- Room 673
Level 6 Arts West
University of Melbourne
Parkville, Victoria 3010
Australia.
Ph: +61 3 8344 3403
Email: asj@unimelb.edu.au - +61 3 8344 3403
- Andrew Jamieson is Associate Professor in Near Eastern Archaeology in the School of Historical and Philosophical Stud... moreAndrew Jamieson is Associate Professor in Near Eastern Archaeology in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne. For more than three decades, he has participated in archaeological fieldwork, in Egypt, Georgia, Lebanon, Syria, and Australia. He has been especially active in preservation and salvage projects. In 2017, Andrew became the director of the Georgian-Australian Investigations in Archaeology (GAIA) project. He is also an award-winning teacher, whose work in the sphere of object-based learning has been highly influential, both in Australia and internationally. He is very active in the field of community engagement, promoting the ancient world within the wider community and fostering interest in university activities. He is an elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and in 2023 was the recipient of the Faculty of Arts Alumni Award for his contribution to the faculty and university.edit
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Tell Ahmar, ancient Til Barsib, on the east bank of the Euphrates River, close to the confluence of the Sajur River, was ideally placed to function as a crossing point from upper Mesopotamia to northern Syria. To a large extent the... more
Tell Ahmar, ancient Til Barsib, on the east bank of the Euphrates River, close to the confluence of the Sajur River, was ideally placed to function as a crossing point from upper Mesopotamia to northern Syria. To a large extent the prominent and strategic location of Tell Ahmar determined the Assyrian interest in the site and it is apparent that Tell Ahmar reached its maximum size under the Assyrians.
This study presents the Neo-Assyrian pottery from the excavations in Area C at Tell Ahmar. At least three buildings were identified in Area C. The distribution of the different pottery wares and types reflects patterns associated with the different activity areas identified within the buildings in Area C. Some wares and types were found with high degrees of frequency, other wares and types occurred infrequently. The buildings in Area C were only occupied for a short duration and this limited period of use is reflected in the ceramic evidence. The Area C pottery from Stratum 2 may be dated to the seventh century BCE, and most likely to the second half of the seventh century BCE.
The Area C pottery from Tell Ahmar displays many correlations with other contemporary site assemblages. The Tell Ahmar pottery finds close parallels with similar wares and shapes in the Assyrian heartland, especially at Nimrud. The value of the Neo-Assyrian pottery from Tell Ahmar is that it offers an extensive ceramic corpus from three closely related residential buildings of an important provincial centre located in the middle and upper Euphrates valley of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
This study presents the Neo-Assyrian pottery from the excavations in Area C at Tell Ahmar. At least three buildings were identified in Area C. The distribution of the different pottery wares and types reflects patterns associated with the different activity areas identified within the buildings in Area C. Some wares and types were found with high degrees of frequency, other wares and types occurred infrequently. The buildings in Area C were only occupied for a short duration and this limited period of use is reflected in the ceramic evidence. The Area C pottery from Stratum 2 may be dated to the seventh century BCE, and most likely to the second half of the seventh century BCE.
The Area C pottery from Tell Ahmar displays many correlations with other contemporary site assemblages. The Tell Ahmar pottery finds close parallels with similar wares and shapes in the Assyrian heartland, especially at Nimrud. The value of the Neo-Assyrian pottery from Tell Ahmar is that it offers an extensive ceramic corpus from three closely related residential buildings of an important provincial centre located in the middle and upper Euphrates valley of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
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Heritage in Conflict: Papers presented at the ‘Heritage in Conflict: A Review of the Situation in Syria and Iraq’ workshop in Marburg (held at the 63rd Rencontres Assyriologiques Internationales (RAI) in Marburg, Germany, 24–25 July 2017)... more
Heritage in Conflict: Papers presented at the ‘Heritage in Conflict: A Review of the Situation in Syria and Iraq’ workshop in Marburg (held at the 63rd Rencontres Assyriologiques Internationales (RAI) in Marburg, Germany, 24–25 July 2017) and ‘Syria: Ancient History – Modern Conflict’ symposium in Melbourne (held at the University of Melbourne, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, Australia, 11–13 August 2017)
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Research Interests:
VOLK, S., VAN DE VEN, A., JAMIESON, A., (forthcoming) The Humble Pot Sherd: a multi-layered learning and teaching tool. Teaching About the Ancient World in Museums: Pedagogies in Practice. Routledge.
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JAMIESON, A., (forthcoming) Objects from a university’s antiquities collection enhance ancient world studies in a purpose-built environment, in E. Minchin and C. Richards (eds.) Viewing the Mediterranean from Afar: Archaeology Collections... more
JAMIESON, A., (forthcoming) Objects from a university’s antiquities collection enhance ancient world studies in a purpose-built environment, in E. Minchin and C. Richards (eds.) Viewing the Mediterranean from Afar: Archaeology Collections in Australia and New Zealand. Routledge.
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HITCHCOCK, L.A., JAMIESON, A., TULLY, C., 2024, When it standeth beside a man, yet none can see it … when it entereth the house its appearance is unknown …: introducing Plague in Antiquity, in JAMIESON, A., TULLY, C., HITCHCOCK, L.A.,... more
HITCHCOCK, L.A., JAMIESON, A., TULLY, C., 2024, When it standeth beside a man, yet none can see it … when it entereth the house its appearance is unknown …: introducing Plague in Antiquity, in JAMIESON, A., TULLY, C., HITCHCOCK, L.A., (eds), Plague in Antiquity, Ancient Near Eastern Studies supplement series, Leuven: Peeters Press.
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JAMIESON, A., 2022, Neo-Assyrian pottery between East and West, in G. BUNNENS (ed.), Tell Ahmar on the Syrian Euphrates: From Chalcolithic Village to Assyrian Provincial Capital, Oxbow Books, pp. 186–188.
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JAMIESON, A., 2022, After the Excavations – The Conservation of Archaeological Finds, in G. BUNNENS (ed.), Tell Ahmar on the Syrian Euphrates: From Chalcolithic Village to Assyrian Provincial Capital, Oxbow Books, pp. 193–195.
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JAMIESON A., 2021, ‘Introducing Heritage in Conflict’, in JACKSON, H., JAMIESON A., ROBINSON, A., RUSSELL, S. (eds), 2020 Heritage in Conflict: Papers presented at the ‘Heritage in Conflict: A Review of the Situation in Syria and Iraq’... more
JAMIESON A., 2021, ‘Introducing Heritage in Conflict’, in JACKSON, H., JAMIESON A., ROBINSON, A., RUSSELL, S. (eds), 2020 Heritage in Conflict: Papers presented at the ‘Heritage in Conflict: A Review of the Situation in Syria and Iraq’ workshop in Marburg (held at the 63rd Rencontres Assyriologiques Internationales (RAI) in Marburg, Germany, 24–25 July 2017) and ‘Syria: Ancient History – Modern Conflict’ symposium in Melbourne (held at the University of Melbourne, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, Australia, 11–13 August 2017). Ancient Near Eastern Studies supplement series, Leuven: Peeters Press, pp. 1–11.
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JACKSON, H., JAMIESON A., 2021, ‘Case Studies: The Australian Excavations at Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar in Syria Pre and Post Conflict’, in JACKSON, H., JAMIESON A., ROBINSON, A., RUSSELL, S. (eds), 2020 Heritage in Crisis: Papers... more
JACKSON, H., JAMIESON A., 2021, ‘Case Studies: The Australian Excavations at Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar in Syria Pre and Post Conflict’, in JACKSON, H., JAMIESON A., ROBINSON, A., RUSSELL, S. (eds), 2020 Heritage in Crisis: Papers presented at the ‘Heritage in Conflict: A Review of the Situation in Syria and Iraq’ workshop in Marburg (held at the 63rd Rencontres Assyriologiques Internationales (RAI) in Marburg, Germany, 24–25 July 2017) and ‘Syria: Ancient History – Modern Conflict’ symposium in Melbourne (held at the University of Melbourne, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, Australia, 11–13 August 2017). Ancient Near Eastern Studies supplement series, Leuven: Peeters Press., pp. 161–179.
This paper discusses the Australian excavations in Syria focusing on the work at Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar: two important sites in the middle and upper Euphrates River valley. It documents key archaeological findings at Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar from before the war and describes the situation at these sites post 2010. The damage caused by the conflict is discussed. Also noted is the research on Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar which continues in the form of publications and web resources, as well as other initiatives by Australian archaeologists in response to the conflict in Syria.
This paper discusses the Australian excavations in Syria focusing on the work at Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar: two important sites in the middle and upper Euphrates River valley. It documents key archaeological findings at Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar from before the war and describes the situation at these sites post 2010. The damage caused by the conflict is discussed. Also noted is the research on Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar which continues in the form of publications and web resources, as well as other initiatives by Australian archaeologists in response to the conflict in Syria.
Research Interests:
The Egyptian Branch of the Classical Association of Victoria and the Development of Egyptology in Australia, in A. R. Warfe, J. C. R. Gill, C. R. Hamilton, A. J. Pettman and D. A. Stewart, (eds.), Dust, Demons and Pots: Studies in Honour... more
The Egyptian Branch of the Classical Association of Victoria and the Development of Egyptology in Australia, in A. R. Warfe, J. C. R. Gill, C. R. Hamilton, A. J. Pettman and D. A. Stewart, (eds.), Dust, Demons and Pots: Studies in Honour of Colin A. Hope, pp. 335–350. Orientalia Lovaniesia Analecta (289), Leuven: Peeters.
The Egyptian Branch of the Classical Association of Victoria was established in 1913 marking the tentative beginnings of the study of Egyptology in Melbourne. Two figures were instrumental in the creation of the Egyptian Branch: Reverend E. H. Sugden and Lieutenant H. N. M. Hardy, RN. While little is known about Hardy, considerably more information exists on Sugden, first master of Queen’s College. Sugden’s interest in Egyptology is closely linked to a donation from Reverend James Dodgson who bequeathed his collection of Egyptian antiquities, acquired by his brother Aquila through connections with archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie and founder of the Egypt Exploration Society Amelia Edwards, to the College in 1892. This paper examines the historical developments and key figures involved in the creation of the Egyptian Branch: an early movement to promote Egyptology in Melbourne.
The Egyptian Branch of the Classical Association of Victoria was established in 1913 marking the tentative beginnings of the study of Egyptology in Melbourne. Two figures were instrumental in the creation of the Egyptian Branch: Reverend E. H. Sugden and Lieutenant H. N. M. Hardy, RN. While little is known about Hardy, considerably more information exists on Sugden, first master of Queen’s College. Sugden’s interest in Egyptology is closely linked to a donation from Reverend James Dodgson who bequeathed his collection of Egyptian antiquities, acquired by his brother Aquila through connections with archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie and founder of the Egypt Exploration Society Amelia Edwards, to the College in 1892. This paper examines the historical developments and key figures involved in the creation of the Egyptian Branch: an early movement to promote Egyptology in Melbourne.
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VAN DE VEN, A., JAMIESON, A., 2019, Beyond Display: Curriculum and Community Engagement with Ancient Middle Eastern Collections in a University Museum. In G. Emberling and L. Petit (eds.), Museums and the Ancient Middle East: Curatorial... more
VAN DE VEN, A., JAMIESON, A., 2019, Beyond Display: Curriculum and Community Engagement with Ancient Middle Eastern Collections in a University Museum. In G. Emberling and L. Petit (eds.), Museums and the Ancient Middle East: Curatorial Practice and Audiences, pp. 210–224. London and New York: Routledge.
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JAMIESON, A., 2017, Long-stemmed vessels in the Euphrates River valley and evidence from an Early Bronze Age burial at Tell Qumluq, north Syria, in A. Batmaz, G. Bedianashvili, A. Michalewicz, and A. Robinson (eds.), Context and... more
JAMIESON, A., 2017, Long-stemmed vessels in the Euphrates River valley and evidence from an Early Bronze Age burial at Tell Qumluq, north Syria, in A. Batmaz, G. Bedianashvili, A. Michalewicz, and A. Robinson (eds.), Context and Connection: Essays on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East in Honour of Antonio Sagona, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta (268), Leuven: Peeters, pp. 465–485.
