National Archaeology Week
This National Archaeology Week, the University of Melbourne, Hellenic Museum and CO.AS.IT. Museo Italiano join forces to bring you a series of free, back-to-back programs exploring the heritage of Greece and Rome! Discover the program below.
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Ancient Showdown! Greece vs Rome: who has left the more significant legacy in the modern world?
Presented by the University of Melbourne, Hellenic Museum & CO.AS.IT. Museo Italiano
When: 2–4PM Sunday 19 May
Where: Forum Theatre, Level 1 Arts West - North Wing (Building 148a), Parkville Campus, University of Melbourne
Cost: Free (booking required)
In the contest between Greece and Rome, only one can be said to have most significantly defined our world today. Join us at the University of Melbourne for a debate in which we will explore the origins of our civilisation, how this legacy has been passed down from the ancient past, and the very reasons why we live the way we live. Our debaters are distinguished academics from Melbourne's leading institutions in classics and ancient history, and you will be our judges! Discover full speaker profiles and book your free ticket here.
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Early Roman expansion and the colonisation of the Pontine Marshes (Lazio, Central Italy)
Talk by Gijs Tol, A/Prof. of Roman Archaeology, The University of Melbourne. Presented by The University of Melbourne and CO.AS.IT. Museo Italiano.
When: 6.30–8PM Tuesday 21 May
Where: CO.AS.IT. Museo Italiano, 199 Faraday Street, Carlton
Cost: Free (booking required)
The Pontine Marshes (Pomptinae Paludes) is a former wetland in the Lazio region of Italy. It is generally considered to have been unsuited for large-scale habitation and agricultural exploitation until the area was reclaimed and colonised during the co-called bonifica integrale of the Italian fascist regime in the 1920s-30s. However, the area has a much deeper history. The ancient sources mention many attempts to reclaim – often unsuccessfully – this infamous marshland, including those by Roman consuls and emperors and several popes. Archaeological work by the Pontine Region Project (PRP), a research project carried out by the Universities of Melbourne and Groningen (The Netherlands), has over the past 15 years provided rich evidence for an even more ancient and much more successful (but completely forgotten) reclamation effort, dating to the late 4th century BCE. These works had clear economic and military objectives in a period when the burgeoning city state of Rome started to expand its power towards the south of Italy.
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Discover the full speaker profile and book your free ticket below.
POSTPONED
A Close Encounter with the University of Melbourne's Classics and Archaeology Collection – Ages 8–18
This event has been postponed. Current ticket holders have received an email with more information.
When: 11AM–12PM Saturday 25 May
Where: University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus
Cost: Free (booking required)
Audience: This session is for students aged 8–18
Get up close with ancient Greek and Roman objects from the University of Melbourne’s Classics and Archaeology collection! This guided visit to the Ancient Lives: Insights from the Classics and Archaeology Collection exhibition at the Old Quad (University of Melbourne) includes short introductory talks by the exhibition curators, Dr Caroline Tully and Dr Tamara Lewit, both Honorary Fellows at the University of Melbourne.
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The exhibition combines two presentations – Amor et Mors: Vessels for the Beautiful Body in Life and Death and White, Tawny, Blood-red, Black: Wine in the Greek and Roman Worlds – and presents about 100 objects from the University of Melbourne Classics and Archaeology Collection.
POSTPONED
A Close Encounter with the University of Melbourne's Classics and Archaeology Collection – For Adults
This event has been postponed. Current ticket holders have received an email with more information.
When: 12–1PM Saturday 25 May
Where: University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus
Cost: Free (booking required)
Get up close with ancient Greek and Roman objects from the University of Melbourne’s Classics and Archaeology collection! This guided visit to the Ancient Lives: Insights from the Classics and Archaeology Collection exhibition at the Old Quad (University of Melbourne) includes short introductory talks by the exhibition curators, Dr Caroline Tully and Dr Tamara Lewit, both Honorary Fellows at the University of Melbourne.
​
The exhibition combines two presentations – Amor et Mors: Vessels for the Beautiful Body in Life and Death and White, Tawny, Blood-red, Black: Wine in the Greek and Roman Worlds – and presents about 100 objects from the University of Melbourne Classics and Archaeology Collection.
Sold Out
Sands of Time: Kids' Archaeology Dig
Presented by the Hellenic Museum
When: 11AM–12.30PM Sunday 26 May
Where: Hellenic Museum, 280 William Street, Melbourne
Cost: Free (booking required)
Audience: Recommended for children aged 8–13
Calling all budding archaeologists and historians! An archaeological site has been discovered in the Hellenic Museum courtyard, and we need your help to unearth and analyse its hidden treasures. Can you 'dig' it? In this hands-on kids' workshop, the 'field crew' will receive a crash course in archaeology from the Hellenic Museum, then put their new knowledge to the test at the dig site (ahem, sandpit) where they will work in small groups to unearth hidden "artefacts" and learn to document their findings in a field journal.
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