Antiquities Exhibits

Rome in Aquincum, once capital of Pannonia Inferior, ongoing at the Aquincumi Múzeum in Budapest, Hungary. Evoking the former splendour of the Governor’s residence, Rome in Aquincum displays some of the palace’s never before exhibited and restored mosaics, as well as wall paintings, the palace shrines’ statues, including the local Mithraeum, and reconstructions of a dolphin fountain and a large ornamental stone vessel (krater).  Rome in Aquincum also displays a selection of luxury items: imported bronze, glass and ceramic vessels as well as gold and silver jewellery – samples from the daily life of the governor and those around him. Another special feature of the exhibition is the world-famous Aquincum organ, the remains of which were discovered during the construction of the same building in which it now stands. The exhibition displays the extant parts of the organ, along with a reconstruction of its structure and mechanism as well as the organ’s reconstructed working copy. ...

The Celtic Prince of Hochdorf and his burial goods on display at The Hochdorf / Enz Celtic Museum in Eberdingen, Germany. Twenty-five hundred years ago on the heights south of the Enz, a large wooden chamber was constructed for a Celtic prince, whose wealth and validity is reflected in the splendid gifts that followed him to the grave. The prince remained undisturbed until 1978 when his burial mound was excavated. The find promp ted the construction of The Celtic Museum in 1991. Now the prince, his wealth and artifacts from his contemporaries are on display for half a million visitors a year to this museum. Image: A recreation of the original burial chamber and grave goods courtesy of The Hochdorf / Enz Celtic Museum.

Immortal Dead: Treasures from Sichuan in Ancient China through October 18, 2018 in Trajan's Market in Rome, Italy.  This show is a grand display of the myths of Chinese archaeology through the lens of the Sichuan civilisation, which developed along the Min River, colloquially known as the Blue River. Comprised of digital reconstructions, photos, videos, and interactive tools, the exhibition allows visitors to explore artifacts from the Sanxingdui and Jinsha archaeological sites from eight Chinese musuems, amidst the backdrop of the ancient Roman site of Trajan's Market, highlighting connections between ancient China and Imperial Rome.  Artifacts on display include objects in bronze, gold, jade, and terracotta from the 2nd millennium B.C. to the 2nd century A.C., such as ritual statues and vases, masks, daggers, and scepters. Image:  Horse and carriage Eastern Han Dynasty Sichuan Province China 1st-2nd century CE Gray earthenware with traces of pigment photographed...

Antiquities from Dodona including the famous Riaci Warriors on exhibit through June 8, 2019 at the Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria, Italy. Antiquities from Dodona, the ancient Greek oracle and a panhellenic sanctuary in Epirus, will be exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria, Italy. The exhibition “Ιl Santuario di Dodona e la Magna Grecia” presents artifacts reflecting the importance of relat ions between Dodona and the cities of Magna Graecia, from the founding of the Greek colonies to the later Roman era, as documented by ancient literary sources and archaeological evidence, along with epigraphic and numismatic data. Artifacts will be on display from both the Reggio Calabria museum as well as the Archaeological Museum of Ionnina. Image: One of the Riaci warriors thought to be the work of Myron created between 460 and 450 BCE found by a snorkeling chemist near Monasterace, Italy. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Effems and...

Pre-Columbian art from the Maya, Aztecs, Zapotecs, and Olmecs.  Ongoing.  At the Amparo Museum in Puebla, Mexico.  At the Amparo Museum, one of Mexico's most important but least-visited  archaeologocial museums, you can see Mayan stelae depicting the mythological story of the creation of the world, sculptures of rabbit-headed scribe gods, stone representations of Totonac gods of death, ceramic statues of powerful Zapotec lords, and numerous Aztec sculptures of animals like Xoloitzcuintle dogs, spider monkeys, jaguars, coyotes, and snakes. Image:  Ceramic religious sculpture of a mythological beast.  Classical Period.  Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Éclusette.

