In this blog post, curator Jamie Fraser and scientist Caroline Cartwright run you through the archaeology and science involved in tracking down an ancient olive oil factory, and explain how the process of making modern olive oil would be familiar to people in the past.

We’re all familiar with dust. We’ve seen it gathering on windowsills or on the tops of cupboards, but what exactly is it? And how do we keep the Museum dust-free? Our Conservation and Scientific Research teams zoom in on the microscopic world of dust, and explain how they work to help preserve the Museum’s collection.