Antiquities Exhibits

Artifacts from archaeological expeditions to the ancient city of Ephesus on display at the Ephesos Museum in Vienna, Austria. The Ephesos Museum in Vienna displays antiquities from the city of Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey. Begun in the late 19th century, the collection includes original works of sculpture and architecture from seven expeditions between 1896 and 1906. Works include remnants from the late-Classical Altar of Art emis, including a 4th century BCE sculpture of an Amazon, the Parthian Monument commemorating the campaigns of the Roman Emperor Lucius Verus, a model of ancient Ephesus, architectural and sculptural cult relics from the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, on the Greek island of Samothrace, and numerous sculptures including a Roman bronze of an athlete cleaning his strigil from the 1st century CE copied from a 4th century BCE Greek original. Image: Roman bronze of an athlete cleaning his strigil 1st century CE copy of 4th century BCE Greek original courtesy...

Art from the ancient Mediterranean, Africa, East Asia, Middle East, and the Americas at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. The Walters Art Museum, with its 36,000 objects that span a broad arc of time, geography, and culture, has become a national leader in arts education and is totally free at all times for all members of the public. The Walters’ Conservation and Technical Research department, founded in 1934, is the third oldest museum laboratory in the country. Some of its outstanding artifacts include one of the largest collections of Roman sarcophagi in the U.S., the mummy mask of a handsome high official of the 11th dynasty of Middle Kingdom Egypt, and the glittering Greek gold of the Olbia Treasure. Image: Exquisite gold bracelet with garnets amethysts and emeralds from the Olbia Treasure in modern day Ukraine Greek 2nd-1st century BCE. Photographed at the Walters Art Museum. Note: If you are visiting Washington D.C., Baltimore is just a short train ri...

Jade objects from the Liangzhu culture through October 20, 2019 at the Palace Museum in Beijing, China. The Liangzhu culture (3400–2250 BCE) was the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta of China. The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burials, while pottery was more commonly found in the burial plots of poorer individuals. This division of c lass indicates that the Liangzhu period was an early state, symbolized by the clear distinction drawn between social classes in funeral structures. The Liangzhu culture was extremely influential and its sphere of influence reached as far north as Shanxi and as far south as Guangdong. The archaeological site of Liangshu was just inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 6, 2019. The exhibit displays 300 artifacts from museums across China including the Liangzhu king's yucong, a large jade cylinder with a hole in the middle, weighing 6.5 kilograms...

Museum of Walls, Rome Italy. The Museo delle Mura ("museum of the walls") is an archaeological museum housed in the first and second floors of the Porta San Sebastiano at the beginning of the Appian Way.  This free museum offers visitors the opportunity  to walk along the inside of one of the best-preserved stretches of the Aurelian Wall.  It provides a detailed history of wall construction in Rome and the surrounding areas, with information going back to one constructed in Ardea to the southeast of Rome in the 8th century. It describes the construction methods of the first Roman wall, built by Servius Tullius the legendary sixth king of Rome, the second wall constructed in the 4th century BCE after invasion of Rome by the Gauls, and the Aurelian Walls, constructed in the 3rd century CE, as well as subsequent work to raise the height of those walls and improve defenses using text, diagrams and models. Image:  The Porta San Sebastiano and a section of the Aure...

Finds from a 1st century CE Roman villa and military fortress at the Roman Museum of Lausanne-Vidy, Switzerland. The city of Lausanne, Switzerland began as a Roman military camp known as Lausodunon constructed in the 1st century BCE on the shores of Lake Geneva (then known as Lacus Lemannus) atop a previous Celtic settlement. By the 2nd century CE its collection of merchants, fishermen and artisans became known as vikanorum Lousonne sium. By 400 CE, the community had grown to the point it achieved the status of civitas Lausanna. In 1934 the remains of a sumptuous Roman domus were discovered and excavations began. Finds from the excavations are now housed in the Musée Romain Lausanne-Vidy opened to the public in 1993. Objects on display include coins, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, and domestic tools as well as models of Roman structures that once existed at the site. Visitors can also explore the well of the atrium and a painted portion of the Roman house visible on the ground floor...

State Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich, Germany. This museum's collections include objects from all Egyptian periods from the prehistoric up to the Coptic Christian culture as well as archaeological finds from Nubia, Assyria and Babylon. Gold jewelry from the pyramid of Queen Amanishakheto as well as tomb models, Fayum mummy portraits, funerary masks, papyri, pottery, reliefs, sarcophagi and statuary, one of the most famous bei ng an Egyptianized statue of Antinous-Osiris, companion to the Roman emperor Hadrian, can be found in items displayed. Image: Antinous-Osiris, an Egyptianized portrait sculpture of the Roman emperor Hadrian's companion produced for the Villa Hadriana in 135 CE. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Rufus46.

