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The Camel that fled the Nazis – The Story of a Tang Dynasty Camel in the Ashmolean Museum

Tuesday 17th January, 2023 - 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

On the first floor of the Ashmolean Museum in the Asian Crossroads gallery the visitor is greeted by a large, Chinese, pottery camel on a plinth.  The Tang Dynasty camel serves as a symbol of the Silk Roads linking East to West, but there is much more to it than initially meets the eye.  Little does the label show that this is a camel with history, a camel that fled the Nazis, a camel that survived persecution, war, and exile.  This talk will trace the origins of the camel and its astonishing 20th century journey from Nazi Germany to wartime Britain in the luggage of enigmatic refugee scholar Prof. Paul Jacobsthal.  Nazi perversion of archaeology, secret escapes, subterfuge and propaganda are just some of the themes that will feature as the extraordinary story of Jacobsthal and his camel is being uncovered.  Dr Katharina Ulmschneider is a Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College Oxford, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and an Associate Member of the Society of Archivists.  She has published widely on archaeological refugee scholars, medieval archaeology and economy and on the impact of metal-detecting in archaeology.  Her co-edited books, Markets in Early Medieval Europe won the British Archaeology Book award in 2004 and Celtic Art in Europe was shortlisted Current Archaeology Book of the Year 2016.  In 2013 she became Co-Director of the Historic Environment Image Resource at the School of Archaeology, Oxford and is currently finishing a book on refugee archaeologist Prof. Paul Jacobsthal.

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Details

Date:
Tuesday 17th January, 2023
Time:
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Cost:
£4
Event Category:
Website:
www.abingdonnt.og.uk

Venue

Trinity Church
Conduit Road
Abingdon,
+ Google Map

Organiser

Abingdon National Trust Association
Email
talks@abingdonnt.org.uk
View Organiser Website
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