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KANJOU, Y., JAMIESON, A., 2016, Tell Qumluq (Aleppo), in Y. Kanjou and A. Tsuneki (eds.), A History of Syria in One Hundred Sites, Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 313–316.
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JAMIESON, A., 2014, Late Reserved Slip Ware, in M. Lebeau (ed.), Ceramics Arcane Interregional (Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean, ARCANE 1 – IR1), Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 95–108. The first... more
JAMIESON, A., 2014, Late Reserved Slip Ware, in M. Lebeau (ed.), Ceramics Arcane Interregional (Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean, ARCANE 1 – IR1), Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 95–108.
The first interregional volume of the ARCANE collection gathers twenty-two contributions concerning ceramic fabrics that were produced from Egypt to Iran and from Thrace to Southern Mesopotamia across the third millennium BCE.
These contributions, written by senior scholars and advanced doctoral students, are based primarily on complete vessels from secure stratigraphical contexts. They present the most recent and complete update on Near and Middle Eastern ceramic wares throughout the Early Bronze Age.
As an integral component of the ARCANE Programme, the volume provides a careful examination of interregional contacts and allows for a deeper understanding and fine tuning of the relative chronologies of the entire area.
The contributors relied on the methodology and interdisciplinary focus of the ARCANE Programme. As a result, scholars and students will find this volume an essential reference work for the interregional study of the material culture of the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean world.
The first interregional volume of the ARCANE collection gathers twenty-two contributions concerning ceramic fabrics that were produced from Egypt to Iran and from Thrace to Southern Mesopotamia across the third millennium BCE.
These contributions, written by senior scholars and advanced doctoral students, are based primarily on complete vessels from secure stratigraphical contexts. They present the most recent and complete update on Near and Middle Eastern ceramic wares throughout the Early Bronze Age.
As an integral component of the ARCANE Programme, the volume provides a careful examination of interregional contacts and allows for a deeper understanding and fine tuning of the relative chronologies of the entire area.
The contributors relied on the methodology and interdisciplinary focus of the ARCANE Programme. As a result, scholars and students will find this volume an essential reference work for the interregional study of the material culture of the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean world.
Research Interests:
The first interregional volume of the ARCANE collection gathers twenty-two contributions concerning ceramic fabrics that were produced from Egypt to Iran and from Thrace to Southern Mesopotamia across the third millennium BCE. These... more
The first interregional volume of the ARCANE collection gathers twenty-two contributions concerning ceramic fabrics that were produced from Egypt to Iran and from Thrace to Southern Mesopotamia across the third millennium BCE.
These contributions, written by senior scholars and advanced doctoral students, are based primarily on complete vessels from secure stratigraphical contexts. They present the most recent and complete update on Near and Middle Eastern ceramic wares throughout the Early Bronze Age.
As an integral component of the ARCANE Programme, the volume provides a careful examination of interregional contacts and allows for a deeper understanding and fine tuning of the relative chronologies of the entire area.
The contributors relied on the methodology and interdisciplinary focus of the ARCANE Programme. As a result, scholars and students will find this volume an essential reference work for the interregional study of the material culture of the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean world.
These contributions, written by senior scholars and advanced doctoral students, are based primarily on complete vessels from secure stratigraphical contexts. They present the most recent and complete update on Near and Middle Eastern ceramic wares throughout the Early Bronze Age.
As an integral component of the ARCANE Programme, the volume provides a careful examination of interregional contacts and allows for a deeper understanding and fine tuning of the relative chronologies of the entire area.
The contributors relied on the methodology and interdisciplinary focus of the ARCANE Programme. As a result, scholars and students will find this volume an essential reference work for the interregional study of the material culture of the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean world.
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Ancient ceramics play a significant role in monitoring change, adaption and interaction in ancient cultures. This collection of essays concerns pottery from the homeland sites of Beirut and Tyre, and Phoenician settlements in the west at... more
Ancient ceramics play a significant role in monitoring change, adaption and interaction in ancient cultures. This collection of essays concerns pottery from the homeland sites of Beirut and Tyre, and Phoenician settlements in the west at Carthage, Utica, Lixus and Malta. The contributions reflect a wide range of approaches to the study of ceramics, from the fundamental characteristics of the clay from which vessels were built, the range of ware types in a given location, and the hybridity forged through cultural contact between indigenous and foreign groups. Domestic needs as well as the supply and demand of the market place were driving forces in ancient pottery production.
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En 1989 paraissait "Reflets des Deux Fleuves", volume d'hommages internationaux à André Finet, édité par Marc Lebeau et Philippe Talon. Seize ans après, Philippe Talon et Véronique Van der Stede éditent un nouvel hommage, réunissant 20... more
En 1989 paraissait "Reflets des Deux Fleuves", volume d'hommages internationaux à André Finet, édité par Marc Lebeau et Philippe Talon. Seize ans après, Philippe Talon et Véronique Van der Stede éditent un nouvel hommage, réunissant 20 contributions dédiées à l'homme, au savant et à l'ami. Les textes réunis dans ce volume émanent des élèves d'André Finet et des élèves, ainsi que de ses amis de longue date. Ils concernent essentiellement la Mésopotamie et l'assyriologie, mais font aussi la part belle à l'archéologie et aux prolongements de la culture mésopotamienne aux époques plus récentes.
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A discussion on the difficulties encountered while working in the greatest post-academic archaeological excavation to date.
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The Iron Age, i.e. the period between c. 1200 and 300 B.C., is a crucial period in Mediterranean and Near Eastern history. Syria especially saw one of the most flourishing moments of its history in the early first millennium B.C. New... more
The Iron Age, i.e. the period between c. 1200 and 300 B.C., is a crucial period in Mediterranean and Near Eastern history. Syria especially saw one of the most flourishing moments of its history in the early first millennium B.C. New kingdoms emerged which developed an intense cultural life and took advantage of their geographical location to gain a dominant position in interregional relations. As a consequence, Syria became the main target of Assyrian expansion. It also became an intermediary between Asia and the Mediterranean world. Twenty-two essays, aiming to reflect essential aspects of on-going research, review major historical, archaeological and linguistic aspects of Syria in the Iron Age. Interaction between Neo-Hittites and Arameans, new forms of art, changes in political and social structures, linguistic conservatism and innovation, regional particularism, impact of Assyrian expansion are some op the topics dealt with in the volume.
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Papers presented at the meetings of the international "table ronde" at Heidelberg (1995) and Nieborów (1997) and other contributions
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Dja'de est un petit établissement du PPNB ancien (seconde moitié du 9ème millénaire BP) situé sur la rive orientale (Jezireh) du Moyen Euphrate syrien (région du barrage de Tichrine).
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Tell Ahmar is located on an ancient site situated within the Aleppo Governorate, in Syria by the Euphrates river. Excavations at Tell Ahmar were conducted by Guy Bunnens from the University of Melbourne.
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Introduction Objects from the Classics and Archaeology Collection feature in a University of Melbourne project that involves selected secondary schools in the Goulburn Valley. The project, Object-Based Learning: An Aspirational... more
Introduction Objects from the Classics and Archaeology Collection feature in a University of Melbourne project that involves selected secondary schools in the Goulburn Valley. The project, Object-Based Learning: An Aspirational Educational Pathway for Students in Rural Victoria, was funded in its first two years by University of Melbourne Engagement and Equity Innovation grants. It involves pupils who are studying ancient history in Years 7 and 8.
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This paper discusses the Australian excavations in Syria focusing on the work at Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar: two important sites in the middle and upper Euphrates River valley. It documents key archaeological findings at Jebel Khalid and... more
This paper discusses the Australian excavations in Syria focusing on the work at Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar: two important sites in the middle and upper Euphrates River valley. It documents key archaeological findings at Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar from before the war and describes the situation at these sites post 2010. The damage caused by the conflict is discussed. Also noted is the research on Jebel Khalid and Tell Ahmar which continues in the form of publications and web resources, as well as other initiatives by Australian archaeologists in response to the conflict in Syria.
Research Interests:
It is no longer viable for museums to acquire artifacts solely for the sake of preservation and display. Museums are now required to become people-focused places rather than mere storehouses of objects in order to justify the time, money,... more
It is no longer viable for museums to acquire artifacts solely for the sake of preservation and display. Museums are now required to become people-focused places rather than mere storehouses of objects in order to justify the time, money, space, and labor required to manage their collections. With museum storage becoming saturated with under-utilized collections, accessibility is a key factor. University museums are well placed to avoid the pitfall of artifact redundancy through their ability to integrate artifacts into teaching curricula, escaping the storage-display dichotomy. However, amidst concerns regarding visitor appeal and policies of financial austerity, university museums must actively reflect on the value of the curation strategies they deploy. This paper discusses the University of Melbourne’s approaches to curriculum and community engagement that give relevance and meaning to its collection of Middle Eastern artifacts beyond display
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The ‘Between Artefact and Text’ exhibition in the Classics and Archaeology gallery at the University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum of Art provides an engaging space for teachers and students interested in Classics and ancient world... more
The ‘Between Artefact and Text’ exhibition in the Classics and Archaeology gallery at the University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum of Art provides an engaging space for teachers and students interested in Classics and ancient world studies. The objects featured in this exhibition are situated against the backdrop of four great literary works from the ancient world: the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, the Egyptian Tale of Sinuhe, Homer’s Iliad from ancient Greece and Virgil’s Aeneid from ancient Rome. The installation combines ancient literature with over 70 objects serving as a useful study aid to schools teaching ancient history, classical studies, ancient Greek and Latin; and particularly for VCE students reading Homer and Virgil
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This paper examines the curatorial development, media coverage and community engagement associated with the Syria: Ancient History - Modern Conflict exhibition and symposium at the University of Melbourne's Ian Potter Museum of Art... more
This paper examines the curatorial development, media coverage and community engagement associated with the Syria: Ancient History - Modern Conflict exhibition and symposium at the University of Melbourne's Ian Potter Museum of Art (Australia), which generated considerable interest and intense debate in response to the heritage crisis in the Middle East.
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The capital of ancient Iberia, Mtskheta, has long occupied a central role in the social, religious and economic life of Western Asia. The town sits at the confluence of two major rivers, the Aragvi and Mtkvari (Kura). Their valleys... more
The capital of ancient Iberia, Mtskheta, has long occupied a central role in the social, religious and economic life of Western Asia. The town sits at the confluence of two major rivers, the Aragvi and Mtkvari (Kura). Their valleys brought people, trade and cultural influences from surrounding lands for millennia. Mtskheta’s environs are rich in biodiversity, with a patchwork of floodplain forests, oak woodlands, juniper scrub, forest-steppe and grassy steppe vegetation. This paper describes a history of vegetation, fire and grazing preserved in the sediments of Jvari Lake in Mtskheta. Evidence of changing land use is interpreted in the light of the town’s extensive archaeological-historical record, revealing strong links and dynamic interactions between ancient cultures and their environment. Through times of peace and conflict, forests traded places with pastures as people adapted subsistence strategies to changing political and climatic conditions.
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This paper reports on radiocarbon (14C) results from the recent archaeological investigations in the ancient frontier fortress of Rabati, in southwest Georgia, a collaborative research project involving archaeologists from the Georgian... more
This paper reports on radiocarbon (14C) results from the recent archaeological investigations in the ancient frontier fortress of Rabati, in southwest Georgia, a collaborative research project involving archaeologists from the Georgian National Museum and the University of Melbourne. From the first three excavation seasons spanning 2016, 2018, and 2019, it became clear that significant Bedeni phase deposits capped most of the summit of the site. Levels with their distinctive vessels and a range of contemporary, local domestic wares, pits and some traces of architecture seal underlying Early Bronze Age strata. The Early Bronze Age levels include massive architecture rarely seen in Kura-Araxes settlements. Some finds can only be described as unique and extraordinary while others suggest that the core population was stable with long-held traditions, yet open to new influences infiltrating this highland site during the subsequent Early Kurgan (Martkopi-Bedeni) period. We discuss the key...