Claudius Imperator: Messalina, Agrippina and the Shadows of a Dynasty through October 27, 2019 at the Ara Pacis Museum in Rome, Italy. The story of Claudius's life and works, told in an innovative setting enriched with images and a sprinkling of audio and visual excerpts, lies at the heart of the exhibition, but other characters that pepper the narrative – introduced through valuable works of art - are the protagonists of installations that will help to make visitor’s experience even more engaging. Enhanced by the updated work of historians and archaeologists, the exhibition trail at the Ara Pacis Museum, reveals an image of Claudius that is a little different from the dark and unflattering impression of him provided by those who wrote about him in ancient times. What emerges is the sense of an emperor able to take care of his people, to champion useful economic reforms and great public works, who also introduced legislation that contributed to the administrative development of ...

Archaeological Museum of Olympia in Archaia Olympia, Greece.  The Archaeological Museum of Olympia, one of the most important of Greece, presents the long historical evolution of one of the brightest sanctuaries of antiquity dedicated to the father of the gods and people, Zeus, and was the cradle of the Olympic Games. It includes the permanent exhibition of findings from excavations in the sacred site of Altea, dating from prehistoric to early Christian times. Of the total, the most important are sculptures, for which the museum is mainly known, as well as the collection of bronze objects, which is the richest in the world and consists of guns, figurines and other objects, the findings of great claymaking are also significant. Image: Late Archaic terracotta statue of Zeus and Ganymede 480-479 BCE courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Joanbanjo, bronze head of a boy from the Hellenistic period courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Zde, and remains of the west ped...

Last Supper in Pompeii July 25, 2019 to January 12, 2020 at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, United Kingdom.  Everything from the exquisite mosaics in the villas of the wealthy to the remains found in kitchen drains reveals what the people of Pompeii loved to eat and drink. Many of the 300 objects on display have never before left Italy – they range from the luxury furnishings of the Roman dining room, to the carbonised food that was on the table when the volcano erupted.  The exhibition will recreate the atmosphere of a Pompeian dining room with the frescoes from one of the city’s grandest houses (the House of the Golden Bracelet); beautiful mosaics from triclinium floors; silver dinnerware; and elaborate furnishings like the four-foot statue of Apollo made to bear a tray for favoured diners. Image:  Polychrome mosaic emblema (panel) showing fish and sea creatures, 100–1 BCE Pompeii, House of the Geometric Mosaics, at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Celtic-Roman Museum in Manching, Bavaria.  Opening in 2006, this museum, a branch of the Archaeological State Collection, Munich, is divided into Celtic finds from the nearby oppidum of Manching and Roman finds, particularly the remains of Roman military ships found in 1986 in a tributary of the Danube in the Oberstimm district, probably used to patrol the area around the Roman fort (Kastell Oberstimm) first erected during the reign of Claudius.  Exhibits include 450 gold coins, one of the largest finds of Celtic gold in Europe, weapons, armor,  jewelry, ceramics, tools, physician's instruments, sculpture, grave goods and a golden tree with gilded ivy and oak leaves produced during the 3rd century BCE and used in a Celtic tree cult. Images: Roman ornament depicting the Capitoline wolf and the golden Celtic courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Wolfgang Sauber.

Three Kingdoms: Unveiling The Story exhibition in the Tokyo National Museum. This special exhibition includes 161 relics from recent discoveries srrounding China’s tumultuous transition from the Han Dynasty (206-220) to the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). The Han Dynasty’s decline at the end of the second century ignited a prolonged power struggle between unrelenting military leaders. The country was split into three kingdoms called Wei, Shu, and Wu, a major event that would lead to a new era in China’s history. In recent years, research into this period has been reinvigorated by the excavation of the Cao Cao Mausoleum. The artifacts recovered there present their own version of this period’s history with a persuasive candor far surpassing written historical accounts. Image:  Gold Metal Belt Fitting with Animal Design, Eastern Han dynasty, 2nd century CE, Excavated at Shouchun Ancient Tomb, Shou County, Huainan City, Anhui.  Image courtesy of the exhibition.

 Etruscan and Celtic finds at the L Fantini Civic Archaeological Museum in Monterenzio, Italy The historical and material culture of the Etruscans from the nearby Etruscan-Celtic settlement of Monte Bibele and the necropolis of Monte Tamburino near the village of Monterenzio (BO) is the focus of this museum. Considered to house one of the most important Celtic collections in Italy, exhibits include cooking vessels, preserved food and the reconstruction of two houses of the Etrusco-Celtic settlement of Monte Bibele (4th-3rd centuries BCE). Finds from the votive deposits and necropolises of Monte Bibele and Monterenzio Vecchio as well as Celtic iron swords and thrown weapons (spears, javelins), and a large number of bronze and iron helmets are also displayed. Additional information: The food of the dead: alimentary offerings in the Etruscan-Celtic necropolis of Monterenzio Vecchio (Bologna, Italy)  http://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/sites/default/files/articles/pdf/az2013n2a11.p...

