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Ancient Mediterranean + Europe

  • Browse this content
  • A beginner’s guide
    • Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in a global context, 5th–3rd millennia B.C.E.
    • Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in a global context, 2nd–1st millennia B.C.E.
    • In Full Color, Ancient Sculpture Reimagined
  • Ancient Near East
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Ancient Near East: Cradle of civilization
      • Cuneiform, an introduction
      • Writing Cuneiform
      • Cuneiform Tablets
      • Lapis lazuli stamp seal
      • An introduction to Zoroastrianism
    • Sumerian
      • Browse this content
      • Sumer, an introduction
      • White Temple and ziggurat, Uruk
      • Archaeological reconstructions
      • Warka Vase
      • Standing Male Worshipper (Tell Asmar)
      • Relief of Ur-Nanshe
      • Cylinder seals
      • Standard of Ur and other objects from the Royal Graves
      • The ‘Ram in a Thicket’
    • Akkadian
      • Browse this content
      • Akkad, an introduction
      • Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
      • Cylinder seal with a modern impression
    • Neo-Sumerian/Ur III
      • Browse this content
      • Seated Gudea holding temple plan
      • Ziggurat of Ur
    • Canaanite
      • Canaanites, an introduction
    • Hittites
      • Hittites, an introduction
    • Babylonian
      • Browse this content
      • Babylonia, an introduction
      • Visiting Babylon
      • The Babylonian mind
      • Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi
      • The Ishtar Gate and Neo-Babylonian art
      • Map of the world
      • Towers of Babel
      • Kassite art: Unfinished Kudurru
    • Amorite
      • Amorites, an introduction
    • Assyrian
      • Browse this content
      • Assyria, an introduction
      • Assyrian Sculpture
      • Lamassu from the citadel of Sargon II
      • Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions
      • The palace decoration of Ashurbanipal
      • Assyria vs Elam: The battle of Til Tuba
    • Persian
      • Browse this content
      • Ancient Persia, an introduction
      • The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia
      • Capital of a column from the audience hall of the palace of Darius I, Susa
      • Persepolis: The Audience Hall of Darius and Xerxes
    • Parthian
      • Clasp with an eagle and its prey
    • Sasanian
      • Sasanian art, an introduction
      • Silver dish
  • Pre-Islamic Arabia
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Pre-Islamic Arabia, an overview
  • Ancient Egypt & Sudan
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Ancient Egypt, an introduction
      • Ancient Egyptian chronology and historical framework
      • Ancient Egyptian art
      • Materials and techniques in ancient Egyptian art
      • Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs overview
      • The mummification process
      • Mummification and funeral rites
      • Private tombs, portals to the afterlife
      • Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Mortuary Texts
      • Creation myths and form(s) of the gods in ancient Egypt
      • Egyptian deities
      • Egyptian Social Organization—from the Pharaoh to the farmer (Part 1)
      • Egyptian Social Organization—from the Pharaoh to the farmer (Part 2)
    • Predynastic, Early Dynastic, and Old Kingdom
      • Browse this content
      • Predynastic and Early Dynastic, an introduction
      • Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period, an introduction
      • Decorated jar, predynastic
      • King Den’s sandal label
      • Palette of King Narmer
      • Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara
      • The Great Pyramids of Giza
      • Pyramid of Khufu
      • Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx
      • Pyramid of Menkaure
      • King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and queen
      • The Seated Scribe
      • Wooden tomb statue of Tjeti
      • Statue of seated man, Ankhwa
    • Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period
      • Browse this content
      • Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period, an introduction
      • The White Chapel
      • Scarab pendant
      • Pectoral and necklace of Sithathoryunet
      • Statues of Senusret III
      • Statue of an Offering Bearer, Tomb of Meketre
      • Standing Hippopotamus
      • Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis
      • Stela of the sculptor Userwer
      • Apotropaic wand
    • New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period
      • Browse this content
      • New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period, an introduction
