Whether you are an archival heritage professional or the average person on the street, you must have thought at least once in your life “How did that thing end up there?”
We asked our Country Managers to list the weirdest objects that they found in their archives (some asked to remain anonymous, hate the sin, not the sinner!) – Updated weekly from the 3rd of February!
Dentures at the National Archives of Sweden
The history of dentures is about 2700 years old, so there are bound to be traces at the archives, especially national archives as vast as the Riksarkivet in Sweden! We don’t have a photograph of the specific dentures at the Swedish archives, but here is an overview of fake teeth over the centuries:
1) an Etruscan denture, from the Science Museum London, dated 700 BC – apparently, the Etruscan made the first known set of dentures
2) A Japanese denture in wood from the early 17th century – Japan invented the first set of functional complete dentures out of wood, later to be substituted with ivory and other animal horn sculpted to mimic real teeth
3) A denture made of real teeth in London, 19th century – these were known as “Waterloo Teeth” as a major source of teeth for the UK in this era was from dead soldiers in the European battlefields from the Napoleonic wars. The scavenged sets were sold to dentists who fixed them onto an ivory base (British Dental Museum).
Doodles on official registers at the National Archives of Malta
The National Archives of Malta hold a series called the Registers of Patents (Registrum Patentarum), which were maintained by the Magnia Curia Castellania, the principal secular tribunal in Malta during the Knights of St. John period (1530–1798). These Patent Registers document written in Italian, and contain details of individuals who departed from Malta, including their destination, the name of the vessel, and information about the captain and crew. They also note the date and time of each ship's departure from Malta.
In total, the registers comprise approximately four meters of shelving, covering the period from the 1530s to 1798. With the arrival of the French in 1798, the Magnia Curia Castellania and other courts and tribunals were abolished.
Originally, these records were written on loose fascicles, which were later bound into volumes. It appears that multiple officers recorded departures from the port on the same day. This is evident in the inconsistencies in the chronological order of entries. At times, the same data was recorded in two or three different fascicles. Furthermore, the documentation is incomplete.
This lack of chronological consistency presents challenges for researchers, as they may be unaware that the information they seek is recorded in another fascicle—or even in multiple fascicles.
An intriguing feature of these documents is the presence of drawings and sketches on the front or back pages of some fascicles, primarily from the 16th and early 17th centuries. We presume that the officers registering the departures made these sketches. These drawings might depict scenes they observed, such as the type of vessel or the number of individuals embarking—or perhaps their colleagues.
Notably, some fascicles feature scribblings of vessels, such as those on the front page of the 1608–1609 fascicle, alongside numbers or test markings of writing tools. The fascicle for the years 1632–1633 even includes drawings of two individuals alongside other scribbles.
NAM, MCC, Reg. Patentarum Vol. 4 (1599-1610), f. 366v
NAM, MCC, Reg. Patentarum Vol. 4 (1599-1610), f. 411
NAM, MCC, Reg. Patentarum Vol. 4 (1599-1610), f. 3
NAM, MCC, Reg. Patentarum Vol. 6 (1620-1634), f. 443
Bones at the National Archives of Hungary
And not just regular bones – children’s bones! Specifically, children’s hand bones from 1847. On the 12th June 1847, master hatter Sándor Szép reported to the Debrecen Captaincy Office that he had found human bone fragments in the wool he had purchased. Mr Szép regularly bought wool from local residents for processing, and the bone fragments were discovered by his assistant as he began the cleaning process.
In his letter to the Captaincy Office, Mr Szép listed the individuals and settlements from whom he had purchased the wool (Nádudvar, [Balmaz]Újváros, [Hajdú]Szovát, and Szerep). He likely hoped this information would help trace the origin of the bones, and help to solve what was most likely a heinous crime.
The Captaincy Office presented the bones to the Noble Council for further decision. At its meeting on June 24, 1847, the City Council decided to have the bones examined by medical officers and requested a report. Four days later, Dr. Sámuel Zilahi, the chief medical officer, reported: “After examining the small bones reported, it appears that they are the bones of a small child’s hand. Determining their origin falls under the jurisdiction of another office.”
After reviewing the medical opinion, the City Council issued the following decision on July 9, 1847: “Since the chief medical officer could not determine with complete certainty, but only stated ‘it appears’ that the enclosed bones ‘are the bones of a small child’s hand,’ this report is acknowledged, and it is ordered to be placed in the archives.” Based on the documents, it seems little effort was made to investigate the origin of the bones, as the petition was already archived by the 9th July. The bones were attached to the accompanying documents, and preserved at the Hajdú-Bihar County Archives; they were eventually handed over to the National Archives, waiting for a 21st-century archive-goer to stumble upon them
(Translated and adapted from the original Hungarian text by Ágnes Tóth, available here)
The bones preserved at the National Archives of Hungary, Forrás: MNL HBML IV. 1011/k. 488/1847
The report held at the National Archives of Hungary, Forrás: MNL HBML IV. 1011/k. 488/1847
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