Victoria

Events

17 May 2009 2009-05-17 17:00:00 : New discoveries by Melbourne Archaeologists
Seminar Presented by Monash University and the NGV International “New discoveries by Melbourne Archaeologists” Join Melbourne archaeologists as they discuss: Ancient Egyptian Colonisation of the Western Desert in the Pyramid Age Associate Professor Colin Hope, Centre for Archaeology & Ancient History, Monash University Gill Bowen (Monash) New Light on early Christianity in Egypt's Western Desert Dr Gillian Bowen, Centre for Archaeology & Ancient History, Monash University The Stupa Complex in Kashgar, western China Dr Andrea DiCastro, Monash Asia Institute & School of Historical Studies, Monash University Australian excavations in Cyprus Professor David Frankel, Archaeology Program, La Trobe University Erotes on the Euphrates: A figured frieze in a private house at Hellenistic Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates Dr Heather Jackson, University of Melbourne In the Wake of the Sea Peoples and in the Footsteps of Goliath: Excavating the Philistine site of Tell es-Safi/Gath' Dr Louise Hitchcock, Centre for Classics and Archaeology, University of Melbourne From the Field to Repository: Tell Qumluq and Qala'at Nejim - new research in North Syria Dr Andrew Jamieson, Centre for Classics and Archaeology, University of Melbourne Dig deeper...

19 May 2009 2009-05-19 19:00:00 : Dr Peter Mathews: Kings of the Maya Rain Forest
National Archaeology Week Lectures at Melbourne Museum Museum Victoria is once again teaming up with La Trobe University for National Archaeology Week. Join us at Melbourne Museum to hear these free lectures from Dr Peter Mathews and Dr Peter Davies. Advances over the past fifty years have led to the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs. With that decipherment has come a complete revision of our understanding of Maya society of the first millennium AD in Mexico and Central America. This presentation looks at life among the rulers of the ancient Maya —their internal organisation and their (often stormy) relations with one another. Peter Mathews received his PhD from Yale University and has worked in Mexico, Guatemala and Mexico for over 30 years. His specialisation is the study of Maya hieroglyphic writing and the implications of the hieroglyphic texts for understanding ancient Maya history and society. Dig deeper...

20 May 2009 2009-05-20 19:00:00 : Dr Peter Davies: Paupers and immigrants
National Archaeology Week Lectures at Melbourne Museum Museum Victoria is once again teaming up with La Trobe University for National Archaeology Week. Join us at Melbourne Museum to hear these free lectures from Dr Peter Mathews and Dr Peter Davies. Sydney's Hyde Park Barracks is well known for its association with male convicts. With the end of transportation to NSW in 1840, however, the building became a depot for female immigrants, and later an asylum for destitute women. A large collection of artefacts found beneath the floorboards of the barracks promises to shed new light on the institutional lives of these women. Dr Peter Davies is an historical archaeologist at La Trobe University. His previous research has focused on community life at Henry's Mill in Victoria's Otway Ranges. Dig deeper...

23 May 2009 2009-05-23 16:00:00 : Wreck, Rock & Ruin: Exploring Careers in Archaeology
Heritage Council of Victoria presents a National Archaeology Week event: Wreck, Rock and Ruin Exploring careers in archaeology Hear about recent discoveries in Victorian archaeology and an open forum featuring archaeologists and other heritage specialists discussing training, trends and careers. Morning tea provided. No RSVP necessary For further information visit www.heritage.vic.gov.au Dig deeper...

Exhibitions/Displays

26 Jun 2009 2009-10-25 19:00:00 : A Day in Pompeii - 2009 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces
An exhibition depicting the daily life of one of the world's most extraordinary cities: Pompeii. "A fearful black cloud was rent by forked and quivering bursts of flame . . . darkness fell . . . as if a lamp had been put out in a dark room." Eyewitness account, Pliny the Younger. On August 24, A.D. 79, the Roman city of Pompeii was buried by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The very debris and ash that so suddenly and violently ended life in Pompeii also encased the city in a virtual time capsule. As a result, Pompeii is today one of the most complete and intact archaeological sites in the world. A Day in Pompeii takes visitors back in time to experience life and death in this cosmopolitan city. The exhibition features hundreds of exceptional objects that laid buried in Pompeii’s ruins for over 17 centuries. Included are room-size frescoes, marble and bronze sculptures, jewellery, gold coins and everyday household items – all of which evoke the richness and culture of daily life in the Roman Empire’s favourite vacation resort. Most poignant and dramatic, however, are the body casts of the volcano’s victims, frozen in their last moments: a couple in their final embrace, a man clutching a cloth to his mouth, a fleeing slave with his ankle manacle still in place, a dog struggling on its chain. Melbourne Winter Masterpieces is a Victorian Government initiative and is exclusive to Melbourne, Australia. Presented in association with the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei. EVENT DETAILS Event Type: Temporary Exhibition Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, 26 Jun - 25 Oct 2009 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Thursdays, 26 Jun - 11 Oct 2009 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM For more information: http://museumvictoria.com.au/Pompeii Dig deeper...