The Department of Classics and Archaeology possesses a small collection of Cypriote antiquities. This museum is used as a teaching tool. Two display cases regularly house exhibits created as part of undergraduate and graduate coursework. The resources of the Cypriote Museum offer students in our program valuable training experience in handling ancient artifacts and curation work.
History and Contents
The collection was begun in 1970 by Arthur Kahn, then chair of the Department of Classics and Archaeology. It now consists of 173 objects acquired through purchase (including objects acquired from Stanford University, originally belonging to the Cesnola Collection) and donation (mainly pieces sent from the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia by Dr. Vassos Karageorghis, then Director of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus).
While modest in size, the Cypriote Museum at Brock contains fine examples from the Neolithic through Mediaeval periods. The Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods are represented by stone bowls, pestles, grinders, and an axe. Pieces dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Ages include bronze daggers, terracotta spindle whorls, and red polished ware. The Late Bronze Age is primarily represented by Base Ring and White Slip, as well as Bichrome and Red Lustrous wares. Most of the material belongs to the Late Geometric and Archaic periods, especially White Painted and Black-on-Red ceramics. There are also examples of Hellenistic and Roman vessels, mainly Plain White or Matt Painted wares, in addition to a good number of lamps. The latest artifacts comprise several sgrafitto and glazed bowls of Mediaeval date.
The Brock Collection also includes limestone sculpture (chiefly of the Archaic and Classical periods) and terracotta figurines (Archaic to Roman), including a student and faculty favourite — a terracotta hedgehog rattle from the Hellenistic period. There are also several Roman glass vessels, mostly unguentaria. These objects are published in L.F. Robertson, The Brock University Collection of Cypriote Antiquities, Corpus of Cypriote Antiquities 11, Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 20.11 (Gothenburg 1986).
Exhibitions
Current and recent student exhibitions include:
- From Cyprus with Love? Object Stories from the Brock Collection (2024)
- Shedding Light on Archaeological Thought (2023)
- The Curious Commonalities of Mortuary Discoveries (2022)
- The Courtesan at the Feast (2020)
- The Archaeology of Death (2019)
3D Scanning Project
Students in the program can also work with the collection as part of an ongoing 3D scanning project. Current progress can be viewed on Sketchfab.
Video
Sneak a peak behind the scenes at the Cypriote Museum’s education and outreach activities with this short video.
Cypriote Museum Administrator
Responsibility for administering the Cypriote Museum rotates between the Department of Classics and Archaeology’s three full-time archaeologists: Angus Smith, Carrie Ann Murray, and Elizabeth Greene. Contact our Administrative Assistant at classics@brocku.ca to confirm the current administrator.