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After the Excavations – The Conservation of Archaeological Finds, in G. BUNNENS (ed.), Tell Ahmar on the Syrian Euphrates: From Chalcolithic Village to Assyrian Provincial Capital, Oxbow Books, pp. 193–195. ISBN: 9781789258387
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Neo-Assyrian pottery between East and West, in G. BUNNENS (ed.), Tell Ahmar on the Syrian Euphrates: From Chalcolithic Village to Assyrian Provincial Capital, Oxbow Books, pp. 186–188. ISBN: 9781789258387
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s h i r ī n is an initiative by the global community of scholars active in the fields of archaeology, art and history of the Ancient Near East. It brings together a significant proportion of the international research groups that were... more
s h i r ī n is an initiative by the global community of scholars active in the fields of archaeology, art and history of the Ancient Near East. It brings together a significant proportion of the international research groups that were working in Syria prior to 2011, with the purpose of making their expertise available to heritage protection efforts. It seeks to represent the broad sweep of archaeological and historical research in Syria. s h i r ī n collects information on damage resulting from the current conflict and identifies those cases in which emergency repairs or protective action may be required. s h i r ī n also collaborates on the creation of comprehensive databases of elements of Syrian heritage (for example, sites and museum catalogues). By involving the international research community now, s h i r ī n intends that this capability will be fully formed and thus ready to support the local authorities and communities when the emphasis shifts from safeguarding and the documentation of damage towards restoration and reconstruction.
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Community Engagement and the Syria: Ancient History – Modern Conflict exhibition and symposium, Proceedings of the 11th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Munich April 2018. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag,... more
Community Engagement and the Syria: Ancient History – Modern Conflict exhibition and symposium, Proceedings of the 11th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Munich April 2018. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 327–338.
This paper examines the curatorial development, media coverage and community engagement associated with the Syria: Ancient History – Modern Conflict exhibition and symposium at the University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum of Art (Australia), which generated considerable interest and intense debate in response to the heritage crisis in the Middle East.
This paper examines the curatorial development, media coverage and community engagement associated with the Syria: Ancient History – Modern Conflict exhibition and symposium at the University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum of Art (Australia), which generated considerable interest and intense debate in response to the heritage crisis in the Middle East.
Research Interests:
Tell Ahmar: An Important Iron Age Site in the Euphrates Valley, 10th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Vienna May, 2016. In Alexander E. Sollee (ed.) Formation, Organization and Development of Iron Age... more
Tell Ahmar: An Important Iron Age Site in the Euphrates Valley, 10th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Vienna May, 2016. In Alexander E. Sollee (ed.) Formation, Organization and Development of Iron Age Societies: A Comparative View, Oriental and European Archaeology, Institute of Oriental and European Archaeology (OREA 15), Austrian Academy of Sciences Press (OWA), Vienna, pp. 63–82.
In considering the ‘Formation, Organization and Development of Iron Age Societies’ the archaeological findings from Tell Ahmar (Til Barsib) are of interest primarily for illustrating the end, rather than the beginning, of this process. Known from the Neo-Assyrian inscriptions of Shalmaneser III, Til Barsib was one of the main cities of the Aramean tribal state of Bīt Adini. In 856 BC the site was conquered by Shalmaneser III, converted into an Assyrian provincial capital and renamed Kār-Shalmaneser. Neo-Hittite (Luwian) inscriptions indicate the site was also called Masuwari. Following a sounding in 1928, the first excavations were undertaken by a French expedition from 1929 to 1931. From 1988 to 1999 Melbourne University undertook salvage excavations at the site. Since 2000 Liège University has directed investigations. On the Acropolis, below the Assyrian palace level, the Belgian mission found modest evidence for the pre-palatial Iron Age, as well as for a Middle-Assyrian presence. It is surprising that virtually no remains from the pre-Assyrian Iron Age were found in the Middle and Lower City, by either the French or the Australian expeditions. This paper discusses the Iron Age findings, with a particular focus on the ceramics from the Australian excavations in the Middle and Lower City areas.
In considering the ‘Formation, Organization and Development of Iron Age Societies’ the archaeological findings from Tell Ahmar (Til Barsib) are of interest primarily for illustrating the end, rather than the beginning, of this process. Known from the Neo-Assyrian inscriptions of Shalmaneser III, Til Barsib was one of the main cities of the Aramean tribal state of Bīt Adini. In 856 BC the site was conquered by Shalmaneser III, converted into an Assyrian provincial capital and renamed Kār-Shalmaneser. Neo-Hittite (Luwian) inscriptions indicate the site was also called Masuwari. Following a sounding in 1928, the first excavations were undertaken by a French expedition from 1929 to 1931. From 1988 to 1999 Melbourne University undertook salvage excavations at the site. Since 2000 Liège University has directed investigations. On the Acropolis, below the Assyrian palace level, the Belgian mission found modest evidence for the pre-palatial Iron Age, as well as for a Middle-Assyrian presence. It is surprising that virtually no remains from the pre-Assyrian Iron Age were found in the Middle and Lower City, by either the French or the Australian expeditions. This paper discusses the Iron Age findings, with a particular focus on the ceramics from the Australian excavations in the Middle and Lower City areas.
Research Interests:
In 1978 the University of Melbourne acquired 44 pots from Tomb A 72 South at Bab adh-Dhra’, Jordan, excavated by Paul Lapp in 1965. In response to archaeological collection management concerns, Nancy Lapp, in consultation with the... more
In 1978 the University of Melbourne acquired 44 pots from Tomb A 72 South at Bab adh-Dhra’, Jordan, excavated by Paul Lapp in 1965. In response to archaeological collection management concerns, Nancy Lapp, in consultation with the Jordanian Department of Antiquities (DoA), had innovatively proposed that the tomb groups from the original Lapp excavations be distributed to interested American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) member institutions for the purpose of display and education. The University of Melbourne was one of 24 institutions to receive material from Bab adh-Dhra’. This paper discusses the biography of the objects from Tomb A 72 South. It begins at the start of the Early Bronze Age in Jordan, then follows the journey of the 44 pots from Tomb A 72 South, first to Amman and then to Melbourne, where the objects are used for curriculum and community engagement purposes. The evolving life of the objects from Tomb A 72 South is discussed: manufacture and mortuary use, looting and salvage excavations, the curation crisis and archaeological collections management practices, museum exhibits and displays, and aids for research, teaching and object-based learning. The biography of the objects reveals they are not static, they are animated by our ongoing relations with them.
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This article discusses a visitor research project conducted at Melbourne Museum in 2017. The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of older museum visitors. The project research design... more
This article discusses a visitor research project conducted at
Melbourne Museum in 2017. The aim of the study was to gain a better
understanding of the perceptions and experiences of older
museum visitors. The project research design entailed collection and
interpretation of data from 39 semi-structured interviews and a short
survey of 103 older visitors aged 60 years and over. A significant
finding was the theme of museums as places of intergenerational
experiences: visits with grandchildren were a major factor in older
people coming to the museum. Of particular note were the qualitative
interviews with 19 older male visitors. In the context of concerns
about older men’s health and risk of social isolation following retirement,
interpretation of the project data suggests that museums can
play a valuable role in catering to this specific cohort which is often
overlooked in programing. Museums provide a space for such visitors
to have a purposeful and respected elder role as grandfathers
where they can bond and enjoy relationships with their grandchildren
as teachers, guides, and fellow learners. Recommendations
focus on object-centered learning as a programing approach to create
more memorable and meaningful experiences for grandfathers
and grandchildren visiting museums together.
Melbourne Museum in 2017. The aim of the study was to gain a better
understanding of the perceptions and experiences of older
museum visitors. The project research design entailed collection and
interpretation of data from 39 semi-structured interviews and a short
survey of 103 older visitors aged 60 years and over. A significant
finding was the theme of museums as places of intergenerational
experiences: visits with grandchildren were a major factor in older
people coming to the museum. Of particular note were the qualitative
interviews with 19 older male visitors. In the context of concerns
about older men’s health and risk of social isolation following retirement,
interpretation of the project data suggests that museums can
play a valuable role in catering to this specific cohort which is often
overlooked in programing. Museums provide a space for such visitors
to have a purposeful and respected elder role as grandfathers
where they can bond and enjoy relationships with their grandchildren
as teachers, guides, and fellow learners. Recommendations
focus on object-centered learning as a programing approach to create
more memorable and meaningful experiences for grandfathers
and grandchildren visiting museums together.
Research Interests:
Reacting to conflict in the Middle East, an international community of experts has focused on three types of response to the damage of cultural heritage: site documentation projects; public-awareness-raising projects; and emergency... more
Reacting to conflict in the Middle East, an international community of experts has focused on three types of response to the damage of cultural heritage: site documentation projects; public-awareness-raising projects; and emergency training and mitigation projects. Not all of the resulting initiatives have achieved their goals, and there has been some criticism of a failure to significantly address the relevant problems. This paper examines two organisations concerned with Syria: 1) Shirin International and 2) Shirin Australia. It provides an overview of their activities, then considers the challenges and shortcomings of coordinating large-scale transnational responses to heritage in crisis, while at the same time highlighting the opportunities presented by locally driven, small-scale initiatives.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Some critics of traditional academic archaeological research note that it has the potential to alienate local communities driving a significant 'wedge' between archaeologists and the communities in which they work. The Syrian-Australian... more
Some critics of traditional academic archaeological research note that it has the potential to alienate local communities driving a significant 'wedge' between archaeologists and the communities in which they work. The Syrian-Australian Archaeological Research Collaboration Project was initiated mindful of the need to engage local communities in the archaeological process beyond the extraction activity. This paper discusses a future plan to utilise the archaeological collections in the engagement of local communities from the Euphrates River valley in northern Syria.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Part of the Collections at Risk: Sustainable Strategies for Managing Near Eastern Archaeological Collections Workshop, organized and edited by the author. This paper discusses Near Eastern archaeological collections in the engagement of... more
Part of the Collections at Risk: Sustainable Strategies for Managing Near Eastern Archaeological Collections Workshop, organized and edited by the author.
This paper discusses Near Eastern archaeological collections in the engagement of community, and in the enhancement of education curricula. Part one discusses collections use in the Classics and Archaeology program at the University of Melbourne. Part two outlines a proposal for a repository at Qala’at Najem in north Syria.
This paper discusses Near Eastern archaeological collections in the engagement of community, and in the enhancement of education curricula. Part one discusses collections use in the Classics and Archaeology program at the University of Melbourne. Part two outlines a proposal for a repository at Qala’at Najem in north Syria.
Research Interests:
Ancient Mesopotamia is one of the most historically significant and archaeologically rich regions in the world. Known as the 'cradle of civilisation' the history of ancient Mesopotamia is essential to our understanding of past and present... more
Ancient Mesopotamia is one of the most historically significant and archaeologically rich regions in the world. Known as the 'cradle of civilisation' the history of ancient Mesopotamia is essential to our understanding of past and present cultures.
Research Interests:
A response to Morag M. Kersel's essay "Storage Wars"
The ‘Between Artefact and Text’ exhibition in the Classics and Archaeology gallery at the University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum of Art provides an engaging space for teachers and students interested in Classics and ancient world... more
The ‘Between Artefact and Text’ exhibition in the Classics and Archaeology gallery at the University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum of Art provides an engaging space for teachers and students interested in Classics and ancient world studies. The objects featured in this exhibition are situated against the backdrop of four great literary works from the ancient world: the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, the Egyptian Tale of Sinuhe, Homer’s Iliad from ancient Greece and Virgil’s Aeneid from ancient Rome. The installation combines ancient literature with over 70 objects serving as a useful study aid to schools teaching ancient history, classical studies, ancient Greek and Latin; and particularly for VCE students reading Homer and Virgil.