The Civic Archaeological Museum of Casteggio and Oltrepo Pavese in Casteggio, Italy. Casteggio, a town in the Lombardy region of Italy about 38 miles south of Milan, was once known as Clastidium, a Ligurian settlement belonging to the Marici tribe. It was the site of the defeat of the Marici by the legions under the command of Marcus Claudius Marcellus in 222 BCE. In 218 BCE, it regained its independence briefly after Hanniba l's army defeated the Romans nearby. Rome regained control in 197 BCE and the settlement was annexed to the colony of Piacenza and remained subordinate until the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The museum's exhibits include ceramic vases, stone tools, bronze objects, and a Celtic head, from the Neolithic period to the arrival of the Celtic peoples in the 2nd century BCE. Roman artifacts include funerary monuments from the excavation of the necropolis of the Pleba area in 1987, glass objects including imported objects from the Rhine area, religious...

The Archaeological Museum in Cimiez, France. Displays of the Archaeological Museum in Cimiez include finds from excavations in Cimiez and those found in the wrecks of ancient ships sunk near the Côte d’Azur. The museums stands on the site of the Roman city of Cemenelum, capital of the Roman province of Alpes Maritimae. Remains at the site include a public bath complex with a frigidarium, an amphitheater, a paleochristian basi lica and the necropolis where funerary monuments and sarcophagi were recovered. Other objects on display include ceramics and furniture found in the wreck of the Vourmique C which sank near Nice in the 1st century BCE. Image: The Roman remains of Cemenelum near Nice, France courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Ermell.

Remains from the archaeological site of Piana di San Martino at the Archaeological Museum in Pianello Val Tidone, Italy. The archaeological museum displays historically important remains found in the Tidone Valley basin that offer a picture of the history and the dynamics of the ancient populations of the area, from prehistory to the Roman age. Located in the basement of the municipal fortress of Pianello Val Tidone, the museum includes finds from the necropolis of Pianello, the Roman tomb in Ganaghello, the Roman villa near Arcello, a late antique housing structure in Trevozzo and the pre to protohistoric settlement of the 2nd and 1st millennium BCE. Images: An arm ring and vessel on display at the Archeological Museum of Val Tidone courtesy of the museum.

Finds from the ancient town of Noviodunum at the Musee Romain Nyon in Nyon, Switzerland.  Around 45 BC, a little after the conquest of Gaul, the Romans founded the Colonia Iulia Equestris on the shores of Lake Geneva.  The colony, was constructed for the mounted veterans of Caesar's army and is slightly older than the two nearby colonies of Lyon (Copia Felix Munatia Lugdunensis) and Augst (Colonia Raurica) near Basel, also founded just after the Gallic Wars.  Excavations beginning in the 19th century have revealed the forum, the public baths, a food market, a large basillica, an amphitheater, a commercial district, and a necropolis. Image:  Sculpture of a child from ancient Noviodunum courtesy of the Musee Romain Nyon.

Finds from the Vesunna domus and the territory of the Petrucores Gallic tribe at the Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum in Perigueux, France.  In 1959, the remains of a Roman town house built in the 1st century CE were discovered during a construction project in the city of Perigueux, France.  The home had a kitchen, triclinium, a large reception room, and private thermal bath centered around a peristyle garden with pool. A museum to protect the site and showcase finds made by archaeologists was constructed  and opened its doors to the public in 2003.  Objects on display include architectural elements and inscriptions, the forum mosaic, models of a Roman temple, amphitheater,and aqueduct, funerary monuments, a pump made of wood, and objects used in commerce, the preparation of food, care of the body and games.  The exhibits are displayed around the central garden where a fresco of marine life can be examined. Image: Mosaic floor from the Vesunna domus courtesy o...

Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs  through August 18, 2019 at the Cincinatti Museum Center in Cincinatti, Ohio.  Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs unveils the mysteries of life in ancient Egypt using 350 original artifacts, some more than 4,500 years old, detailed models of ancient structures and new holographic technology. Discover how the people of this amazing ancient world lived, worked, worshiped and died.  Beginning with Menes, running through Amenhotep III and Ramses II, and ending with Cleopatra VII, Egypt was ruled by about 170 pharaohs.  Meet six pharaohs through their massive construction projects, their military ability and their dazzling tombs, and discover how our modern understanding of ancient Egypt is shaped by the pharaohs’ 31 dynasties.  Image: Ancient Egyptian necklace courtesy of the exhibit coordinators.  Egyptian bodies were temples. Beauty in ancient Egypt aimed for perfection, and both men and women would pursue that ideal with elabora...

