Mabel Bent - Knowledge

588:'Few who see Mrs. Theodore Bent for the first time would dream that a woman so apparently fragile and so essentially feminine could be one of the most daring of travellers and adventure-lovers. It is almost more easy to say where Mrs. Bent has not been than where she has travelled. She has explored Asia Minor in its wildest recesses, and is familiar with the remotest by-ways of Persia. She knows Arabia better than West London; and in fact has roamed almost everywhere from the Cyclades to Central Africa, while she has faced death in a hundred forms. And yet so adaptable is this charming lady that when you see her in her home in Great Cumberland Place you might pardonably think that she had never wandered more than a hundred miles from her drawing-room, so naturally does she fit her environment.' ( 333: 403:(modern Beytin/Baytin/Beitin), a small clay stamp/seal was found in 1957 that looked identical to one obtained by Theodore Bent on their trip into the Wadi Hadramaut (Yemen) in 1894. There have been suggestions that Bent had deposited the artefact in archaeological remains in Bethel as a token to her husband, to bolster his theories about early trade links in the wider region, at a time when Theodore Bent's findings were being criticized and his academic reputation questioned, especially his interpretation of the Great Zimbabwe monuments. 932:: 'Dear Sir William… Thank you for sending me the flower pictures. I like them very much… This winter I only got to Jebel Usdum and arrived in Jerusalem with a broken leg, my horse having fallen on me in the wilderness of Judea. My sister Mrs. Bagenal came from Ireland and fetched me from the hospital where I was for 7 weeks. I cannot walk yet but am getting on well and my leg is quite straight and long I am thankful to say… Yours truly Mabel V.A. Bent.' . 33: 419:(April 1893), on the eve of the debate as to whether more women Fellows should be appointed in the future, after the first group the previous year. This article concludes: '... the battle of the ladies promises to become historic in the annals of the Society… On the original question of the eligibility of women as Fellows of the Society it is scarcely possible that there can be two opinions. 205:. It was during this trip that Mabel Bent began what she called her 'Chronicles', essentially her travel notes and diaries that her husband was to use on their return to aid him in writing his articles and papers. Her collection of notebooks is now in the archives of the Hellenic and Roman Library, Senate House, London. Several of her letters home from Africa and Arabia are held in the 324:

her diary: 'Among the patients was brought a baby… such an awful object of thinness and sores… No cure had we, and though we did consult over ¼ drop of chlorodine, in much water, we felt it was really dangerous to meddle with the poor thing… Theodore told them it could not live long and it died that evening or next day.'

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Eastern Mediterranean (the 1880s); Africa (the early 1890s); and Southern Arabia (the mid 1890s). Many of the finds and acquisitions the couple collected on their travels are in the British Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Some examples of Greek island costumes Mabel Bent brought home from Greece are now in the

817: 558: 367:' tomb. Bent was made London secretary and later co-edited an update of the guidebook, with Charlotte Hussey, a fellow Irishwoman, who was the official custodian of the tomb in Jerusalem. Bent and Hussey fell out with the local consular official, John Dickson, which resulted ultimately in questions to the 323:

The extended journeys made by the Bents in remote places called for them to carry with them adequate medical supplies. Mabel Bent tried to alleviate where possible ailments presented by the people they travelled among, for example in the Wadi Khonab (Hadramaut, Yemen) in January 1894, as recorded in

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Mabel Bent maintained her interest in the well-being of the sick abroad, especially children. In 1909 she went out of her way to visit the English hospital in Jaffa: 'The doctors were late, and some of the children were getting impatient, when, instead of doctors, several travellers appeared in the

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and an enquiry. Documents in Bent's Foreign Office files contain comments such as: 'A most tiresome and persistent woman'; 'Could not the F.O. cause these women to be ejected from the place?'; 'It would be an excellent thing if Mrs. Bent could be prosecuted for libel'; 'She is a very vindictive and

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In the main, Mabel and Theodore Bent chose to spend the winter and spring months of every year travelling, using summers and autumns to write up their findings and prepare for their next campaigns. Their geographical fields of interest can be roughly grouped into three primary areas: Greece and the

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in early 1884, the Bents were shown some prehistoric graves by local mining engineers, Robert and John Swan. Theodore Bent undertook amateur archaeological investigations at two sites on the island and returned to London with skeletal remnants which are now in the Natural History Museum, and many

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For their trip to what are now referred to as the Greek Dodecanese islands (then Turkish) in 1885, Bent travelled with her photographic equipment and, from then on, became expedition photographer. Few of her original photographs have survived, but many were used to produce the illustrations that

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In the winter of 1882/3, the Bents made a short tour of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean, disembarking, on their way home, at the Cycladic islands of Tinos and Amorgos to witness the Easter celebrations. They returned late in the year to the same region, the Greek Cyclades, their accounts

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Many of Bent's acquisitions from overseas remained with her until her final years. In 1926 she presented a large amount to the British Museum. She was also in the habit of opening her home for charitable events to display her collection – described as 'more interesting than many museums'.