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The key aspects and features of the exhibition at the Ian Potter Museum of Art that examines the coinage of ancient civilizations are discussed. The exhibition provides rich material for the exploration of issues around the question of... more
The key aspects and features of the exhibition at the Ian Potter Museum of Art that examines the coinage of ancient civilizations are discussed. The exhibition provides rich material for the exploration of issues around the question of why the past matters and enables the development of innovative ways of making the coins, and the ideas and imagery represented on them, relevant to contemporary students.
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An overview of activity such as teaching and research, exhibitions and related programs is provided to demonstrate the role the Classics and Archaeology Collection has assumed in recent years. The key ideas underpinning the approach are... more
An overview of activity such as teaching and research, exhibitions and related programs is provided to demonstrate the role the Classics and Archaeology Collection has assumed in recent years. The key ideas underpinning the approach are highlighted.
Research Interests:
Developments in north Syrian archaeology in the middle and upper Euphrates River valley have been to some extent determined by salvage excavations resulting from the planned construction of hydroelectric dams. The evidence from sites... more
Developments in north Syrian archaeology in the middle and upper Euphrates River valley have been to some extent determined by salvage excavations resulting from the planned construction of hydroelectric dams. The evidence from sites excavated in the Tabqa and Tishreen dam flood zones in this area of north Syria has supplied information on the existence of a broad range of periods, cultures and traditions. Researchers from the University of Melbourne have been involved in excavations at three sites within this region. A planned Syrian-Australian cooperation is underway for further rescue work and the creation of an archaeological artefact repository which will build on ongoing excavation and research.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
A new exhibition in Melbourne showcases important artefacts from the Pella region in Jordan. This article draws on the work of Dr Stephen Bourke, director of the Pella project.
Research Interests: Archaeology and Jordan
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Research Interests:
Tell Ahmar is a place situated on the east bank of the Euphrates river, near the Turkish border. The site was well known as a major trade centre in the Iron Age. From the many potsherds excavated from the site, it is necessary to... more
Tell Ahmar is a place situated on the east bank of the Euphrates river, near the Turkish border. The site was well known as a major trade centre in the Iron Age. From the many potsherds excavated from the site, it is necessary to distinguish pottery imported from outside from that made locally. Therefore a sample of the Iron Age potsherds that were excavated from this site was analyzed with particle induced X-ray emission to identify the characteristic composition of the different sherds. Potsherds from four other places near Tell Ahmar were also analyzed. The samples were irradiated with a scanned 3 MeV proton beam in the Melbourne nuclear microprobe. The composition of all sherds measured by this method was similar. However, cluster analysis of the 12 most abundant elements, ranging from Mn to Ba, revealed that the samples known to be from Tell Ahmar could be distinguished from those known to be from elsewhere.
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This short report examines three Middle Bronze Age (MBA) ceramic vessels found in association with an inhumation jar burial discovered, lying on its side, in the step trench, known as Area S, at Tell Ahmar during the 1994 season.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
There has been no univeral adoption of a terminology for the chronology of the north Syrian Early Bronze Age, a period generally understood to span ca. 3100/3000-2000 BC. A spate of differing terminologies attest to this lack of scholarly... more
There has been no univeral adoption of a terminology for the chronology of the north Syrian Early Bronze Age, a period generally understood to span ca. 3100/3000-2000 BC. A spate of differing terminologies attest to this lack of scholarly consensus. Excavators have developed internal periodization for individual sites and attempted to relate their results either to the better known Palestinian or Mesopotamian chronological schemes. The first utilises the designations EBA I, II, III, IV A/B, the second employs the historical names Jemdet Nasr, Early Dynastic I, II, III, Akkadian/Sargonic, Gutian and Ur III. This terminology is ill-defined for northern Syria and its inconsistent use has hindered our understanding of the period under consideration.
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Burial as an act of commemoration first occurred nearly 100,000 years ago in the Middle East. Grave goods were often placed in early burials and may be directly associated with the deceased’s identity as well as that of their community.... more
Burial as an act of commemoration first occurred nearly 100,000 years ago in the Middle East. Grave goods were often placed in early burials and may be directly associated with the deceased’s identity as well as that of their community. In considering these burial practices, it is important to remember ‘the dead do not bury themselves’.
This exhibition features an important collection of Early Bronze Age vessels recovered by Professor Paul Lapp’s excavations at Bab edh-Dhra in the Dead Sea plain of southern Jordan, along with selected works from the Australian Institute of Archaeology. Exploring the role of objects from burials and the mortuary traditions of the ancient Near East, the exhibition also considers the distribution of the Bab edh Dhra finds and the innovative solution proposed by Paul Lapp’s widow Nancy Lapp to the issues around the ‘Storage Wars’ and ‘curation crisis’ in archaeological collections management.
This exhibition features an important collection of Early Bronze Age vessels recovered by Professor Paul Lapp’s excavations at Bab edh-Dhra in the Dead Sea plain of southern Jordan, along with selected works from the Australian Institute of Archaeology. Exploring the role of objects from burials and the mortuary traditions of the ancient Near East, the exhibition also considers the distribution of the Bab edh Dhra finds and the innovative solution proposed by Paul Lapp’s widow Nancy Lapp to the issues around the ‘Storage Wars’ and ‘curation crisis’ in archaeological collections management.
Research Interests:
Mummymania focuses on the figure of the Egyptian mummy and its role within the themes of life, death, resurrection and immortality. Ranging from the mummy’s original role in ancient Egyptian funerary practices to its importance in early... more
Mummymania focuses on the figure of the Egyptian mummy and its role within the themes of life, death, resurrection and immortality. Ranging from the mummy’s original role in ancient Egyptian funerary practices to its importance in early scientific investigations into ancient disease and medicine, and its popular reception as a malevolent Hollywood monster-figure, the exhibition looks at the changing perception of the mummy over time.
Mummymania includes a small number of mummified objects that reveal the mummification process in ancient Egypt and its relationship to Egyptian afterlife beliefs. The history of the exploration of Egypt by Europeans and the export of ancient Egyptian antiquities including mummies also features, including the public mummy-unrolling spectacles that were popular in the nineteenth century. The pivotal use of mummies in medicine, and the scientific analysis of tissue including the use of CAT scanning in order to understand ancient disease, is an important aspect of the legacy that is not widely known. This lesser known history is explored alongside the mummy’s well-known role as a Hollywood horror film star.
Mummymania includes a small number of mummified objects that reveal the mummification process in ancient Egypt and its relationship to Egyptian afterlife beliefs. The history of the exploration of Egypt by Europeans and the export of ancient Egyptian antiquities including mummies also features, including the public mummy-unrolling spectacles that were popular in the nineteenth century. The pivotal use of mummies in medicine, and the scientific analysis of tissue including the use of CAT scanning in order to understand ancient disease, is an important aspect of the legacy that is not widely known. This lesser known history is explored alongside the mummy’s well-known role as a Hollywood horror film star.
Research Interests:
Comprising of sixty objects this collection of antiquities was acquired by the Vizard Foundation and now forms an integral part of the Vizard Foundation Art and Antiquities Collection held at the University of Melbourne. This... more
Comprising of sixty objects this collection of antiquities was acquired by the Vizard Foundation and now forms an integral part of the Vizard Foundation Art and Antiquities Collection held at the University of Melbourne.
This exhibition will present the collection, which includes Acheulian stone tools, ancient bronze weapons and utensils, Egyptian faience figurines, Greek and Cypriot ceramics, Roman glass and Byzantine jewellery, in its entirety for the first time. Supplemented with prints that relate to the Grand Tour the exhibition will explore the theme of the antiquarian imagination and the historical practice of collecting antiquities.
This exhibition will present the collection, which includes Acheulian stone tools, ancient bronze weapons and utensils, Egyptian faience figurines, Greek and Cypriot ceramics, Roman glass and Byzantine jewellery, in its entirety for the first time. Supplemented with prints that relate to the Grand Tour the exhibition will explore the theme of the antiquarian imagination and the historical practice of collecting antiquities.
Research Interests:
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome are all great civilisations of the ancient world: each one imbued with particular linguistic, social, religious and political systems. On one level these different societies are characterised by... more
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome are all great civilisations of the ancient world: each one imbued with particular linguistic, social, religious and political systems. On one level these different societies are characterised by distinctive cultural developments and unique literary traditions. On another level connections and influences are clearly discernible.
Between artefact and text features selected objects from the University of Melbourne’s Classics and Archaeology collections situated against the backdrop of four great literary works from the ancient world: the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, the Egyptian Tale of Sinuhe, Homer’s Iliad from Ancient Greece and the Roman Virgil’s Aeneid. The objects inhabit a realm created and reinforced by the unfolding narratives represented in the literature. It is a space filled with spreading artistic styles and evolving cultural influences.
Between artefact and text features selected objects from the University of Melbourne’s Classics and Archaeology collections situated against the backdrop of four great literary works from the ancient world: the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, the Egyptian Tale of Sinuhe, Homer’s Iliad from Ancient Greece and the Roman Virgil’s Aeneid. The objects inhabit a realm created and reinforced by the unfolding narratives represented in the literature. It is a space filled with spreading artistic styles and evolving cultural influences.
Research Interests:
This exhibition features highlights from the archaeological collection of Heritage Victoria. The field of historical archaeology has developed and matured over the last 20 years, and for the first time it is now possible to see the... more
This exhibition features highlights from the archaeological collection of Heritage Victoria. The field of historical archaeology has developed and matured over the last 20 years, and for the first time it is now possible to see the evolving story of Victoria's settlement and development reflected in its archaeology.
Excavations in Victoria have uncovered significant archaeological remains and relics. Objects from the failed 1803 settlement site near Sorrento are perhaps the oldest historical artefacts ever found in Victoria; these will be on display alongside artefacts from the Eureka historic precinct that relate to the Victorian goldfields and the gold rush. Chinese gaming tokens and ceramic jars reflect the activity at a Bendigo kiln site and market garden in the 1880s and an assortment of small finds from the home of a seamstress at Cohen Place in the CBD shed light on life in early Melbourne.
Fine porcelain and other prestigious items found in the ruins of Viewbank homestead on the banks of the Yarra near Heidelberg provide an insight into the way of life of Melbourne’s developing upper class. More recent discoveries at the former Pentridge prison include artefacts associated with Ned Kelly, one of the most notorious of all Australians. The exhibition will also include items recovered from two unique Victorian shipwrecks: the Cheviot and the City of Launceston.
Presented in partnership with Heritage Victoria, Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure
Excavations in Victoria have uncovered significant archaeological remains and relics. Objects from the failed 1803 settlement site near Sorrento are perhaps the oldest historical artefacts ever found in Victoria; these will be on display alongside artefacts from the Eureka historic precinct that relate to the Victorian goldfields and the gold rush. Chinese gaming tokens and ceramic jars reflect the activity at a Bendigo kiln site and market garden in the 1880s and an assortment of small finds from the home of a seamstress at Cohen Place in the CBD shed light on life in early Melbourne.
Fine porcelain and other prestigious items found in the ruins of Viewbank homestead on the banks of the Yarra near Heidelberg provide an insight into the way of life of Melbourne’s developing upper class. More recent discoveries at the former Pentridge prison include artefacts associated with Ned Kelly, one of the most notorious of all Australians. The exhibition will also include items recovered from two unique Victorian shipwrecks: the Cheviot and the City of Launceston.
Presented in partnership with Heritage Victoria, Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure
Research Interests:
The Classics and Archaeology Collection at the University of Melbourne includes an important collection of Bronze and Iron Age pottery from the excavations of Dame Kathleen Kenyon (1906–1978) at Jericho and Jerusalem. Kathleen Kenyon was... more
The Classics and Archaeology Collection at the University of Melbourne includes an important collection of Bronze and Iron Age pottery from the excavations of Dame Kathleen Kenyon (1906–1978) at Jericho and Jerusalem. Kathleen Kenyon was arguably the most influential woman archaeologist of the twentieth century. Kenyon made particularly significant contributions in the field of excavation techniques and ceramic methodology.