Remains of luxurious ancient Baiae at the Parco Archeologico delle Terme di Baia in Bacoli, Italy.  Baiae, much of it now submerged, still offers interesting remains and a museum.  Situated on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples in the city of Bacoli, Italy, Baiae was a fashionable resort at the end of the Roman Republic.  Marius, Lucullus, and Pompey all frequented it and Julius Caesar had a villa there.  But volcanic activity between the third and fifth centuries eventually resulted in the lower part of Baiae being submerged by the sea by the eighth century.  However, the Temple of Diana, Temple of Mercury, Temple of Venus, the Villa of the Abulatio, and a terraced Sector of Sosandra still remain to be explored.  A cache of plaster casts of Hellenistic sculptures was discovered in the cellar of the Baths of Sosandra and are now displayed at the town's archaeological museum. The collection includes parts of several famous sculptures, including Ath...

Roman remains of Aosta (also spelled Aoste) in the Gallo-Roman Museum of Aosta, France. The geographical position of Aosta's road and river junction favored the development of crafts and commerce. Archaeological excavations have yielded a wealth of ceramic dishes including fine dishes, jugs and amphorae. Aosta's potters were especially renowned for their mortars which were exported as far as the British Isles and throughout th e Roman empire. An intact pottery oven was uncovered nearby in 1983. Aosta's glassmakers were also talented and the museum presents a number of decorated and stylized pieces. The museum's collections also include a slave sarcophagus, inscriptions, cinerary urns, and funerary jugs, vials, ceramics, and glass. Objects from daily life are also displayed including bronze tableware, children's games, and writing utensils.  An intact Gallo-Roman potter's oven uncovered in 1983, a short walk from the museum.

Bronze Age Greek and Roman artifacts at the İzmir Archaeological Museum in İzmir, Turkey. The İzmir Archaeological Museum originally established in 1924 contains remains from ancient Smyrna, claimed to be the birthplace of Homer, as well as Ephesus, Pergamon, Miletus, Aphrodisias, Clazomenae, Teos, and Iasos including busts, statues, statuettes, jewelry, coins, tools, architectural elements and various eating and cooking utensi ls. One of the most impressive is a life-sized late Hellenistic bronze sculpture of a running athlete wearing a victory wreath from the coast of Kyme. Image: Life-sized late Hellenistic bronze sculpture of a running athlete wearing a victory wreath from the coast of Kyme. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Dick Osseman.

Phoenician, Roman, and Byzantine cultural remains at the archaeological site of Tipasa, Algeria. Among honeyed beaches, shady pine trees, and gently rolling hills, the sweeping turquoise sea serves as the backdrop for a layered history of golden ruins overlooking the coastal cliff.  Colonized several times over between the 6th century BC and the 6th century AD, Tipasa originated as a trading center for the Phoenicians of Carthage.  The site features a comprehensive Punic necropolis, ancient toilets, another theater, and a Christian religious complex fitted with thermal baths, basilicas, and tombs.  The most notable structure is the nearby royal mausoleum, Kbor er Roumia, which is the funerary monument of Berber King Juba II and Queen Cleopatra Selene II (Cleopatra and Marc Antony’s only daughter). Ancient remains of the tomb of Juba II and Cleopatra Selene (Cleopatra VII and Marc Antony's daughter) near Tipasa, Algeria.  Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. ...

Etruscan artifacts and ancient weapons. Ongoing at the Museums of Palazzo Farnese - Piacenza in Piacenza, Italy. Housed in a palace constructed for the Duke of Piacenza in 1556, the Archaeological Museum's star attraction is the "Piacenza Liver", an Etruscan bronze of a liver with Etruscan writing that was possibly used for haruspicy or divination by the reading of animals entrails. The Museum of Ancient Weapons displays 400 a ntique weapons and armors collected by the Piacentine nobleman Antonio Parma. There are also galleries featuring 14th-17th century paintings, 14th-15th century sculptures and a museum of coaches. Image: A bronze reproduction of the so-called "Liver of Piacenza", an animal liver engraved with the Etruscan names of the deities connected to each part of the organ. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Lokilech.