      • Temple of Amun-Re and the Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
      • Mortuary Temple and Statue of Hatshepsut
      • The tomb-chapel of Nebamun
      • Paintings from the Tomb-chapel of Nebamun
      • Bottle and toy: objects from daily life
      • Bronze statuette of Thutmose IV
      • House Altar depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Daughters
      • Portrait of Queen Tiye
      • Thutmose, Model Bust of Queen Nefertiti
      • Tutankhamun’s tomb (innermost coffin and death mask)
      • Head of Tutankhamun
      • Hunefer’s Judgement in the presence of Osiris
      • Paintings from the tomb of Sebekhotep
      • Canopic Jar with a Lid in the Shape of a Royal Woman’s Head
      • Barry X Ball on an Egyptian fragment of a queen’s face
      • Cult Image of the God Ptah
    • Late, Ptolemaic, and Roman Periods
      • Browse this content
      • Late Period and the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, an introduction
      • Meet an Ushabti, an Ancient Egyptian Statuette Made for the Afterlife
      • Ptolemaic
        • Egyptian mummy portraits
        • Faiyum mummy portraits
        • Decoding the Rosetta Stone
        • Multilingualism along the Nile
        • The Rosetta Stone
      • Roman Egypt
        • Mummy of Herakleides
          Getty conversations
      • Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush
        • Ancient Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush, an introduction
        • Pylon of the Nubian Lion Temple at Naga
        • Pyramids of Sudan
        • King Piye and the Kushite control of Egypt
        • Head of Augustus at Meroë (Kush)
        • Meroitic period of the Kingdom of Kush
  • Punic
    • Browse this content
    • Carthage
  • Ancient Aegean
    • Browse this content
    • An introduction to the ancient Aegean
    • Cycladic
      • Browse this content
      • Cycladic art, an introduction
      • Male Harp Player of the Early Spedos Type
        Getty Conversations
      • Male Harp Player from Keros
      • Akrotiri, Thera
    • Minoan
      • Browse this content
      • Minoan art, an introduction
      • Knossos
      • Restoration versus conservation: the Palace at Knossos
      • Kamares Ware Jug
      • Snake Goddess
      • Bull’s Head Rhyton
      • Harvester Vase
      • Octopus Vase
      • Palaikastro Kouros
      • Hagia Triada sarcophagus
      • Bull-leaping fresco
      • La Parisienne
    • Mycenaean
      • Browse this content
      • Mycenaean art, an introduction
      • The “Palace” and Grave Circle A
      • Mask of Agamemnon
      • The Treasury of Atreus
      • Lion Gate
  • Ancient Greece
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Ancient Greece, an introduction
      • Introduction to ancient Greek art
      • Introduction to ancient Greek architecture
      • Greek architectural orders
      • Classic, classical, and classicism explained
      • Contrapposto explained
      • Black Figures in Classical Greek Art
      • Greek sanctuaries as artistic hubs
      • Olympic games
    • Pottery
      • Browse this content
      • Greek Vase-Painting, an introduction
      • Ancient Greek vase production and the black-figure technique
      • Making Greek vases
      • Dipylon Amphora
      • Terracotta Krater
      • Commemorating the Dead in Greek Geometric Art
      • Eleusis Amphora
      • Sophilos: a new direction in Greek pottery
      • François Vase
      • Exekias
        • Ajax and Achilles playing a game
        • Dionysos Kylix
      • Euphronios, Sarpedon Krater
      • Euthymides, Three Revelers
      • Niobid Krater
    • Daedalic and Archaic
      • Browse this content
      • Tiny timeline: Archaic Greece in a global context
      • Kouroi and Korai, an introduction
      • Lady of Auxerre
      • Bronze helmet donated by Olympic gold medalist Son Gijeong
      • Marble statue of a kouros (New York Kouros)
      • Anavysos Kouros
      • The Kouroi of Kleobis and Biton
      • Peplos Kore
      • Ancient Greek Temples at Paestum
      • Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi
      • Siphnian Treasury, Delphi
    • Early Classical
      • Browse this content
      • Pediments from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina
      • Kritios Boy
      • Contrapposto explained
      • Charioteer of Delphi
      • Artemision Zeus or Poseidon
      • Riace Warriors
    • Classical
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      • Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer)
      • Myron, Discobolus (Discus Thrower)
      • The Athenian Agora and the experiment in democracy
      • The Parthenon, Athens
      • Parthenon sculptures
      • The Many Lives of the Parthenon
      • Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?
