Antiquities Exhibits

Maya: The Exhibit March 14 - September 7, 2020 at the Cincinnati Museum Center. With over 300 artifacts, discover the astronomers, mathematicians, inventors and gods who dominated the Mayan civilization with their inventions and traditions like the number zero, the production of vulcanized rubber, and the delicious taste of chocolate. The exhibit includes not only original artifacts but precisely reproduced artwork that can be e xplored tactiley by visitors. Image: One of the few known examples of large, three-dimensional stucco sculptures discovered with its original colors still preserved. The jaguar-masked figure is believed to represent a mythological feline being – either a high-ranking noble in the guise of a jaguar deity or one of the feline figures from the diverse pantheon of classic Maya deities. It measures over 9 feet long and 2 feet high (Height: 66 cm; Length: 266 cm; Width: 105 cm). Maya Lowlands, Peten, Guatemala, Early Classic period (ca. 250-600 CE). Fund...

Age Old Cities: A Virtual Journey from Palmyra to Mosul through October 25, 2020 at the Freer/Sackler Galleries of Art in Washington D.C. Ancient cultural sites in Palmyra, Aleppo and Mosul have been recreated virtually by the video game company Ubisoft, the company that recreated ancient Egypt and Greece in their Assassin's Creed game franchise. The recreations of such structures as The Temple of Baalshamin in Palmyra, the Great  Mosque of Al-Nuri, the souks of Aleppo, and the mausoleum of Nabi Yunnus can be experienced by visitors through multimedia displays and virtual reality devices. Visitors can watch interviews of those who witnessed the destruction of their cities and see first-hand the damage done to these UNESCO world heritage sites. A large map pinpoints exactly where the three featured cities are located then large-scale depictions of the destruction slowly morph into the full historic sites that once existed there. Ubisoft created the reconstructions by flying dron...

Thracian art at the Tekirdağ Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography in Tekirdağ, Turkey. During excavations in the ancient cities of Heraion-Teichos (City of Hera) in Süleymanpaşa, Çavuşköy in Malkara and Perinthos in Marmaraereğlisi, many Thracian works have been discovered including jewelry, coins, weapons, reliefs and grave goods from the tomb of a Thracian king Kersopleptes. There are also silver vessels, candlesticks and sh ields from the Macedonian era as well as archaeological finds from the Early Bronze Age (3000-2500 BCE), Late Bronze Age (2000-1200 BCE), Early Iron Age (1400-1000 BCE), and the Hellenistic Period, Artifacts from the ancient Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman eras are also on display. Image: Gladiator Relief from Perinthos (ancient Marmara) courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Ollios.

Archaeological Museum of Mesara in Gortys, Crete now open! Gortys, also known as Gortyn or Gortyna is one of the most important cities in Crete with an unbroken history of 6,000 years and one of the most extensive archaeological sites in Greece. It lies in south central Crete in the fertile Mesara plain, the site of the first human habitation of Crete at the end of the Neolithic period (5th millennium BC). Gortys was one of the f irst areas of Crete to attract the attention of researchers and archaeologists as early as the period of Turkish occupation in the late 19th century, when Minoan civilization was still a matter of conjecture and myth. In 1884 the discovery and preservation of the Great Inscription by Iosif Hatzidakis, Stefanos Xanthoudides and Italian Federico Halbherr led to excavations in the Gortys area and these explorations brought important buildings and finds to light, although a large part of the Roman city still remains unexplored today. The area has been inhabite...

The Arrotino, bronze cast of a 2nd - 1st century BCE Roman original at the Palace of Versailles, about 12 miles southwest of Paris, France. The original Arrotino is a marble Roman copy of a Hellenistic original of a slave or barbarian whetting his knife in anticipation of skinning Marsyas alive. The original sculpture was found in Rome between 1534 and 1538. It was transported to the Villa Medici and now resides in the Uffizi  Gallery in Florence, Italy. A number of casts were made of the work including a cast made in 1884 and displayed at the Fitzwilliam Museum. According to the Cambridge Museum of Classical Archaeology "Group sculpture was popular in Hellenistic times, and the Arrotino was part of a group encapsulating all the drama beloved of Hellenistic sculptors - the flaying of Marsyas." Marsyas, a Silenos, was an expert player of the double-piped double reed instrument known as the aulos. He challenged Apollo, the god of music, to a musical contest. The contest was...

Samian ware flask from Southern Gaul, 1st century CE, depicting Heracles killing Laomedon, King of Troy, at the Museo Civico Archeologico della Valle Sabbia in Gavardo (Brescia). In one version of mythology, Laomedon, king of Troy, was the father of Ganymede. Zeus fell in love with the beautiful boy and, disguised as an eagle, kidnapped the child. Laomedon grieved so much for his son Zeus sent Hermes to Laomedon with two magn ificent horses so swift they could run across water. Hermes also assured the king that Ganymede would become immortal and would thereafter be the distinguished cup bearer for the gods. Sometime later, Laomedon began constructing walls around his city of Troy and promised a reward to Apollo and Poseidon for their assistance. But after the walls were completed Laomedon refused to give them the promised payment. So the gods, in their anger, sent a pestilence and a sea monster to ravage the land. An oracle revealed to Laomedon that the only way to save Troy would ...

Treasures from the Baekje Kingdom at the Iksan National Museum in Iksan, South Korea. A new museum in South Korea opened its doors this month, offering visitors a rare glimpse into the Buddhist history of the ancient Baekje kingdom, which flourished from 18 BCE–660 CE, and an opportunity to view an impressive collection of key artifacts from the Korea’s long and profound relationship with Buddhism. Iksan National Museum, which  stands within the grounds of the ancient Mireuksa temple complex in southern North Jeolla Province, houses a collection of more than 23,000 Buddhist relics unearthed from around Mireuksa and dated to the Baekje kingdom, many of which are now on public display for the first time. Mireuksa was founded late in the reign of King Mu (r. 600–641), the 30th king of Baekje, and is now considered an example of the most advanced architectural skills of the Three Kingdoms of Korea—Baekje, Goguryeo (later Goryeo), and Silla. Images: Great Gilt-bronze Inc...