Museo delle Palafitte of Fiavé, Italy.  On the shores of Lake Carera, of glacial origin, and a nearby peat bog, man has lived at least since the Mesolithic Period (7th millennium BCE) to the end of the Bronze Age. Between the fourth and second millennium BCE, there were villages of pile-dwellings, still visible today in the nearby archaeological area of ​​the Fiavé bog. In the museum there is a selection of the extraordinary objects found by archaeologists including ceramic tableware, bronze and - very rare at the time - Baltic amber and gold jewelry.  The objects in wood are exceptional, too, and are among the oldest in the world, having been preserved for 3800-3400 years: cups, ladles, whisks, trays, buckets, bats, sickles, drills, ax handles. Food remains that the people cultivated and harvested are also displayed. Guided tours of the museum and archaeological site are available. Image: A mug recovered at the archaeological site near Fiavé, Italy.  Image courte...

Shaping Clay in Ancient Iran Sept. 8 - Sept. 30, 2019 at the Freer-Sackler Gallery in Washington D.C.  Pottery was an art form in ancient Iran, where waterfowl and rams with curled horns roamed. Ceramics of the time showcase potters using distinct shapes and decorations in their experiments with clay, indicating that even utilitarian pieces could be turned into works of art. The exhibit will feature jars, bowls and other ceramics that date as far back as 5,200 BCE. Image: Bowl from Iran or Afghanistan 10th century CE earthenware painted under glaze photographed at the Freer-Sackler Gallery in Washington D.C.

Ancient Mesopotamia Speaks: Highlights from the Yale Babylonian Collection, through June 30, 2020, at the Peabody Museum in New Haven, Connecticutt. Ancient Mesopotamia, known as the “Land Between the Rivers” and located in what is now Iraq and Syria, was the birthplace of writing, urban culture, the state, and many other concepts and institutions that shape our world to this day. It produced intriguing works of art, myths and e pics celebrating gods and heroes, and treatises on mathematics, medicine, and astronomy. This exhibit features 150 artifacts including original pieces, images, and translations dating from the mid-4th millennium BCE to the 1st century CE. Among the items on view are an early account of the heroic king Gilgamesh campaigning to the Cedar Forest to slay the monster Huwawa; tablets with poems by the first named author in human history, the princess Enheduanna; the world’s oldest cookbooks with 4,000-year-old recipes; and astronomy tablets with the earliest pros...

Stonehenge: Ancient Mysteries and Modern Discoveries through September 29 at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. This exhibit featuring 300 artifacts and 150 relics that have never traveled outside Europe before will reveal the silent icon that is Stonehenge. Visitors will also be able to learn how Stonehenge was constructed, explore the ancient landscape and participate in interactive videos showcasing this World Heritage  site. Image: Mural depicting ancient Britons struggling to construct Stonehenge photographed at the World Heritage Site.

Pompeii: The Immortal City. Through September 3, 2019 at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. Over 100 archaeological items from Pompeii, including a large number being exhibited for the first time in the U.S., demonstrate the knowledge the Romans had about nature as well as their scientific and technical know-how at the moment when Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. The unearthed objects confirm the extraordinary hei ghts attained by the Pompeians, and their inclusion in the exhibition celebrates their scientific accomplishments. Told through the lens of STEM, guests will discover the impact science has had on our lives for thousands of years. Models of machines and 3D reconstructions accompany the guest in a journey across time and space. Spectacular immersive moments using multimedia techniques allow guests to experience the destruction of the city and to identify with the inhabitants of that time, immobilized by the volcano’s ashes. Image: Cast of a victim of...

National Museum of Finland in Helsinki.  The National Museum of Finland presents Finnish history from the Stone Age to the present day, through cultural objects. Its archaeological collections include coins, medals, silver, jewelry, glassware, weapons, and reconstructed costumes. The museum also houses medieval artifacts and religious art. Image: Late Roman Bronze Age, zoomorphic sword scabbard decoration, 200-400 CE courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

Archaeological Museum of Corfu, Greece.  The Archaeological Museum of Corfu, Greece constructed between 1962 and 1965 houses archaeological finds from the ancient city of Corfu, from the region of Cassiope and the district of Thesprotia.  These include the oldest stone pediment in Greece from the Artemis Temple of Corfu dated between 590-580 BCE, the Lion of Menecrates dated to the end of the 7th century BCE , hoplite armor and weapons, funerary monuments, votive statuettes of Artemis, ceramics, reliefs, and portrait sculpture including a Roman copy of a 3rd century BCE portrait head of Thycydides. Gorgon pediment from the Temple of Artemis 590-580 BCE hoplite armor Archaic period votive plaque Portrait head of Thucydides, Roman copy of 3rd century BCE Greek original  Images courtesy of the museum and Wikimedia Commons contributors Dr. K, and Zde