Real Lives: Miss F.M.G. Lorimer (1883–1967)

Historian feature

By Helen Wang, published 11th May 2024

Our series ‘Real Lives’ seeks to put the story of the ordinary person into our great historical narrative. We are all part of the rich fabric of the communities in which we live and we are affected to greater and lesser degrees by the big events that happen on a daily basis. Sometimes we might even play a part in the big events, although our names are not recorded, while on other occasions we are witnesses to events and times which we would now consider remarkable. Sometimes our regular lives are the perfect illustration of how people live at any given time – but all our lives matter and we want to celebrate some of those lives here. If you have any people that you think might also fit this category and would like to write about them, please do contact: martin.hoare@history.org.uk 

Miss F. M. G. Lorimer is a key figure in our understanding of  Silk Road archaeology because of her role as a valued assistant to the indefatigable archaeologist Aurel Stein (1862–1943). Although she did not accompany him in the field (very few people did), she was familiar with, and probably handled, over a hundred thousand finds from his first three expeditions to the eastern Silk Road oasis kingdoms in the Tarim Basin (1900–01, 1906–08, 1913–1916).

Today, Stein’s collections are held in various institutions in the UK, Budapest, New Delhi, and Kolkata, while the majority of his photographs and extensive correspondence are housed in the British Library, London, and the Bodleian Library, Oxford. The collections and archival materials are vast, and give some idea of the extent of work faced by Stein’s small team in keeping track of his collections and his instructions. Miss Lorimer’s efficiency earned her the sobriquet of ‘Recording Angel’ (R.A. for short) among Stein and his closest friends. To everyone else in what was a predominantly male working environment, she appears to have been known as Miss Lorimer...

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