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The year after her husband's death, Bent made a solo visit to Egypt to see the sites on the Nile. She attempted a last diary, which she headed 'A lonely useless journey'. It is the last of her travel notebooks in the archives of the Hellenic and Roman Library, Senate House, London.

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ceramic, stone and obsidian finds that now form a significant part of the British Museum's Cycladic collection; within a few months he had published the material and his career as an archaeologist/ethnographer, and in which his wife was to be central, was launched.

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Distant cousins (via the Lambarts), and having met in Norway, Hall-Dare married J. Theodore Bent on 2 August 1877 in the church of Staplestown, County Carlow, not far from Mabel's Irish home. There was wealth on both sides, and the Bents set up home first at 43

432:, and a host of others might be named who have shared their husbands' travels in little known lands, and may fairly claim such privileges as Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society confers.' However, by the end of July 1893, the then RGS president, Sir 423:

and Miss Gordon Cumming are ladies who are surely as much entitled to membership of the Royal Geographical Society as are the great majority of the gentlemen who write F.R.G.S. after their names, and Mrs. Theodore Bent,

387:. At some point around Jebel Usdum, south of Jerusalem, her horse rolled on her, breaking her leg. She sent a guide to find the gentlemen who returned and, with the help of the guides, carried her to the hospital in 467:

All of Bent's original diaries held in the archive of the Hellenic Society, London, except for those covering the couple's trip to Ethiopia in 1893, have now been digitized and are available on open access.

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Consul Dickson's papers: Middle East Centre, St Antony's College, Oxford (GB165-0086); for the FO references: FO 78/5418 1905; FO 78/5099; FO 78/5470; FO 78/4781; FO 369/43 (Turkey) nos. 2533, 5380, 10120.

194:, near Marble Arch, in London, later moving closer to the Arch at number 13; Mabel remained in that same rented townhouse for 30 years after Theodore's death in 1897, until her own death in 1929. 802:

corridor, one of whom was a lady, and, if she will pardon me the proclamation, may I add a very charming one? It was Mrs. Theodore Bent, who, as everyone knows, is an ardent lover of the East.' (

701:, 28 November 1899: 'Exhibition of South African, Arabian and other curiosities at the house of Mrs. Theodore Bent, 13 Great Cumberland-place, in aid of the Imperial War Fund, 12-7 (three days).' 448:(1900) is a travel book she prepared from her notebooks and those of her husband covering all their journeys in the region. In 1903 she published a small anthology of card games for travellers, 344:

Theodore Bent died in May 1897 of malarial complications after a hurried return to London from Aden, where the couple were both hospitalized at the end of their last journey together.

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in 1898 reads 'A lonely useless journey'. Her diary peters out in Athens after four days. Her last chronicled words being: 'Of course I have not neglected the antiquities either…' (

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Some writers think that Bent may have been involved in an archaeological puzzle known as the 'Bethel Seal' controversy. Some 15 km north of Jerusalem, in the village of

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Their first journeys took them to Italy at the end of the 1870s, Theodore, who read history at Oxford University, being interested in Garibaldi and Italian unification.

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feature in her husband's books and articles, and the lantern slides that enhanced his lectures at the Royal Geographical Society in London and elsewhere.

687: 1235: 974: 146:, a.k.a. Mrs J. Theodore Bent) (28 January 1847 – 3 July 1929), was an Anglo-Irish explorer, excavator, writer and photographer. With her husband, 1170: 1160: 174:, County Sligo, before re-locating in the early 1860s to County Wexford, acquiring the property that was later to become Newtownbarry House, in 999:'The Admission of Women Fellows to the Royal Geographical Society, 1892-1914; the Controversy and the Outcome', Morag Bell and Cheryl McEwan, 910:

Cook, Anna J (2024). A Man Beyond Time: Moses Cotsworth's fight for the 13-month calendar. Independent Publishing Network. ISBN 9781805177203

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In the village of Komiaki on Naxos in January 1884, Mabel Bent was introduced to Matthew Simos, a native of Anafi, who became the Bents'

178:(now the village of Bunclody). While a teenager, Hall-Dare suffered several bereavements, losing both her parents and her two brothers. 1190: 1175: 1165: 1155: 1120: 1115: 412: 372:

obnoxious person, and has given the unfortunate Consul for a long time past a great deal of trouble by her vicious proceedings'.

