The ancient site of Babylon has long attracted the interest of European visitors. With the expansion of British geopolitical interests into the Middle East and India during the eighteenth century those in the service of the East India Company were afforded new opportunities to examine and explore regional antiquities. The historiography of archaeological exploration has traditionally focused on the contributions of key Orientalists such as Claudius James Rich and Paul Émile Botta. This has been at the expense of other equally significant individuals who also undertook a range of supporting scholarly, archaeological and museological activities. This article will redress that balance by considering the work of one of these unsung heroes of the East India Company, Captain Robert Mignan.

In Middle-Eastern countries, more particularly in Lebanon, the incidence of vitamin D deficiency has been found to be surprisingly high in schoolchildren and young individuals. However, the prevalence and risk factors for vitamin D inadequacy amongst Lebanese osteoporotic women seeking medical health care has never been studied. We analysed vitamin D-inadequacy risk factors among the 251 Lebanese postmenopausal osteoporotic women (from both Muslim and Christian communities) who participated in a vitamin D international epidemiological study. Vitamin D inadequacy prevalence (25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) < 30 ng/ml) was 84·9 %. 25(OH)D was negatively correlated with BMI (r − 0·41; P < 0·001) and positively correlated with educational level (r 0·37; P < 0·001) and self-reported general health (r 0·17; P < 0·01). No significant correlation was found with age and no seasonal variation was observed. There was no significant correlation between 25(OH)D and sun exposure index or vitamin D-rich food consumption. However, 25(OH)D strongly correlated with vitamin D supplement intake (r 0·48; P < 0·0001). Muslim community participants had lower 25(OH)D levels compared with their Christian counterparts (P < 0·001). They also had higher BMI, lower educational level and vitamin D supplement consumption and followed more frequently a dress code covering the arms (P < 0·0001 for all variables). In a multivariate model, in Muslims, inadequate vitamin D supplements and a dress code covering the arms are the independent predictors of 25(OH)D inadequacy (P < 0·001 for both variables). However, in Christians, the predictors are inadequate vitamin D supplements, high BMI and low educational level (P < 0·001; P = 0·002 and P = 0·02 respectively). There is an urgent need to increase vitamin D supplement use in Middle-Eastern osteoporotic women, more particularly in those from the Muslim community.