Human world
The Near Eastern collection comprises some 14,000 objects from a variety of important sites in the Near East. Again there is a local connection through the excavations of John Garstang. The collections have also been systematically developed through subscription to recent work, including field surveys and by the museum's own excavations.
The Cypriot collection of approximately 650 pieces of prehistoric pottery, terracotta and sculpture owes its strength to the involvement of J H Iliffe, a former museum director, in excavations in Cyprus in the 1950s. It is important because few other museums in the UK hold comparable material.