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280: 89-91; Brisch, G.E., 2012 'A grieving widow's token to her archaeologist husband? Where is the 'Bethel Seal' now? Oxford:

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Mabel V.A. Bent, 'In the Days of My Youth: Chapters of Autobiography', M.A.P., 10, Issue 240 (17 January 1903), pp. 72-3 (

878:(with Arthur William Crawley-Boevey and Miss Hussey), c. 1920. Jerusalem: Committee of the Garden Tomb Maintenance Fund. 676:

https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx?searchText=%22Theodore+Bent%22&images=true

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Ladies in the Laboratory? American and British Women in Science, 1800-1900: A Survey of Their Contributions to Research

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https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx?people=97438&peoA=97438-3-9&page=1

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and travelled with them. Unfortunately, she decided to ride with the caravan while the rest of the party hurried to

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Mabel Bent died in her London home on 3 July 1929, her death certificate citing 'myocardial failure' and '

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appeared in 1908. Her final publication was a revised edition of a guide to the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem,

355:. In Jerusalem, Bent joined the 'Garden Tomb Association', whose members were dedicated to preserving the 436:, had resigned over the failed vote to continue admitting women Fellows and no more women were admitted. 214: 206: 1210: 499:

Much of the biographical material herein is from two obituaries of Mabel Bent: 'Mrs. Theodore Bent',

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She is buried with her husband in the Hall-Dare family plot, St Mary's Church, Theydon Bois, Essex.

150:, she spent two decades (1877–1897) travelling, collecting and researching in remote regions of the 945:

151: 9-16; Jamme, A. and Van Beek, G. W., 1961. 'The South-Arabian Clay Stamp from Bethel Again',

1220: 1035:, 1903/4. Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith & London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. Ltd. 380: 957:

199: 59-65; Kelso, J. L., 1970. 'A Reply to Yadin's Article on the Finding of the Bethel Seal',

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196: 37-45; Van Beek, G. W. and Jamme, A., 1970. 'The Authenticity of the Bethel Stamp Seal',

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Women's Orients: English Women and the Middle East, 1718–1918: Sexuality, Religion and Work

477: 277: 170:, on the River Boyne in County Meath, Ireland. Shortly after her birth the family moved to 941:

Van Beek, G. W. and Jamme, A., 1958. 'An Inscribed South Arabian Clay Stamp from Bethel',

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Hall-Dare and her sisters received education at home with private governesses and tutors.

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199: 65; Cleveland, R. L., 1973. 'More on the South Arabian Clay Stamp Found at Beitîn',

337: 147: 376: 332: 834:(Theodore and Mabel Bent), 1900. London, Smith, Elder and Co., Chapter XXXVII: 427-9. 453: 166:

Hall-Dare was born on 28 January 1847. Her birthplace was her grandfather's estate,

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163: 15-18; Yadin, Y., 1969. 'An Inscribed South-Arabian Clay Stamp from Bethel',

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The Travel Chronicles of Mrs. J. Theodore Bent, Vol. 3, 2010, Oxford, pages 171-2.

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Wright, G. F. (1916) Story of my life and work Oberlin: Bibliotheca Sacra Company

892:, HC Deb., 11 November 1902, Vol. 114 cc593-4 ('British Residents at Jerusalem'). 304: 291: 770:

The Travel Chronicles of Mrs. J. Theodore Bent, Vol. 1, 2006, Oxford, page 31.

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The Travel Chronicles of Mrs. J. Theodore Bent, Vol. 1, 2006, Oxford, page 80.

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A Popular Penny Weekly of Pleasant Gossip, Personal Portraits, and Social News

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209: 33-6; Blake, I., 1973. 'The Bethel Stamp Seal: A Mystery Revealed?',

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1895: Muscat, Oman and Dhofar, during which they identify the remains at

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Anglo-Saxons from Palestine; or, The imperial mystery of the lost tribes

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Anglo-Saxons from Palestine; or, The imperial mystery of the lost tribes

32: 155: 391:. Her sister Ethel was required to travel from Ireland to nurse her. 388: 384: 352: 311: 233: 273:

1886–1888: The northern Aegean, and far down along the Turkish coast

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For the objects Mrs Bent gave to the British Museum in 1926, see

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Bent was suggested as a possible inclusion among the first women

400: 247: 79: 1023:(Theodore and Mabel Bent), 1900. London, Smith, Elder and Co. 735:(Theodore and Mabel Bent), 1900. London, Smith, Elder and Co. 661:

Expanded details of all the Bents' journeys are available at

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https://geographical.co.uk/rgs/news/item/418-did-you-know

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For the dramatic final days of the Bents' last tour, see

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Mabel Bent, a bronze portrait relief (c. 25 cm, 2 kg) by

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The Garden Tomb, Golgotha and the Garden of Resurrection

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The Garden Tomb, Golgotha and the Garden of Resurrection

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For full details and dates of the Bents' journeys, see

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