Qinhai in the Belt and Road. Through June 30, 2019 at the Capital Museum in Beijing, China. In the Qin and Han dynasties, the Qiang people, Bronze Age rulers of Qinghai, were involved in the war between the dynasty ruling the central plain and the Huns. As a result, central plain dynasty forces first entered the Hehuang region. In the subsequent turbulent times involving the Wei and Jin dynasties, the war raging in central Chin a spread west to Qinghai. The Tuyuhun clan of the Xianbei people from Liaodong finally established their kingdom in the former homeland of the Qiang people. However, after ruling for over three hundred years, this kingdom stretching thousands of miles was gradually crushed by invading troops of the Sui and Tang dynasties from one direction and the Tibetan Empire from the other. Eventually, Qinghai became the frontier of the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Tibetan Empire. The exhibit displays 442 cultural relics, including works of colored pottery and co...

Ancient treasures of Thuringia at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History of Thuringia in Weimar, Germany. Known as the Hermunduren to Tacitus, the Thurgingii lived in settlements with ground-level post houses and raised cattle. They were also skilled metalworkers and faithful allies to the Romans. Exhibits include glass and bronze objects, weapons, jewelery and shiny red relief decorated tableware known as terracotta sigill ata ceramics as well as grave goods from the richly equipped Germanic grave of the "Princess of Haßleben." Other exhibit areas include finds from the Stone Age, Neolithic Period, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Franconian Period, and Middle Ages. Image: A reconstructed Thuringian grave. Image courtesy of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History of Thuringia.

Jade Death Mask of Pakal the Great and other Mayan Treasures, ongoing, at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.  When the jade death mask of Mayan King, Pakal the Great, was discovered in 1952 during an excavation of the Temple of Inscriptions in the ruined Mayan city of Palenque (modern-day Mexico), this intricate jade death mask had been lying in a darkened tomb chamber for over a thousand years, covering a skull. Inscriptions on the walls indicated that the skull belonged to none other than the Mayan king K’inich Janaab’ Pakal, known today as Pakal the Great.  This mask along with a replica of the great king's tomb are one of the highlights of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The museum's collections include the Stone of the Sun, giant stone heads of the Olmec civilization that were found in the jungles of Tabasco and Veracruz, and treasures recovered from the Mayan civilization at the Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza. Image: Funerary ...

Antique Museum and Casting Collection of the Institute of Classical Archaeology at the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany. The Antiquities Museum offers visitors a broad overview of the ancient Mediterranean cultures from the 3rd millennium BCE to the Roman Empire. Painted Greek and Etruscan vases as well as clay pots, clay figures and clay reliefs are the focus of the exhibit. The cast collection of antique sculptur es is one of the largest such facilities at German universities. The plaster casts trace the development of Greek sculpture from its beginnings to the Roman Empire. The gallery housing the casts is currently being rennovated so will be closed until 2020. Heidelberg University casts of the Parthenon Marbles. Image courtesy of Heidelberg University.

The Archaeological Museum of Arlon in in Arlon, Province of Luxemborg.  Arlon is located at the crossroads of two important Roman roads (Reims-Trier and Metz-Tongres) which allowed the ancient residents to experience a prosperity during the first three centuries of our era. Located in the former territory of the city of Treviri the town bore the name of Orolaunum vicus.  The museum is especially noted for its rich collection of ancient funerary monuments due to their reuse in a rampart built at the end of the third century and early fourth century CE to protect the vicus from invasion. Image: Grave stele depicting tax collection.  Image courtesy of the Archaeological Museum of Arlon in Arlon, Province of Luxembourg.

The World Between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East March 18, 2019 - June 23 2019 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. For over three centuries, the territories and trading networks of the Middle East were contested between the Roman and Parthian Empires (ca. 100 B.C.–A.D. 250), yet across the region life was not defined by these two superpowers alone. Local cultural and religious traditions flourish ed, and sculptures, wall paintings, jewelry, and other objects reveal how ancient identities were expressed through art. Featuring 190 works from museums in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, this exhibition will follow a journey along the great incense and silk routes that connected cities in southwestern Arabia, Nabataea, Judaea, Syria, and Mesopotamia, making the region a center of global trade. Image: Head of a bearded god from Dura-Europos, Syria 1st century CE from the Yale University Art Gallery.