Kathleen Kenyon is best known for her excavations at Jericho and Jerusalem. Through these in particular, she helped to train a generation of archaeologists, including Australian scholar Basil Hennessey, who went on to become a professor of Near Eastern archaeology at the University of Sydney. In the 1950s, the University of Melbourne received a small Middle Bronze Age pottery corpus from Tomb A136 at Jericho and a portion of a large Iron Age (II) deposit from Cave 1 in Jerusalem, excavated by Kenyon from 1952 to 1954 and 1961 to 1967 respectively. This exhibition presents over 100 remarkable early ceramics from these famous excavations and tells the story of Kathleen Kenyon’s contribution to archaeology.
Kathleen Kenyon is best known for her excavations at Jericho and Jerusalem. Through these in particular, she helped to train a generation of archaeologists, including Australian scholar Basil Hennessey, who went on to become a professor of Near Eastern archaeology at the University of Sydney. In the 1950s, the University of Melbourne received a small Middle Bronze Age pottery corpus from Tomb A136 at Jericho and a portion of a large Iron Age (II) deposit from Cave 1 in Jerusalem, excavated by Kenyon from 1952 to 1954 and 1961 to 1967 respectively. This exhibition presents over 100 remarkable early ceramics from these famous excavations and tells the story of Kathleen Kenyon’s contribution to archaeology.
Research Interests:
The John Hugh Sutton Collection was established in memory of an outstanding classics student and resident of Trinity College who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in 1925. In memory of their son, Sutton’s parents gave the... more
The John Hugh Sutton Collection was established in memory of an outstanding classics student and resident of Trinity College who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in 1925.
In memory of their son, Sutton’s parents gave the university the significant sum of £500 to establish a classics museum and collection (equivalent to $35,000 today). The Sutton Collection was developed by professor Cecil Scutt, with the aid of Cambridge archaeologist CT Seltman, and comprises a selection of coins, vases, plaster casts and other objects. The collection was instrumental in the establishment of the University of Melbourne Classics and Archaeology Collection, which has since grown significantly through the generosity of other donors. The important, and most recent, donation by Oscar Whitbread and Corinne Kerby is also included in the exhibition, demonstrating the ongoing legacy of giving established by the Sutton family.
This exhibition features the objects from the John Hugh Sutton Collection, and historical and archival material related to the life of aspiring young classicist and writer John Hugh Sutton.
In memory of their son, Sutton’s parents gave the university the significant sum of £500 to establish a classics museum and collection (equivalent to $35,000 today). The Sutton Collection was developed by professor Cecil Scutt, with the aid of Cambridge archaeologist CT Seltman, and comprises a selection of coins, vases, plaster casts and other objects. The collection was instrumental in the establishment of the University of Melbourne Classics and Archaeology Collection, which has since grown significantly through the generosity of other donors. The important, and most recent, donation by Oscar Whitbread and Corinne Kerby is also included in the exhibition, demonstrating the ongoing legacy of giving established by the Sutton family.
This exhibition features the objects from the John Hugh Sutton Collection, and historical and archival material related to the life of aspiring young classicist and writer John Hugh Sutton.
Research Interests:
Born in 1974, the internationally acclaimed artist Jitish Kallat lives and works in Mumbai, India. On 11 September 2010, Kallat presented his landmark solo exhibition, Public notice 3, at the Art Institute of Chicago. His site-specific... more
Born in 1974, the internationally acclaimed artist Jitish Kallat lives and works in Mumbai, India. On 11 September 2010, Kallat presented his landmark solo exhibition, Public notice 3, at the Art Institute of Chicago. His site-specific work brought together two events: the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and the First World Parliament of Religions which took place on 11 September 1893 in what is now the Art Institute of Chicago building. The basis of Public notice 3 was an inaugural speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament calling for an end to fanaticism and a respectful recognition of all traditions of belief through universal tolerance.
In 2011, Kallat presented Fieldnotes: tomorrow was here yesterday, an important project that explored the history and architecture of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai, one of the oldest museums in India. Fieldnotes was curated by Dr Tasneem Mehta.
Jitish Kallat: Circa is Kallat’s first solo exhibition in an Australian museum. Following the reflective nature of his recent projects, this exhibition is conceived as an evolving narrative; an experiment of multiple interventions across several spaces within the Ian Potter Museum of Art. During the course of six months from October 2012 to April 2013, some works will appear for a few days, while others will remain on display until the end of the exhibition. Still others await conception when the departure of interventions makes space for them as part of an evolving entry and exit of ideas. Chance, contingency and contagion each play a key role in the development of this shape-shifting project. One utterance infects another so that procreating possibilities give rise to a tentative, evolving, dispersed and inconclusive oration in several parts of the museum.
Kallat’s works are set in playful and poetic conversation with the Ian Potter Museum of Art’s atypical architecture and the broad time-scale of the exhibition program, which simultaneously presents art from the Neolithic period to the present day. With the concept of ‘time’ and ‘recursion’ at the heart of the project, Kallat’s interventions include a 120-part sculpture titled Circa, which evokes bamboo scaffolding; two interventions using mirrors titled, Footnote (mirror 1) and Footnote (mirror 2); drawings on the glass of museum vitrines; a video projection on the Potter’s facade; and sound and inscriptions of found text on the walls of the gallery. Kallat’s interventions in the Classics and Archaeology Gallery are installed in relation to a display of ancient Indian carved stone sculptures and colonial-era maps from the University of Melbourne as well as private collections.
Jitish Kallat’s work has been exhibited at Australian museums and institutions including the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane), and Gallery 4A (Sydney). In Australia, Kallat has held two solo exhibitions at Gallery Barry Keldoulis (Sydney, 2006); and at Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (Sydney, 2009).
Presented in partnership with Utopia@Asialink, in association with Melbourne Festival
In 2011, Kallat presented Fieldnotes: tomorrow was here yesterday, an important project that explored the history and architecture of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai, one of the oldest museums in India. Fieldnotes was curated by Dr Tasneem Mehta.
Jitish Kallat: Circa is Kallat’s first solo exhibition in an Australian museum. Following the reflective nature of his recent projects, this exhibition is conceived as an evolving narrative; an experiment of multiple interventions across several spaces within the Ian Potter Museum of Art. During the course of six months from October 2012 to April 2013, some works will appear for a few days, while others will remain on display until the end of the exhibition. Still others await conception when the departure of interventions makes space for them as part of an evolving entry and exit of ideas. Chance, contingency and contagion each play a key role in the development of this shape-shifting project. One utterance infects another so that procreating possibilities give rise to a tentative, evolving, dispersed and inconclusive oration in several parts of the museum.
Kallat’s works are set in playful and poetic conversation with the Ian Potter Museum of Art’s atypical architecture and the broad time-scale of the exhibition program, which simultaneously presents art from the Neolithic period to the present day. With the concept of ‘time’ and ‘recursion’ at the heart of the project, Kallat’s interventions include a 120-part sculpture titled Circa, which evokes bamboo scaffolding; two interventions using mirrors titled, Footnote (mirror 1) and Footnote (mirror 2); drawings on the glass of museum vitrines; a video projection on the Potter’s facade; and sound and inscriptions of found text on the walls of the gallery. Kallat’s interventions in the Classics and Archaeology Gallery are installed in relation to a display of ancient Indian carved stone sculptures and colonial-era maps from the University of Melbourne as well as private collections.
Jitish Kallat’s work has been exhibited at Australian museums and institutions including the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane), and Gallery 4A (Sydney). In Australia, Kallat has held two solo exhibitions at Gallery Barry Keldoulis (Sydney, 2006); and at Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (Sydney, 2009).
Presented in partnership with Utopia@Asialink, in association with Melbourne Festival
Research Interests:
The University of Melbourne has one of the most important collections of Cypriot antiquities in Australia. The collection is representative of the human history of this strategically important island, and includes a wide range of Bronze... more
The University of Melbourne has one of the most important collections of Cypriot antiquities in Australia. The collection is representative of the human history of this strategically important island, and includes a wide range of Bronze and Iron Age artefacts that were brought to Australia by the late Professor JR Stewart from the 1930s until the early 1960s.
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean and is renowned as the island of Aphrodite. The exhibition will feature significant ceramic assemblages recovered from Bronze Age tombs at Vounous from 1937 to 1938, and the Bronze Age cemeteries at Karmi in 1961.
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean and is renowned as the island of Aphrodite. The exhibition will feature significant ceramic assemblages recovered from Bronze Age tombs at Vounous from 1937 to 1938, and the Bronze Age cemeteries at Karmi in 1961.
Research Interests:
The Treasures exhibition features over seventy rare artefacts from private antiquities collections in Melbourne. Many of these items, which come from eleven key private collections, are displayed for the first time publicly in this... more
The Treasures exhibition features over seventy rare artefacts from private antiquities collections in Melbourne. Many of these items, which come from eleven key private collections, are displayed for the first time publicly in this exhibition. The artefacts not only reveal fascinating insights into ancient societies, they also reveal the intentions and passions of their collectors.
The artefacts from ancient Egypt, the Near East, Greece and Rome span 5000 years. Highlights include examples of black and red figure vase painting, depicting scenes of classical mythology, which demonstrate the skillful techniques of Greek and southern Italian potters. Delicate vessels made of glass and miniature bronze statues display the hallmarks of Roman high-temperature industries. Objects made of faience, wood and alabaster communicate ancient Egyptian funerary beliefs, and the lives of the pharaohs. Bronze ornaments and ceremonial objects, terracotta figurines, and beads made of amber and carnelian, are markers and symbols of the Near East. Treasures presents of a broad selection of works from the ancient and classical worlds. Their richness and diversity highlight distinct artistic, cultural, and regional trends.
The artefacts from ancient Egypt, the Near East, Greece and Rome span 5000 years. Highlights include examples of black and red figure vase painting, depicting scenes of classical mythology, which demonstrate the skillful techniques of Greek and southern Italian potters. Delicate vessels made of glass and miniature bronze statues display the hallmarks of Roman high-temperature industries. Objects made of faience, wood and alabaster communicate ancient Egyptian funerary beliefs, and the lives of the pharaohs. Bronze ornaments and ceremonial objects, terracotta figurines, and beads made of amber and carnelian, are markers and symbols of the Near East. Treasures presents of a broad selection of works from the ancient and classical worlds. Their richness and diversity highlight distinct artistic, cultural, and regional trends.
Research Interests:
Most of the objects in this exhibition were specifically acquired by the Classics and Middle Eastern Studies departments of the University of Melbourne in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1950s, to enhance teaching and research. Many of the... more
Most of the objects in this exhibition were specifically acquired by the Classics and Middle Eastern Studies departments of the University of Melbourne in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1950s, to enhance teaching and research. Many of the certified casts were obtained from the prestigious international institutions which housed the originals, including the Louvre, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Remarkable in their own right, key works include the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, the Mesha Stele, and the Acropolis kore. The exhibition includes significant plaster casts of Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman originals that date from the 4th millennium BCE to the 2nd century CE.
Remarkable in their own right, key works include the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, the Mesha Stele, and the Acropolis kore. The exhibition includes significant plaster casts of Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman originals that date from the 4th millennium BCE to the 2nd century CE.
Research Interests:
The University of Melbourne has one of the largest collections of ancient Greek and Roman coins in Australia. In antiquity, coins were an ideal way of disseminating information about an event. They conveyed a political message, and were... more
The University of Melbourne has one of the largest collections of ancient Greek and Roman coins in Australia. In antiquity, coins were an ideal way of disseminating information about an event. They conveyed a political message, and were also used for propaganda purposes.
This display features a selection of coins from the empires of the Greco-Roman world, which reveal insights into the histories and societies of their time.
This display features a selection of coins from the empires of the Greco-Roman world, which reveal insights into the histories and societies of their time.