      • Egyptian blue on the Parthenon sculptures
      • Plaque of the Ergastines
      • The Erechtheion
      • Caryatid and Ionic Column from the Erechtheion
      • Temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian Acropolis
      • Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis, Athens
      • Grave stele of Hegeso
    • Late Classical
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      • The Antikythera Shipwreck
      • The Antikythera Youth
      • Lysippos
        • How an ancient Greek bronze ended up in the Vatican
        • Apoxyomenos (Scraper)
        • Farnese Hercules
      • Capitoline Venus (copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles)
      • The Alexander Sarcophagus
    • Hellenistic
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      • Statue of a Victorious Youth
        Getty Conversations
      • Barberini Faun
      • Dying Gaul and Ludovisi Gaul
      • The Dying Gaul, reconsidered
      • Bronze statue of Eros sleeping
      • Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace
      • The Pergamon Altar
      • Apollonius, Boxer at Rest (or The Seated Boxer)
      • Spinario (Boy with Thorn)
      • Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii
      • Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes, Laocoön and his Sons
      • Nemrut Dağ (tomb of King Antiochus I Theos)
  • Ancient Ireland & Britain
    • Golden lunula and two gold discs (Coggalbeg hoard)
    • Celtic
      • The Witham Shield
  • Etruscan
    • Browse this content
    • The Etruscans, an introduction
    • Bucchero
    • The Regolini-Galassi tomb and the Parade Fibula
    • Temple of Minerva and the sculpture of Apollo (Veii)
    • Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Louvre)
    • Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Rome)
    • Tomb of the Triclinium
    • The François Tomb
    • Tomb of the Reliefs
    • Chimera of Arezzo
    • Mars of Todi
    • Aule Metele (Arringatore)
    • Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia
  • Ancient Rome
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    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Introduction to ancient Rome
      • Introduction to ancient Roman art
      • City of Rome overview—origins to the archaic period
      • Ancient Rome (virtual reality tour)
      • Ostia, an introduction
      • Rome’s history in four faces at The Met
      • Damnatio memoriae—Roman sanctions against memory
      • Roman funeral rituals and social status: The Amiternum tomb and the tomb of the Haterii
      • The Modern Invention of Ancient White Marble
    • Beginner guides to Roman architecture
      • Browse this content
      • An introduction to ancient Roman architecture
      • Italo-Roman building techniques
      • Roman domestic architecture: domus
      • Roman domestic architecture: villa
      • Roman domestic architecture: insula
      • Forum Romanum (The Roman Forum)
      • The archaeological context of the Roman Forum (Forum Romanum)
      • Imperial fora
    • Roman art, archaeology and museums
      • Digging through time
      • Seizure of Looted Antiquities Illuminates What Museums Want Hidden
      • Looting, collecting, and exhibiting: the Bubon bronzes
    • Pompeii
      • Pompeii, an introduction
      • The rediscovery of Pompeii and the other cities of Vesuvius
      • An Indian ivory statuette in Pompeii
    • Wall painting
      • Browse this content
      • Roman wall painting styles
      • Painted Garden, Villa of Livia
      • Scenes from Homer’s Odyssey, Via Graziosa
      • Still Life with Peaches
      • House of the Vettii
      • Villa of Mysteries
      • Room M of the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor, Boscoreale
    • Republic
      • Browse this content
      • Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
      • Temple of Portunus
      • Maison Carrée
      • Capitoline She-wolf
      • Capitoline Brutus
      • Tomb of the Scipios and the sarcophagus of Scipio Barbatus
      • Veristic male portrait
      • Head of a Roman Patrician
    • Early empire
      • Browse this content
      • Augustus as Pontifex Maximus
      • Augustus of Primaporta
      • Ara Pacis Augustae
      • Mausoleum of Augustus
      • Gemma Augustea
      • Gem carving
      • Pont du Gard
      • Obelisks and ancient Rome
      • Preparations for a Sacrifice
      • The Domus Aurea, Nero’s Golden Palace
      • The rediscovery and impact of the Domus Aurea
      • Portrait of Vespasian
      • The Colosseum
      • The Arch of Titus
      • The Spoils of Jerusalem, Arch of Titus
      • Shekel of the Second Jewish Revolt
      • Portrait Bust of a Flavian Woman
      • The Forum and Markets of Trajan
      • Column of Trajan
      • Volubilis
      • Djémila
      • Colony of Augusta Emerita, Mérida
    • Middle empire
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      • The Pantheon (Rome)
      • Bronze head from a statue of the Emperor Hadrian
      • A virtual tour of Hadrian’s Villa
      • Hadrian: The imperial palace, Tivoli
      • Maritime Theatre at Hadrian’s Villa
      • Rome’s layered history — the Castel Sant’Angelo
      • Pair of Centaurs Fighting Cats of Prey from Hadrian’s Villa
      • Hadrian’s Wall
      • Medea Sarcophagus
      • Equestrian Sculpture of Marcus Aurelius
      • The Lullingstone Busts
      • Julia Domna’s Portraits
      • Triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus
      • Severan marble plan (Forma Urbis Romae)
      • The Severan Tondo: Damnatio memoriae in ancient Rome
      • Baths of Caracalla
      • Battle of the Romans and Barbarians (Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus)
      • Leptis Magna
      • Ancient city of Bosra
      • Ancient Sabratha
      • Amphitheater of El Jem
    • Late empire
      • Browse this content
      • Trebonianus Gallus — emperor or athlete? Rethinking a modern attribution.
