museum collections

The Prehistoric Artefacts of Northern Ireland

Review by C McSparron. This book is a comprehensive catalogue of finds of artefacts made by archaeologists, antiquarians, and members of the public over centuries in Northern Ireland. It records discoveries from excavations, field-walking, stray finds, and material from museum…

Above The new Gods and Goddesses gallery, overlooked by a colossal, 4m tall 1st century BC marble statue of a goddess. She is known as Juno, but is most likely a Muse.

Athens of America: an interview with curators at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

At the end of last year, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – the city known as ‘the Athens of America’ – opened a renovated suite of five galleries devoted to the art of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium. Lucia Marchini speaks to curators Christine Kondoleon, Laure Marest, and Phoebe Segal to find out about how they are using technology and even modern art to help visitors see ancient artefacts in a new light.

Right One of four Portland stone sculptures on the theme of the seasons on the façade of 42 Kingsway, built in 1906 as the offices of The Garden magazine.

Scanning the Elgin Marbles

The story was seen as a further blow to the argument that the Marbles must stay in London – replicas ‘accurate to a millimetre’ could be displayed at the British Museum and few visitors would know the difference.

BELOW Henry Parke (Soane office apprentice), Royal Academy lecture drawing showing a plan of Stonehenge, Wiltshire. Pen, pencil, and coloured washes on wove paper, 1817. Size: 71.3 x 129.4cm

Paper worlds and hidden masterpieces

A small selection of the thousands of drawings compiled by Regency architect Sir John Soane have gone on display in London, among them exquisite works that bring us visions of ancient monuments abroad and of unrealised splendour in England. Lucia Marchini takes a look.

Opposite Marble head of the god Apollo (Kassel type) found during excavations for the construction of the Opera House on the Viminal Hill in Rome. Roman copy of a mid 5th century BC original attributed to Phidias.

Museo Barracco: a head for sculpture

Having brought together ancient Roman, Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian artefacts to create a museum of comparative sculpture, Baron Giovanni Barracco gave his collection of antiquities to the city of Rome in 1902. Now housed in a 16th-century palace in the Italian capital, the little-known Museo Barracco showcases ancient artistry and the activities of collectors, both at the turn of the century and in ancient Rome. Dalu Jones is our guide.

Exhibitions, events, and heritage from home in Spring and Summer 2022

There are lots of great heritage-related opportunities to get out and about this spring, with conferences to attend, exhibitions to visit, and excavations to sign up for. Or, if you’d prefer, there are still many archaeology-, history-, and heritage-related resources and activities to enjoy at home, whether you’re looking for a virtual tour of an ancient Egyptian pyramid, a podcast about transatlantic shipwrecks, or online games designed for children. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the options available.

Nefertiti

This week: Nefertiti

With her high cheekbones and long neck, she has been described as the 'world's first supermodel'. When her portrait bust went on display in 1923, she was hailed as an icon of timeless femininity. Since then, Nefertiti has been admired by everyone from Hitler to Beyoncé, and has provided inspiration to artists and writers around the world. Beyond all the adulation, however, what do we really know about this mysterious woman whose face has become so ubiquitous?

OPPOSITE Polychrome wall mosaic showing a harbour and ship, found in the garden of Palazzo Rospigliosi Pallavicini in 1876, during construction work on Rome’s Via Nazionale. Late 2nd / early 3rd century

Rome’s hidden mosaics

With small tiles of marble and glass, Roman mosaicists created intricate mythological images, realistic scenes from nature, and other complex compositions to decorate the floors and walls of tombs, sanctuaries, and homes. Dalu Jones explores some mosaic masterpieces normally hidden in stores in Rome’s museums.

Capitoline museum

Heritage from home: August 2021

Many heritage sites and museums in the UK, Ireland, and other countries around the world have now reopened their doors to visitors, but there are still plenty of ways to get involved in history and heritage from home this summer as well. Current World Archaeology's Amy Brunskill has put together a variety of options below, from video tours of recent exhibitions to online webinars, social media trends, and craft activities, as well as a round-up of some of the places that are open again.

A History of World Egyptology

The Rosetta Stone that proved key to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, discovered by a French military engineer in 1799 (now in the British Museum), and the gold mask of Tutankhamun, discovered by British Egyptologist Howard Carter in 1922 (now…

Chatsworth

Heritage from home: July

Many museums and heritage sites in the UK and Ireland have already reopened to visitors, with more to follow in the coming weeks, but if you still fancy getting your heritage fix at home there are plenty of great options, from virtual tours and online exhibits to podcasts and TV shows. Current Archaeology's Amy Brunskill has put together another selection of archaeology-, history-, and heritage-related resources to enjoy from your sofa, plus places you can now visit in person.

Lost and found: a Roman reunion

A 38cm-long bronze finger has rejoined the hand of Constantine the Great in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. The ancient digit, once part of a 12m-high statue of Constantine of which several sizeable fragments survive, was acquired by the Louvre…

Lost and found: Bjerringhøj burial

Textile traces Sometime in the late 19th century, the remains of an elite individual that had been excavated from the Viking Age burial mound at Bjerringhøj, Denmark, in 1868 were lost. According to a recent paper in Antiquity, Charlotte Rimstad…

Collecting Ancient Europe

This short book in connection with a project at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, looking at its own forgotten ‘Ancient Europe’ collection, which was dispersed in the 1950s.

The Society of Antiquaries of London is concerned that rising rent may force it to leave Burlington House (below lEFT), potentially endangering its extensive collection, which includes many historically significant objects, including this medieval processional cross (right) and a selection of important 16th century royal portraits (below).

Save Burlington House!

Rising rent may force the Antiquaries to leave Burlington House, potentially endangering its extensive collection, which includes many historically significant objects.

A pyramid puzzle

A missing piece of wood, one of the three objects collected from the Great Pyramid of Giza by engineer Waynman Dixon in 1872, has been rediscovered in a cigar box in the University of Aberdeen’s museum collection. Two of the…

Above Abeer Eladany with the cigar tin she found, containing the ancient cedar.

Great Pyramid artefact found in Aberdeen

In December 2019, a small fragment of cedar, which had been missing for more than 70 years, was rediscovered within the collections of the University of Aberdeen. The fragment may, at first glance, seem unprepossessing, except for the fact that…

Statue of Ramesses VI

What is it? This granite statue depicts Pharaoh Ramesses VI, who reigned 1144-1137 BC. On the back is a hieroglyphic inscription that reads: ‘May [he] live, [the] good god, son of [the god] Amun, the protector, bull of Thebes, king…