.  The ROM’s Collection The ROM holds a wonderful collection of

Conservation Intern Spotlight: Emily Ricketts

As a ROM intern and a newcomer to Toronto, I spend a lot of time exploring the public spaces at the museum. One particular day, while visiting the Samuel European Galleries, I noticed a jarring new addition to a charming 18 th century English room. A bright blue ladder (with no trace of entrance

The Monastery of St Moses, Syria: The Buildings

The monastery of Deir Mar Musa in its heyday included hermitages spread around the landscape, but as today, the focus of the complex would have been the buildings, especially the chapel, home to the important frescos. The archaeology of standing buildings requires looking at walls to see how they

Empty Skies: Who Are the Species At Risk?

In the case across from the Passenger Pigeons in the new  Empty Skies exhibit (August 2014- April 2015), eleven different Species At Risk birds are on display. But who are these species? What are their stories? We can only share so much about them within the space of the museum gallery, so as part

Activity: Make a Mummy Case