Closing soon! Gods of Egypt through March 31, 2019 at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, Netherlands. The exhibition Gods of Egypt brings together more than five hundred objects from domestic and foreign museums: impressive statues of gods and goddesses, magical papyri, golden jewelry and colorfully painted mummy boxes. The exhibit focuses on the function of the temples in the country, the numerous rituals with which the  gods were worshiped, and the journey to the underworld. It then concludes with an examination of the Greek and Roman conquerors of Egypt who brought the Egyptian gods back to their own cultures. Votive image of Thoth, god of wisdom and writing, depicted as a mantle baboon. Faience with silver muzzle and sickle, and gold sun disc. Ptolemaic Period 332-30 BCE.  Image courtesy of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden.

Remains of Roman Verulamium at the Verulamium Roman Museum in St. Albans, UK. The Roman settlement at Verulamium was established on the site of a Catuvellauni tribal center and granted munipium status around 50 CE. Although destroyed by Boudica and her Iceni tribesmen in 61 CE, the town was later rebuilt and expanded through the 3rd century CE. Verulamium contained a forum, basilica and a theatre with a stage rather than the typical am phitheater. Although most of the Roman city was quarried for stone, the foundations of many of the monumental structures as well as decorative mosaic pavements, most a combination of floral and geometric shapes, are still visible. The museum has preserved a number of mosaics and also displays red Samian ware-type ceramics, jewelry, tools and coins. Roman reenactors present demonstrations periodically at the museum as well. Mosaic depicting local deity at Verulamium Roman reenactor demonstrates no mercy at the Verulamium Roman Museum Ro...

Archaeological finds from the Kofun Period. Ongoing. at the Nara National Museum in Nara, Japan.  The Kofun period is considered the earliest era of recorded history in Japan and extended from about 300 to 538 CE. The Kofun period is characterized by a strong influence from the Korean Peninsula as well as the introduction of Buddhism and the Chinese writing system from China. The Kofun period recorded Japan's earliest political  centralization, when the Yamato clan rose to power in southwestern Japan, established the Imperial House, and helped control trade routes across the region. Many of the items in the museum's collection were recovered from the area's distinctively keyhole-shaped earthen burial mounds with stone burial chambers sometimes surrounded by moats. The museum also houses a number of Japan's national treasures and an extensive collection of Chinese ritual bronze vessels. Image: Helmet excavated from Gojō-Nekozuka tumulus, Nara, Kofun Peri...

Queens of Egypt.  Through September 2, 2019 at the National Geographic Museum in Washington D.C.  This exhibit focuses on seven Egyptian queens from the New Kingdom period, beginning with Ahmose-Nefertari (who reigned from 1539 to 1514 B.C.) and culminating with Cleopatra (technically known as Cleopatra VII).  It includes historical objects on loan from five European and Canadian museums, with most on loan from Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy.  These objects include a pair of Nefertari's sandals as well as a model of her lavishly decorated two-level catacomb augmented with a virtual presentation that can be viewed with virtual-reality glasses. The exhibit also presents a rare portrait bust of Cleopatra VII from Museo Egizio that has never been displayed in the U.S.  Visitors are even invited to smell some of the heady perfumes used by these queens, particularly Cleopatra who actually wrote a treatise about perfume production and formulas she developed herself. ...

The Roman remains of Colonia Claudia Savariensum at the Savaria Museum in Szombathely, Hungary.  Szombathely is the oldest recorded city in Hungary. It was founded by the Romans in 45 CE under the name of Colonia Claudia Savariensum and it was the capital of  Pannonia Superior. The city profited from its proximity to  the "Amber Road" trade route and its structures included an imperial residence, a public bath and an amphitheatre. In 2008, remains of a mithraeum were also discovered. After the death of Emperor Valentinian III, the Huns invaded Pannonia. Attila's armies occupied Savaria between 441 and 445 subsequently much of the city was destroyed by an earthquake in 456.  The Savaria Museum's collections include 33,293 artifacts as well as reconstructions of some of the Roman buildings such as the Temple of Isis.  Articles made of amber, medical instruments, ceramics, funerary urns and gravestones,  inscriptions, and coins are among the displays. ...