Research Interests:
The terms ‘devotion’ and ‘ritual’ evoke practices that are followed piously, in a prescribed order, often involving the performance of rites or ceremonies that are regularly and routinely observed. In the ancient and tribal worlds,... more
The terms ‘devotion’ and ‘ritual’ evoke practices that are followed piously, in a prescribed order, often involving the performance of rites or ceremonies that are regularly and routinely observed. In the ancient and tribal worlds, devotional and ritualistic acts are remarkably varied and complex.
Within different regions, societies developed specific mythologies and belief systems unique to that locality. Different groups produced devotional objects—some for ritual use—that are the hallmarks of their cultures and civilisations.
The objects in this exhibition speak not of one codified or universal belief system, but of many different customs and traditions. Selected artefacts from the Mediterranean, African, Meso-American, and Oceanic regions represent unique examples of relics associated with ceremonial practices, belief systems, and sacred customs of the ancient and tribal worlds.
Within different regions, societies developed specific mythologies and belief systems unique to that locality. Different groups produced devotional objects—some for ritual use—that are the hallmarks of their cultures and civilisations.
The objects in this exhibition speak not of one codified or universal belief system, but of many different customs and traditions. Selected artefacts from the Mediterranean, African, Meso-American, and Oceanic regions represent unique examples of relics associated with ceremonial practices, belief systems, and sacred customs of the ancient and tribal worlds.
Research Interests:
Egyptian hieroglyphs, Mesopotamian clay tablets, ancient Greek papyrus, fragments of woven linen Pharaonic tunics, and woollen Coptic shawls, feature in this exhibition that explores how texts and textiles were produced and used in... more
Egyptian hieroglyphs, Mesopotamian clay tablets, ancient Greek papyrus, fragments of woven linen Pharaonic tunics, and woollen Coptic shawls, feature in this exhibition that explores how texts and textiles were produced and used in antiquity.Organic material and fabrics decompose easily so it is extremely rare for ancient textiles and papyrus to survive in the archaeological record. Fortunately, the hot and dry climate of Egypt has preserved many pieces of ancient papyrus and cloth. This exhibition features rare ancient Greek papyri from Oxyrhynchus—a site in upper Egypt, and Coptic textiles that once belonged to elaborately adorned items of clothing worn in the time of Christian Egypt.
Over the past century, the area around Oxyrhynchus has yielded an enormous collection of papyrus texts dating from the time of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods of Egyptian history. Featured in this exhibition are papyrus fragments discovered at Oxyrhynchus from the first book of Thucydides. Other texts include a declaration concerning the sale of a slave, and various private accounts, receipts, and personal letters.
Illegal excavations have brought thousands of Coptic textiles onto the antiquities market. These textiles were probably made when the majority of people in Egypt subscribed to the Christian faith during the fourth to seventh centuries. This exhibition includes woollen tunics, or parts of garments such as tunic ornaments, panels, shawls and shrouds. Coptic textiles are notable for the richness of their decorative motifs: geometric patterns, human figures, birds, animals, fish, flora, mythological themes, Nilotic and marine scenes, episodes from the Old and New Testaments, and crosses.
Over the past century, the area around Oxyrhynchus has yielded an enormous collection of papyrus texts dating from the time of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods of Egyptian history. Featured in this exhibition are papyrus fragments discovered at Oxyrhynchus from the first book of Thucydides. Other texts include a declaration concerning the sale of a slave, and various private accounts, receipts, and personal letters.
Illegal excavations have brought thousands of Coptic textiles onto the antiquities market. These textiles were probably made when the majority of people in Egypt subscribed to the Christian faith during the fourth to seventh centuries. This exhibition includes woollen tunics, or parts of garments such as tunic ornaments, panels, shawls and shrouds. Coptic textiles are notable for the richness of their decorative motifs: geometric patterns, human figures, birds, animals, fish, flora, mythological themes, Nilotic and marine scenes, episodes from the Old and New Testaments, and crosses.
Research Interests: Papyrology and Textiles
From 1988 to 1993, Marion Adams (1932 – 1995), Dean of the Faculty of Arts, the University of Melbourne, acquired an impressive collection of artefacts from the ancient Near and Far East, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Africa, and the Americas.... more
From 1988 to 1993, Marion Adams (1932 – 1995), Dean of the Faculty of Arts, the University of Melbourne, acquired an impressive collection of artefacts from the ancient Near and Far East, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Africa, and the Americas. Marion Adams’s husband, David Adams, has continued to build the Adams collection in her memory, and has generously donated items to the University of Melbourne.
The artefacts in the exhibition may be grouped into several geographical regions: eighteen pieces of Roman or Italic origin, nineteen from Greece and Magna Graecia, twenty-six Egyptian objects, and nineteen artefacts that span the civilizations of the ancient Near East, Iran (or Persia), Central Asia and the Indus Valley. Across this vast terrain is represented an equally wide spectrum of cultural horizons, including the Villanovan, Etruscan, Daunian and Italo-Corinthian; Athenian and Corinthian; Egyptian (Pharaonic and Ptolemaic); Mesopotamian (Syro-Hittite and Sumero-Elamite) and Parthian; Proto-Bactrian and Bactrian-Margiana; and Gandhara and Mehrgahr artistic traditions. Also included in the exhibition are a collection of thirty-two coins, mostly from the Roman Empire, with a small group from ancient Greece.
The artefacts in the exhibition may be grouped into several geographical regions: eighteen pieces of Roman or Italic origin, nineteen from Greece and Magna Graecia, twenty-six Egyptian objects, and nineteen artefacts that span the civilizations of the ancient Near East, Iran (or Persia), Central Asia and the Indus Valley. Across this vast terrain is represented an equally wide spectrum of cultural horizons, including the Villanovan, Etruscan, Daunian and Italo-Corinthian; Athenian and Corinthian; Egyptian (Pharaonic and Ptolemaic); Mesopotamian (Syro-Hittite and Sumero-Elamite) and Parthian; Proto-Bactrian and Bactrian-Margiana; and Gandhara and Mehrgahr artistic traditions. Also included in the exhibition are a collection of thirty-two coins, mostly from the Roman Empire, with a small group from ancient Greece.
Research Interests:
Some of the most important pottery producing centres of the Greek world are represented in the University of Melbourne Classics and Archaeology Collection: Athens, Corinth, eastern Greece and southern Italy. This important collection... more
Some of the most important pottery producing centres of the Greek world are represented in the University of Melbourne Classics and Archaeology Collection: Athens, Corinth, eastern Greece and southern Italy. This important collection covers the period from the thirteenth to the fourth centuries BCE and this is one of the most highly regarded collections of classical antiquities in Australia.
Research Interests:
This exhibition refers to the ancient city of Pella in the north Jordan Valley and tells the story of technology, trade and daily life there. It also describes the significant discoveries Australian archaeologists have made in Jordan over... more
This exhibition refers to the ancient city of Pella in the north Jordan Valley and tells the story of technology, trade and daily life there. It also describes the significant discoveries Australian archaeologists have made in Jordan over a period of fifty years. Excavations have revealed Pella as one of the most important ancient cities in Jordon, because it has a pattern of continuous human settlement stretching back to Neolithic times (c. 6500 BCE). Objects in this exhibition are drawn from the National Gallery of Australia’s collection, and are currently on long-term loan to the Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney.
Research Interests:
The University of Melbourne’s Art Collection includes Cypriot antiquities that are representative of the human history of Cyprus, a strategically important island in the Mediterranean Sea. The Cypriot antiquities include a wide range of... more
The University of Melbourne’s Art Collection includes Cypriot antiquities that are representative of the human history of Cyprus, a strategically important island in the Mediterranean Sea. The Cypriot antiquities include a wide range of Bronze and Iron Age artefacts that were brought to Australia by the late JR Stewart from the 1930s until the early 1960s.
Cyprus played an important regional role and developed a unique and distinctive culture. Situated at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, the island was a meeting place for the major civilisations of the ancient world: Mesopotamia, Assyria and Persia to the east, Anatolia to the north, Egypt to the south, and Greece and Rome to the west.
Cyprus played an important regional role and developed a unique and distinctive culture. Situated at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, the island was a meeting place for the major civilisations of the ancient world: Mesopotamia, Assyria and Persia to the east, Anatolia to the north, Egypt to the south, and Greece and Rome to the west.
Research Interests:
This exhibition includes artefacts drawn from the Egyptian and Flinders Petrie Collection, the University of Melbourne, and The Dodgdon Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, Queens College. The artefacts reflect the distinctive character of... more
This exhibition includes artefacts drawn from the Egyptian and Flinders Petrie Collection, the University of Melbourne, and The Dodgdon Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, Queens College. The artefacts reflect the distinctive character of Egyptian civilisation which emerged in the Nile Valley during the early third millennium BCE and survived through to the spread of Christianity. Through a survey of selected key artefacts spanning the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, visitors to this exhibition will be introduced to the historical and cultural achievements of dynastic Egypt. The periods represented by the objects in this exhibition reveal one of the ancient world’s most enduring empires. The range of material in this exhibition spans more than 10,000 years. Discovering Egypt complements the teaching program of the Centre for Classics and Archaeology on ancient Egypt and the Near East and Schools Program of the Ian Potter Museum of Art on ancient cultures.
The Queens College Collection of Egyptian Antiquities forms part of the library and museum bequeathed by the Reverend James Davey Dodgson (1824-1892) when he died. William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) was an English archaeologist and pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology. Objects in this collection have reportedly come from excavations conducted by Petrie.
The Queens College Collection of Egyptian Antiquities forms part of the library and museum bequeathed by the Reverend James Davey Dodgson (1824-1892) when he died. William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) was an English archaeologist and pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology. Objects in this collection have reportedly come from excavations conducted by Petrie.
Research Interests:
Intricate hand embossing, gold inlays, and exquisite colourful illuminations of plants and animals, feature in irreplaceable Middle Eastern texts dating from the 1500s. These treasured manuscripts, from the Special Collections of the... more
Intricate hand embossing, gold inlays, and exquisite colourful illuminations of plants and animals, feature in irreplaceable Middle Eastern texts dating from the 1500s. These treasured manuscripts, from the Special Collections of the Baillieu Library (the University of Melbourne) detail plans and pilgrimages, Sufi poems and ancient prayers, astrological insights, and weaponry.
The Middle Eastern Manuscripts collection features a diverse range of examples of the art of the illuminator. Intricate designs and patterns are hand-painted on parchment, paper and leather using gold and silver leaf as well as coloured pigments. The different styles and techniques used in the works on display in Illuminations indicate the artists’ talent and the extensive range that is indicative of the illuminated Middle Eastern manuscript tradition. Illuminations, which were added after the main text had been transcribed, could be purely decorative, but they were also to signal important passages as well as enhancing or clarifying a text’s meaning.
The term ‘illuminated’ comes from the Latin illuminare (to brighten, to light up) and refers to the use of bright colours and gold to embellish initial letters or to portray entrie scenes.
The Middle Eastern Manuscripts collection features a diverse range of examples of the art of the illuminator. Intricate designs and patterns are hand-painted on parchment, paper and leather using gold and silver leaf as well as coloured pigments. The different styles and techniques used in the works on display in Illuminations indicate the artists’ talent and the extensive range that is indicative of the illuminated Middle Eastern manuscript tradition. Illuminations, which were added after the main text had been transcribed, could be purely decorative, but they were also to signal important passages as well as enhancing or clarifying a text’s meaning.
The term ‘illuminated’ comes from the Latin illuminare (to brighten, to light up) and refers to the use of bright colours and gold to embellish initial letters or to portray entrie scenes.
Research Interests:
The University of Melbourne’s Classics and Archaeology Collection was established in 1901 and is one of the oldest and most important collections of antiquities in Australia. Many of the 2,500 items in the collection come from, or reflect... more
The University of Melbourne’s Classics and Archaeology Collection was established in 1901 and is one of the oldest and most important collections of antiquities in Australia. Many of the 2,500 items in the collection come from, or reflect the cultural traditions of the ancient Near East, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
This exhibition features objects that relate to death and ritual from the Predynastic and Pharaonic periods in Egypt, and a range of objects from the Near East, including ivories from Nimrud, stamp seals from Amman, and inscribed bricks from Elam. The exhibition also includes a selection of Roman glass vessels, bronze weapons from Luristan, and artefacts from Greece. A corpus of Near Eastern animal and human figurines that may have served cultic or religious functions, and a typology of ancient lamps spanning the Bronze, Iron, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Medieval periods, are also featured.
