Antiquities Exhibits

Originally an Umbrian city, Cortona was conquered then enlarged by the Etruscans, who called it Curtun. During the 7th century BCE, it joined the Etruscan League. Cortona eventually became a Roman colony under the name Corito. It was sacked and destroyed in the final stages of the Gothic War (535-554 CE). The Cortona Archaeological Park includes three excavated Etruscan burial mounds. Tumulo I contains five burial chambers.  It was initially constructed in the 6th century BCE but was later reused in the 4th century BCE for a man named Arnt Mefanates and his wife Velia Hapisnei. Tumulo II contains two tombs fronted by a platform-altar with a staircase of ten steps and a sculpted balustrade depicting palm trees and a fight between a lioness and a warrior. The original sculptures are displayed in the local archaeological museum. Of the two tombs found within this tumulus, tomb 1, built between 580-560 BCE, is characterized by a long access corridor leading to two rectangular vestibule...

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...