The nineteenth century has long been seen as a century where European powers were acquiring antiquities for display in their national museums. At the forefront of this trend was the British Museum which worked in conjunction with the Foreign Office and Admiralty to bring them back to Britain. Yet current historiography of the region has ignored the role played by another leading government department, the Ordnance Office. The establishment of a permanent British military presence on Malta and in the Ionian Islands had a transformative effect on the study and acquisition of ancient, classical and medieval antiquities from the region as personnel from the civil and military establishments were now able to engage with them at first hand.

中文翻译：

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职业和过去：英国军械办公室的建立和对地中海古物的调查，c.1800–1859

19 世纪长期以来一直被视为一个世纪，欧洲列强正在收购古物以在其国家博物馆中展出。在这一趋势的最前沿是大英博物馆，它与外交部和海军部合作，将它们带回英国。然而，该地区目前的历史编纂忽略了另一个主要政府部门，即军械办公室所发挥的作用。英国在马耳他和爱奥尼亚群岛建立永久性军事存在对该地区的古代、古典和中世纪文物的研究和收购产生了变革性的影响，因为文职和军事机构的人员现在能够在第一手资料。