This exhibition, which demonstrates the diversity of material represented in the Classics and Archaeology Collection, is one in a series of focus exhibitions that will present key items. Some works from this important and unique collection, have never been seen before.
This exhibition features objects that relate to death and ritual from the Predynastic and Pharaonic periods in Egypt, and a range of objects from the Near East, including ivories from Nimrud, stamp seals from Amman, and inscribed bricks from Elam. The exhibition also includes a selection of Roman glass vessels, bronze weapons from Luristan, and artefacts from Greece. A corpus of Near Eastern animal and human figurines that may have served cultic or religious functions, and a typology of ancient lamps spanning the Bronze, Iron, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Medieval periods, are also featured.
This exhibition, which demonstrates the diversity of material represented in the Classics and Archaeology Collection, is one in a series of focus exhibitions that will present key items. Some works from this important and unique collection, have never been seen before.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The unfolding conflict in Syria is a catastrophe on many levels. Inevitably, Syria’s heritage is one of many casualties resulting from the armed conflict. Reporting of the Syrian crisis, although often unverified, includes cases of both... more
The unfolding conflict in Syria is a catastrophe on many levels. Inevitably, Syria’s heritage is one of many casualties resulting from the armed conflict. Reporting of the Syrian crisis, although often unverified, includes cases of both random and deliberate destruction of heritage assets. This paper examines some of the key issues within the context of the National Museum of Aleppo as a heritage institution in a conflict zone. A list compiled in association with Heritage for Peace documents thirty-eight (38) cultural heritage organisations and the actions they are taking towards the preservation and protection of Syria’s cultural heritage. A significant number of groups were formed directly in response to the hostilities that commenced in 2010. Both local and foreign agencies are represented on the list. Not surprisingly, competing interests and opposing views hinder coordinated heritage response efforts. Lack of awareness is also contributing to problems and tensions at the local level. For many Syrians cultural heritage is seen as owned and managed by the state, and government heritage authorities have implemented strategies to reinforce this division. In many cases local communities have been reluctant to come forward to protect places of heritage significance highlighting the critical need to engage and involve these communities in cultural resource management. This presentation will consider the local protection strategies for archaeological collections housed at the National Museum of Aleppo; one of the most important museums
in the Middle East.
in the Middle East.
Research Interests:
It is often noted that traditional academic archaeological research has the potential to alienate local communities driving a significant wedge between archaeologists and the communities in which they work. For foreign archaeologists... more
It is often noted that traditional academic archaeological research has the potential to alienate local
communities driving a significant wedge between archaeologists and the communities in which they
work. For foreign archaeologists working in a Near Eastern context there is still a long way to go to bring
local communities into the archaeological process. A new project aspires to offer opportunities for local
communities integrating local historical knowledge with archaeological collections excavated from the
Euphrates River valley in north Syria. This paper discusses a joint research project known as the SyrianAustralian
Historical Research Collaboration Project that commenced in 2008. The project involves the
large Arab fortress at Qala’at Najem, which marks an important crossing point on the Euphrates River.
Before the hostilities in Syria began a broad framework was developed around the following four stages:
• The establishment of an archaeological collections repository
• The creation of a research centre for reference collections
• The promotion of education, interpretation and public programs
• The identification of community engagement opportunities and tourism-related activities
With the last key point in mind the Qala’at Najem project hopes to provide local communities with an
opportunity to manage the cultural heritage in their area and attract tourists in a project aimed at
developing the local economy and raising awareness about managing and preserving the archaeological
heritage of the Euphrates valley region. The project would provide training opportunities and promote the
importance of Qala’at Najem across Syria, encourage sustainable tourism, and develop ways to generate
income for the local community using the archaeology of the region through interpretation and
presentation at the historic site. The project plans to include information about the culture and heritage of
the modern era inhabitants who have added an important dimension to the life along the Euphrates valley.
communities driving a significant wedge between archaeologists and the communities in which they
work. For foreign archaeologists working in a Near Eastern context there is still a long way to go to bring
local communities into the archaeological process. A new project aspires to offer opportunities for local
communities integrating local historical knowledge with archaeological collections excavated from the
Euphrates River valley in north Syria. This paper discusses a joint research project known as the SyrianAustralian
Historical Research Collaboration Project that commenced in 2008. The project involves the
large Arab fortress at Qala’at Najem, which marks an important crossing point on the Euphrates River.
Before the hostilities in Syria began a broad framework was developed around the following four stages:
• The establishment of an archaeological collections repository
• The creation of a research centre for reference collections
• The promotion of education, interpretation and public programs
• The identification of community engagement opportunities and tourism-related activities
With the last key point in mind the Qala’at Najem project hopes to provide local communities with an
opportunity to manage the cultural heritage in their area and attract tourists in a project aimed at
developing the local economy and raising awareness about managing and preserving the archaeological
heritage of the Euphrates valley region. The project would provide training opportunities and promote the
importance of Qala’at Najem across Syria, encourage sustainable tourism, and develop ways to generate
income for the local community using the archaeology of the region through interpretation and
presentation at the historic site. The project plans to include information about the culture and heritage of
the modern era inhabitants who have added an important dimension to the life along the Euphrates valley.
Research Interests:
This workshop addresses a crucial but often ignored aspect of Near Eastern archaeology: the sustainable management of increasing numbers of archaeological collections. Every archaeological collection is at risk, not only from warfare or... more
This workshop addresses a crucial but often ignored aspect of Near Eastern archaeology: the sustainable management of increasing numbers of archaeological collections. Every archaeological collection is at risk, not only from warfare or civil unrest, but from natural elements such as earthquakes, fire and floods, and from inevitable decay due to climatic conditions or neglect. The workshop aims to share views and raise awareness about archaeological collections management in the Near East as the cultural heritage of this region continues to be threatened by ongoing instability and conflict. Discussion will consider short, medium and long-term approaches to archaeological collections management. In the short-term, the care of archaeological collections during periods of instability and in conflict zones is acknowledged as a high priority requiring urgent attention and needing an immediate response. In the mid-term, there is a need to assess the significance of archaeological collections and develop criteria in order to prioritise available resources to deal with the continuing influx of artefacts into repositories. In the long-term, there is an on-going necessity to develop strategies for sustainably managing archaeological collections in the future, considering access and use, and improving collections management practices. The workshop will stimulate an exchange of ideas and perspectives on the issues involved in Near Eastern archaeological collections management, with a view towards articulating sustainable strategies for the management of Near Eastern archaeological collections.
Research Interests:
The costs involved in managing archaeological collections are substantial and often difficult to justify. Traditionally, many archaeological collections are used for research purposes or as reference collections. Difficulties in... more
The costs involved in managing archaeological collections are substantial and often difficult to justify.
Traditionally, many archaeological collections are used for research purposes or as reference collections.
Difficulties in accessing these collections can significantly hinder or limit use. Improving access and increasing
the uses of archaeological collections can validate the resources required to manage artefact assemblages and
at the same time raise awareness about their importance and value. This paper discusses the uses of
archaeological collections in the engagement of community, and as an enhancement of education curriculum.
The first part of this paper will outline a proposal for the creation of an artefact repository at Qal’at Najm in north
Syria which includes opportunities for community engagement incorporating archaeological collections from the
salvage excavations in the middle and upper Euphrates valley. The second part of this paper will discuss the
integration of archaeological collections in the delivery of the Archaeology Program at the University of Melbourne
which is enriching curriculum engagement. Examples of object-based teaching and learning using archaeological
collections will be discussed. Both models advanced in this paper demonstrate viable new uses for old
collections.
Traditionally, many archaeological collections are used for research purposes or as reference collections.
Difficulties in accessing these collections can significantly hinder or limit use. Improving access and increasing
the uses of archaeological collections can validate the resources required to manage artefact assemblages and
at the same time raise awareness about their importance and value. This paper discusses the uses of
archaeological collections in the engagement of community, and as an enhancement of education curriculum.
The first part of this paper will outline a proposal for the creation of an artefact repository at Qal’at Najm in north
Syria which includes opportunities for community engagement incorporating archaeological collections from the
salvage excavations in the middle and upper Euphrates valley. The second part of this paper will discuss the
integration of archaeological collections in the delivery of the Archaeology Program at the University of Melbourne
which is enriching curriculum engagement. Examples of object-based teaching and learning using archaeological
collections will be discussed. Both models advanced in this paper demonstrate viable new uses for old
collections.
Research Interests:
To develop strategies for the sustainable and long-term management of archaeological collections it is necessary to understand the processes involved in the creation of these collections. This paper discusses findings from five case... more
To develop strategies for the sustainable and long-term management of archaeological collections it is necessary to understand the processes involved in the creation of these collections. This paper discusses findings from five case studies; five sites in Syria and Turkey, spanning the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Hellenistic and Roman periods, were selected for the study. The case studies include a range of site types. Each case study is characterised by different organisational structures reflecting research objectives developed according to the specific needs of the excavation project. The main purpose of the case studies was to obtain data primarily on the creation of these collections. Decisions relating to significance influence the quantification of archaeological collections. Observing the on-site archaeological processes in the collection and curation of material it was possible to identify stages and monitor decision-making in relation to the retention or discard of archaeological material. The case studies yielded important findings enabling five archaeological collections from a representative selection of Near Eastern type sites to be tracked and quantified. These findings, combined with other forms of qualitative and quantitative analysis, are being used to develop a template for an Archaeological Collections Management Plan (ACMP) designed to assist archaeologists in managing collections.
Research Interests:
Object Based Learning (OBL) provides deeper and more memorable experiences than might be offered by more traditional types of teaching and this is reflected in how the students respond to it. The objects provide a tangible and direct... more
Object Based Learning (OBL) provides deeper and more memorable experiences than might be offered by more traditional types of teaching and this is reflected in how the students respond to it.
The objects provide a tangible and direct link between the past and the present, bringing the past to life in a way that texts, 2D, or digital surrogates cannot.
OBL allows students to filter the physical and unfamiliar through our own networks of association and experience.
By engaging students with an object-based arts curriculum, it is possible to re-engage students with the important mind-body connections that form the basis of the museum experience.
Engagement with the physical artefacts help to ignite a student’s imagination and subsequently their learning. It can be adapted and combined with other learning methods to disseminate a great variety of subject-specific knowledge.
The objects provide a tangible and direct link between the past and the present, bringing the past to life in a way that texts, 2D, or digital surrogates cannot.
OBL allows students to filter the physical and unfamiliar through our own networks of association and experience.
By engaging students with an object-based arts curriculum, it is possible to re-engage students with the important mind-body connections that form the basis of the museum experience.
Engagement with the physical artefacts help to ignite a student’s imagination and subsequently their learning. It can be adapted and combined with other learning methods to disseminate a great variety of subject-specific knowledge.
Research Interests:
Object based learning is not new, objects have been used for teaching since the very early nineteenth century and educational philosophers have emphasised the pedagogical benefits and value of educative experiences based on genuine... more
Object based learning is not new, objects have been used for teaching since the very early nineteenth century and educational philosophers have emphasised the pedagogical benefits and value of educative experiences based on genuine objects. Learning about, with, and through objects involves hands-on learning and manipulation. Being in the presence of an original object can be uplifting. Talking about reactions to objects can be edifying. Responding to an object can deepen experience. Authentic, unique, and first-hand experiences with objects stimulates curiosity, exploration, and emotions. These are features of an object-based epistemology that stand in contrast to the traditional methods of learning through text and discourse.
