Staff and students from Lancaster University’s School of Global Affairs played a key role in the repatriation to Ethiopia (formerly Abyssinia) of two culturally significant artefacts, which were officially handed back at a special service this week.

The artefacts, a lock of hair and a bloodstained piece of cloth, are from the collections of the King’s Own Royal Regiment (KORR) Museum, housed in Lancaster City Museum.

The official repatriation service took place in St Martin’s Chapel at the University of Cumbria’s Bowerham campus, which was the site of ‘Bowerham Barracks’ and historically associated with the regiment.

The items were formally transferred to Dr Alula Pankhurst, of the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, who is the grandson of the suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst who settled in Ethiopia towards the end of her life.

Attending from Lancaster University were Dr Michael Brown, a Lecturer in Modern British History, who has been involved in the process as a Trustee of the Museum, Dr Sunita Abraham, a Lecturer in Decolonisation, who recruited and managed the two student interns Rachel McLean and Sana Lokhat, who assisted with the Abyssinia project, and Professor Christina Hicks, who grew up in Ethiopia and, alongside Dr Abraham, is a member of Lancaster Black History Group.

It is believed that the two bodily artefacts belonged to the Abyssinian Emperor Tewodros II. They were seized as part of a British imperial hostage rescue ‘expedition’ to Abyssinia in 1868 under the leadership of General Sir Robert Napier, during which Tewodros’s fortress at Magdala was looted and burnt down.

The items are thought to have been taken by members of the KORR’s predecessor, the 4^th (King’s Own) Regiment of Foot, after Tewodros took his own life, and were later passed into the regiment’s collections.

In addition to these items, Lord Robert Napier and his sister, Mrs Ruth Self, who represented the Napier family, also gifted a beautiful gold bracelet linked to the campaign to the Ethiopian authorities.

As part of a broader process of examining the regiment’s involvement in the campaign, the Trustees of the KORR Museum appointed Ethiopian heritage expert Eyob Derillo to explore their holdings in this area.

When his research revealed the two bodily artefacts, the Trustees advised the Ethiopian Heritage Authority (ETA) who then formally requested the Trust to ‘restitute and repatriate’ the two items which ‘are of great interest and cultural significance to the people of Ethiopia.’

Former Lancaster University History student and intern on the project Rachel McLean, who attended the event, said she felt very fortunate to spend more than two years working on the Abyssinia project, where she developed museum skills such as artefact handling and photography.

“These internships were crucial in my career progression and I’m now a news archivist as well as a museum trustee,” she said.

“Only one per cent of museum trustees are under 30, so it’s important that university students continue to be supported and encouraged to pursue opportunities within this sector.

“The experience highlighted how important collaboration, decolonisation and community are within heritage work and made me more mindful of the responsibilities involved.

“Whilst these are things I was aware of prior to my internships, it has made me more determined to actively push for communities to be meaningfully consulted and included in how their histories are represented.”

Prof Christina Hicks echoed these sentiments and said it was a privilege to join the ceremony.

“I grew up in Ethiopia, and it shaped who I am today,” she said. “To witness this homecoming was a profound honour, and I hope many more such moments of repair can follow.

“Repatriation is an act of recognition, an acknowledgement that what was taken, was taken unjustly. For the Ethiopian community, this moment matters deeply. And for those of us who have been shaped by Ethiopia and its people, it matters too.”

Dr Michael Brown said that, as a Trustee of the KORR Museum, it gave him great pleasure that members of the School of Global Affairs had played a role in such a significant local and national event.

“Regimental museums across the country contain numerous objects, which were taken in deeply problematic historical circumstances, and it is wonderful that the Trustees have seen fit to confront the regiment’s past in an honest and open manner,” he said.

“The restitution of these two bodily artefacts represents an important part of a wider process to acknowledge the wrongdoings of the past and to bring communities and nations together in a spirit of friendship and reconciliation.”

Dr Sunita Abraham said the project had been a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with Museum Development Manager at Lancaster City Council Carolyn Dalton and her team, and subsequently, with Eyob Derillo, the Ethiopian heritage specialist.

“Our interns, Rachel and Sana, were able to both contribute and learn valuable skills while also reflecting on the role and relevance of decolonisation and working on ‘contested’ knowledge within museum settings,” she said.

“The documenting and relabelling of artifacts has given the museum an opportunity to share a more balanced and nuanced perspective while also recognising that Ethiopia was never colonised.

“This is an example of how Lancaster University provides opportunities to both engage with local partners and communities, whilst also providing students with a range of outward-facing avenues to build their skills and knowledge.”

Eyob Derillo and Carolyn Dalton were also deeply appreciative of the contributions of the students.

Carolyn added: “The support of two Lancaster University interns, Rachel McLean and Sana Lokhat, has been invaluable to this project.

“They went through the collection, box by box, to identify any relevant items that we didn’t already know about, and Rachel discovered an Abyssinian ‘Commentary on the Psalms of David’ which has been identified by our expert Project Officer, Eyob Derillo, as coming from the library at Emperor Tewodros’ fortress at Magdala. It also contains rare instructions to the priest on how to conduct the service.

“Rachel and Sana also photographed and recorded the objects, and Rachel helped us with several events to connect the collection and museum with the Ethiopian community. I am really pleased to say that Rachel has now become a Trustee for the King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum.”

The two students’ decolonisation internships were funded by the University’s Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and the project was funded by the Museums Association Esmee Fairbairn Collections Fund with some additional funding from the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. This collaboration across institutions highlights how universities can play a key role in facilitating collaborations that bring about reconciliation and a greater understanding of our shared histories.

From left to right: Professor Christina Hicks, Dr Alula Pankhurst, Dr Sunita Abraham, Angela Onek and Leader of Lancaster City Council Caroline Jackson. Photograph courtesy of Dr Sunita Abraham.