Ancient Egypt at the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy. The Egyptian antique collection of the Egyptian Museum, one of the largest in the world, includes about 40,000 artifacts, most of which comes from the purchase of the Bernardino Drovetti collection in 1824 and from the excavations conducted by Ernesto Schiaparelli in Egypt from 1903 to 1920. Thematic exhibits include the parity of women in ancient Egypt. In a room dedicated to  Merit, a woman who lived around 3,400 years ago during Egypt’s New Kingdom period are boxes that contained her toiletries and other possessions painted with images of a confident woman side by side with her architect husband, Kha, giving offerings to the gods and greeting visitors.The variety of expensive goods she was buried with—a large wig made of human hair, loaves of bread, jewelry, toiletries, clothing—attests to her importance. In the same room is a white limestone statue of a woman — Nefertari — and her husband, Pendua. They are the same size, sa...

Roman weapons, equipment, and anitque artillery at the The LVR-RömerMuseum in Xanten, Germany.  This exhibit is centered around a column formed of legionnaire's helmets representing the ten thousand Roman soldiers who garrisoned the legion fortress at Xanten from 15 BCE when Xanten served as the base camp of Legio VI Victrix until the 5th century when Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix, which had replaced Legio VI Victrix in 122 CE, abandon ed the camp after repeated assaults by Germanic tribes. The exhibition also includes objects from the Roman city, Colonia Ulpia Traiana, that illustrate the daily life of the Romans, their crafts and trades as well as the economic importance of the city including a Roman ship that floats in the air between two levels of the display and funerary monuments and votive objects. The museum is the centerpiece of the archaeological park that includes remains of the city's forum, temples, public baths, and a restored amphitheater. Xanten's Archaeologic...

Liburnian and Roman artifacts at the Archaeological Museum of Zadar, Croatia. Zadar was established as a Liburnian settlement in the 9th century BCE. The Liburnians, an Illyrian tribe, were known as great sailors and merchants, but also had a reputation for piracy in the later years. By the 7th century BCE, Zadar had become an important center for their trading activities with the Phoenicians, Etruscans, Ancient Greeks and othe r Mediterranean peoples. In 59 BCE the province of Illyricum was created by the Romans and Liburnian Ladera (Zadar) became a Roman municipium. During the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, Ladera sided with Caesar and after his victory was granted the title of Colonia Iulia Lader followed by the settlement of some of Caesar's veterans. Image: Roman Stonework outside the Church of St. Donat in Zadar, Croatia. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Adam Jones.

Prehistoric and Gallo-Roman artifacts at the Pierre Martel Museum in Vachères, France. This small but interesting museum features exhibits of fossils from the Oligocene period (30 million years ago) as well as artifacts from its Gallo-Roman past including funerary monuments and a statue known as the Vachères warrior, a Roman auxiliary wearing a chain mail shirt and carrying a Roman shield and weapons but wearing a Gallic torcque around his neck. The village also has a number of medieval structures dating back to the 13th century to explore as well. Image: A young Gallo-Roman warrior dressed in mail and wearing a Gallic torque. Image courtesy of the Pierre Martel Museum.

Celtic World of the Iron Age at The Oppidum d'Ensérune near the village of Nissan-lez-Ensérune, France.  The Oppidum d'Ensérune archaeological site consists of the remains of an Iron Age hill fort founded in the 6th century BCE.  Although initially, the settlement included only modest huts made from cob and covered with branches, it evolved into architecture of stone with rock cut silos that were eventually replaced with dolia.  Around 450 BCE trade intensified with Greek, Punic, and Iberian traders.  From the late 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, the town was extended outward to the flanks of the hill and the largest houses adopted Roman architecture with rooms arranged around a courtyard, columns with capitals, mosaics, and decorative paintwork. A villa built on the site in 1915 displays a wealth of artifacts found during excavations there including black and red-figured Attic vases, Celtic swords, helmets and belt buckles, and finely decorated razors, com...