HOME

Forword
Tomb raiders and treasure hunters
The Mediterranean in Antiquity – a short review
Life in Classical times
Burial customs simplified
Coffins and sarcophagi in many shapes and sizes
Life after death
Burying the dead
The Roman way of death
Houses for the dead
Remembering the dead
Cultural crossroads – the Roman provinces of Syria and Judaea 
A Roman Province
Decapolis and Palmyra – cosmopolitain cities of the East
The Jews
The first Christians
Martyrs and relics
Forgeries

Selected sources
People, places and events
Mythology
Glossary

DEAD CLASSIC

Text by Sven Ahrens with contributions by Marina Prusac
Edited by Kathy Elliott

FORWORD

Death is a part of life, and has always been unavoidable and frightening. What awaits us after death is a mystery. The beliefs and rituals that helped people come to terms with death in the ancient world may seem strange to us now, but we understand the emotions they express. Ancient places and artefacts link us to the people of the distant past and remind us of our own mortality.

Life and death are interwoven, and the ways people lived are reflected in the burial customs they used. A great many of the archaeological finds from the Mediterranean area that make up our museum collections, come from graves and cemeteries – sarcophagi, urns and other burial containers, grave stones, inscriptions and grave gifts – and provide us with important insights into the lives, traditions and beliefs of the people of  the Classical World.

The collections of Classical Antiquites in Oslo contain a wealth of grave art and burial goods from different ancient periods and cultures. Our main focus is on the Greek and Roman periods, but we have traced the long lines back to Ancient Egypt and forward to early Byzantium, a period from roughly 600 BC to 600 AD. These rich and varied burial traditions reflect the diverse and complex world of Classical Antiquity, which despite the two thousand years that have passed, has much in common with our own.

Most of the objects on display in our exhibition come from the Museum of Cultural History’s own collections, including the important collection of Baron von Ustinow from Palestine. We are also grateful to the National Museum for Art, Architecture and Design and to the Astrup family for their generous loans. Many of the objects have never been previously exhibited and some have never been published. Dead Classic provides us with an exciting opportunity to bring these cultural treasures out of the valley of the shadows and into the light.

NEXT: TOMB RAIDERS AND TREASURE HUNTERS