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...