Research Interests:
University museum collections serve as important resources and stimulation for research and yield numerous scientific findings. In turn, through the research activities of university museums, collections are expanded and improved. Thus,... more
University museum collections serve as important resources and stimulation for research and yield numerous scientific findings. In turn, through the research activities of university museums, collections are expanded and improved. Thus, collection and research, with their reciprocal interaction, are inseparably linked components which constitute the core of university museums. This reciprocal interaction promotes the academic activities not only of the university museums but also of the universities as a whole.
Research Interests:
This paper addresses a crucial but often ignored aspect of Near Eastern archaeology: the sustainable long-term care of growing numbers of archaeological collections. To deal with the continuing influx of artefacts into repositories there... more
This paper addresses a crucial but often ignored aspect of Near Eastern archaeology: the sustainable long-term care of growing numbers of archaeological collections. To deal with the continuing influx of artefacts into repositories there is a critical need not only to assess the significance of archaeological collections in order to prioritise available resources, but also to develop strategies for sustainably managing these collections in the future. This paper will consider the following key points: the ‘curation crisis’ and Near Eastern archaeological collections; the findings from a questionnaire circulated to Near Eastern archaeologists about archaeological collections management; the use of criteria in assessing significance and the development of research frameworks to inform decisions about archaeological collections management; and an Australian-Syrian research project that is being developed for the sustainable management of Near Eastern archaeological collections from the Euphrates River valley in northern Syria.
Research Interests:
Proceedings published: Bombardieri, L., & SOMA. (2013). SOMA 2012: Identity and connectivity ; Proceedings of the XVI Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, Florence, Italy, 1-3 March 2012. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Research Interests:
An overview of activity such as teaching and research, exhibitions and related programs is provided to demonstrate the role the Classics and Archaeology Collection has assumed in recent years. The key ideas underpinning the approach are... more
An overview of activity such as teaching and research, exhibitions and related programs is provided to demonstrate the role the Classics and Archaeology Collection has assumed in recent years. The key ideas underpinning the approach are highlighted.
Research Interests:
The Cypriot Collection at the University of Melbourne has traditionally been used as a reference collection in the training of archaeology students and for archaeological research. More recently the collection has been used for... more
The Cypriot Collection at the University of Melbourne has traditionally been used as a reference collection in the training of archaeology students and for archaeological research. More recently the collection has been used for exhibition display and is electronically available as part of a Virtual Museum on-line database project. Now within the field of cultural materials conservation there is a new research role for the Cypriot Collection. A particular feature of many of the reconstructed vessels in the collection is that most have old repairs, which are failing, making vessels unavailable for exhibition. Since the advent of the new postgraduate course in cultural materials conservation, which commenced in 2004, the collection is being used to train conservation students using a ‘Problem Based Learning’ model. Teaching conservation involves facilitating a reflective practice, where students are required to explain and justify their decisions and evaluate their own conservation work and that of others. Treatments involve reversal of old repairs, desalination and re-integration using conservation grade adhesives. In addition, the Cypriot Collection has featured in an Australia Research Council Discovery Project, which has surveyed the collection to test an adhesive identification methodology, assess adhesive performance observed on the vessels and make recommendations regarding the use of adhesives on archaeological pottery. This paper will illustrate how the use of the Cypriot Collection has evolved over time, and how the conservation of objects complement research into adhesive testing methodologies, potentially altering decision
frameworks and the types of adhesives used on archaeological pottery.
frameworks and the types of adhesives used on archaeological pottery.
Research Interests:
Proceedings published: Kroeper, Karla & Chłodnicki, Marek & Kobusiewicz, Michał & Krzyżaniak, Lech & Muzeum Archeologiczne w Poznaniu (2006). Archaeology of early Northeastern Africa : in memory of Lech Krzyżaniak. Poznań... more
Proceedings published: Kroeper, Karla & Chłodnicki, Marek & Kobusiewicz, Michał & Krzyżaniak, Lech & Muzeum Archeologiczne w Poznaniu (2006). Archaeology of early Northeastern Africa : in memory of Lech Krzyżaniak. Poznań Archaeological Museum, Poznań
Research Interests:
Tell Ahmar, ancient Til Barsib, on the east bank of the Euphrates River, close to the confluence of the Sajur River, was ideally placed to function as a crossing point from upper Mesopotamia to northern Syria. To a large extent the... more
Tell Ahmar, ancient Til Barsib, on the east bank of the Euphrates River, close to the confluence of the Sajur River, was ideally placed to function as a crossing point from upper Mesopotamia to northern Syria. To a large extent the prominent and strategic location of Tell Ahmar determined the Assyrian interest in the site and it is apparent that Tell Ahmar reached its maximum size under the Assyrians.
Report for season 1994
Report for season 1994
Research Interests:
Tell Ahmar, ancient Til Barsib, on the east bank of the Euphrates River, close to the confluence of the Sajur River, was ideally placed to function as a crossing point from upper Mesopotamia to northern Syria. To a large extent the... more
Tell Ahmar, ancient Til Barsib, on the east bank of the Euphrates River, close to the confluence of the Sajur River, was ideally placed to function as a crossing point from upper Mesopotamia to northern Syria. To a large extent the prominent and strategic location of Tell Ahmar determined the Assyrian interest in the site and it is apparent that Tell Ahmar reached its maximum size under the Assyrians.
Report for season 1993
Report for season 1993
Research Interests:
Tell Ahmar, ancient Til Barsib, on the east bank of the Euphrates River, close to the confluence of the Sajur River, was ideally placed to function as a crossing point from upper Mesopotamia to northern Syria. To a large extent the... more
Tell Ahmar, ancient Til Barsib, on the east bank of the Euphrates River, close to the confluence of the Sajur River, was ideally placed to function as a crossing point from upper Mesopotamia to northern Syria. To a large extent the prominent and strategic location of Tell Ahmar determined the Assyrian interest in the site and it is apparent that Tell Ahmar reached its maximum size under the Assyrians.
Report for season 1992
Report for season 1992
Research Interests:
Proceedings published: International Ceramic Conference (3rd : 1992 : Melbourne, Vic.) & Bannister, M. J. (Michael John), 1936- & CSIRO & Australasian Ceramic Society & Australasian Ceramic Society. Conference Melbourne, Vic.) (15th :... more
Proceedings published:
International Ceramic Conference (3rd : 1992 : Melbourne, Vic.) & Bannister, M. J. (Michael John), 1936- & CSIRO & Australasian Ceramic Society & Australasian Ceramic Society. Conference Melbourne, Vic.) (15th : 1992 et al. (1992). Ceramics, adding the value : AUSTCERAM 92 : proceedings of the International Ceramic Conference, Australia 1992. CSIRO, [East Melbourne]
International Ceramic Conference (3rd : 1992 : Melbourne, Vic.) & Bannister, M. J. (Michael John), 1936- & CSIRO & Australasian Ceramic Society & Australasian Ceramic Society. Conference Melbourne, Vic.) (15th : 1992 et al. (1992). Ceramics, adding the value : AUSTCERAM 92 : proceedings of the International Ceramic Conference, Australia 1992. CSIRO, [East Melbourne]
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
‘Foreword’ in J. ZIMMER, Traversare: A Syrian Idyll 1983–1985. Australian Scholarly Publishing, Kew, pp. 9–11.
Research Interests:
The university’s collection is dynamic and diverse. My learned object: collections & curiosities demonstrates that authentic first-hand experience of objects remains an important aspect of teaching, learning and research at the University... more
The university’s collection is dynamic and diverse. My learned object: collections & curiosities demonstrates that authentic first-hand experience of objects remains an important aspect of teaching, learning and research at the University of Melbourne
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
A video on how Object Based Learning has been integrated into the new Arts Faculty building and teaching program.
Video best played in Chrome.
Video best played in Chrome.
Research Interests:
Dr. Andrew Jamieson discusses the qualities of Object Based Learning and how the method is used at the University of Melbourne within the 3rd year Practical Archaeology Course.
Chrome is best suited to display the linked video.
Chrome is best suited to display the linked video.
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Discover the archaeological wonders of Tell Ahmar, a Neo Assyrian colony on the edge of the empire. For over a decade archaeologists from the University of Melbourne have been excavating the Neo Assyrian site at Tell Ahmar on the east... more
Discover the archaeological wonders of Tell Ahmar, a Neo Assyrian colony on the edge of the empire.
For over a decade archaeologists from the University of Melbourne have been excavating the Neo Assyrian site at Tell Ahmar on the east bank of the Euphrates.
Shalmaneser III conquered the town in 856 BCE and transformed it into an Assyrian royal city. Many features of this outpost are dominated by Assyrian traditions – town planning, defences, palace architecture, sculpture, and other luxury artefacts reflect strong cultural influences from the Assyrian heartland.
This lecture will examine the Neo Assyrian colony of Tell Ahmar, located on the edge of the empire, and the archaeology of the Assyrian frontier.
For over a decade archaeologists from the University of Melbourne have been excavating the Neo Assyrian site at Tell Ahmar on the east bank of the Euphrates.
Shalmaneser III conquered the town in 856 BCE and transformed it into an Assyrian royal city. Many features of this outpost are dominated by Assyrian traditions – town planning, defences, palace architecture, sculpture, and other luxury artefacts reflect strong cultural influences from the Assyrian heartland.
This lecture will examine the Neo Assyrian colony of Tell Ahmar, located on the edge of the empire, and the archaeology of the Assyrian frontier.
Research Interests:
Share in the unearthing of archaeological discoveries from the world’s first Mesopotamian empires. The foundations of western civilisation were established by ancient societies which developed and evolved in Mesopotamia. It was here, in... more
Share in the unearthing of archaeological discoveries from the world’s first Mesopotamian empires.
The foundations of western civilisation were established by ancient societies which developed and evolved in Mesopotamia. It was here, in a land through which the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flowed, that some of the world’s first great empires flourished.
In what is now known as north east Syria and south east Turkey, experiments were made in agriculture and irrigation, writing was invented, cities and complex society emerged and art, literature, science and mathematics developed.
This lecture will look at the Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian empires and the archaeological discoveries associated with these great Mesopotamian civilisations.
The foundations of western civilisation were established by ancient societies which developed and evolved in Mesopotamia. It was here, in a land through which the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flowed, that some of the world’s first great empires flourished.
In what is now known as north east Syria and south east Turkey, experiments were made in agriculture and irrigation, writing was invented, cities and complex society emerged and art, literature, science and mathematics developed.
This lecture will look at the Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian empires and the archaeological discoveries associated with these great Mesopotamian civilisations.
Research Interests:
The wonders of ancient Mesopotamia -- largely covering modern day Iraq - have gone on display at the Melbourne Museum. The University of Melbourne VISIONS has gained rare access to more than 170 artefacts on loan from the British Museum.
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A video to promote Melbourne Museum's "The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia" exhibition in 2012
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A short promotional video for Melbourne Museum's "The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia" exhibition
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There was an exhibition at the National Gallery in London last year, of fakes and forgeries in art over the ages. It was an exhibition that prompted all sorts of questions about authenticity, disputed authorship, and techniques for making... more
There was an exhibition at the National Gallery in London last year, of fakes and forgeries in art over the ages. It was an exhibition that prompted all sorts of questions about authenticity, disputed authorship, and techniques for making copies and fakes -- as well as for identifying them -- it's a fascinating subject.
But what about an exhibition of authorised copies of artworks? What is an authorised copy? Well, at the Ian Potter Museum of Art at Melbourne University, the new exhibition is Casts and Copies: Ancient and Classical Reproductions.
The curator is Andrew Jamieson. Andrew's also a lecturer in the Centre for Classics and Archeology at Melbourne University, and an archeologist himself.
But what about an exhibition of authorised copies of artworks? What is an authorised copy? Well, at the Ian Potter Museum of Art at Melbourne University, the new exhibition is Casts and Copies: Ancient and Classical Reproductions.
The curator is Andrew Jamieson. Andrew's also a lecturer in the Centre for Classics and Archeology at Melbourne University, and an archeologist himself.
Research Interests:
Assistant curator and researcher for the exhibition, Mummymania, in the Classics and Archaeology Gallery, Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne 29 September 2015 - April 2016.