      • Portraits of the Four Tetrarchs
      • Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine
      • The Symmachi Panel
      • The Colossus of Constantine
      • Arch of Constantine, Rome
      • Mosaic decoration at the Hammath Tiberias synagogue
  • Nabataean
    • Browse this content
    • Petra: The rose red city of the Nabataeans
    • Petra: urban metropolis
    • Petra: rock-cut façades
    • Petra: UNESCO Siq Project
    • Al-Hijr (Madâin Sâlih)
  • Palmyra
    • Browse this content
    • Palmyra: the modern destruction of an ancient city
    • Temple of Bel
    • Palmyrene Funerary Portraiture
    • Temple of Baalshamin
  • Dura-Europos
    • Dura-Europos, an overview
    • The Synagogue at Dura-Europos 

Ancient Mediterranean + Europe

  • Browse this content
  • A beginner’s guide
    • Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in a global context, 5th–3rd millennia B.C.E.
    • Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in a global context, 2nd–1st millennia B.C.E.
    • In Full Color, Ancient Sculpture Reimagined
  • Ancient Near East
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Ancient Near East: Cradle of civilization
      • Cuneiform, an introduction
      • Writing Cuneiform
      • Cuneiform Tablets
      • Lapis lazuli stamp seal
      • An introduction to Zoroastrianism
    • Sumerian
      • Browse this content
      • Sumer, an introduction
      • White Temple and ziggurat, Uruk
      • Archaeological reconstructions
      • Warka Vase
      • Standing Male Worshipper (Tell Asmar)
      • Relief of Ur-Nanshe
      • Cylinder seals
      • Standard of Ur and other objects from the Royal Graves
      • The ‘Ram in a Thicket’
    • Akkadian
      • Browse this content
      • Akkad, an introduction
      • Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
      • Cylinder seal with a modern impression
    • Neo-Sumerian/Ur III
      • Browse this content
      • Seated Gudea holding temple plan
      • Ziggurat of Ur
    • Canaanite
      • Canaanites, an introduction
    • Hittites
      • Hittites, an introduction
    • Babylonian
      • Browse this content
      • Babylonia, an introduction
      • Visiting Babylon
      • The Babylonian mind
      • Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi
      • The Ishtar Gate and Neo-Babylonian art
      • Map of the world
      • Towers of Babel
      • Kassite art: Unfinished Kudurru
    • Amorite
      • Amorites, an introduction
    • Assyrian
      • Browse this content
      • Assyria, an introduction
      • Assyrian Sculpture
      • Lamassu from the citadel of Sargon II
      • Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions
      • The palace decoration of Ashurbanipal
      • Assyria vs Elam: The battle of Til Tuba
    • Persian
      • Browse this content
      • Ancient Persia, an introduction
      • The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia
      • Capital of a column from the audience hall of the palace of Darius I, Susa
      • Persepolis: The Audience Hall of Darius and Xerxes
    • Parthian
      • Clasp with an eagle and its prey
    • Sasanian
      • Sasanian art, an introduction
      • Silver dish
  • Pre-Islamic Arabia
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Pre-Islamic Arabia, an overview
  • Ancient Egypt & Sudan
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Ancient Egypt, an introduction
      • Ancient Egyptian chronology and historical framework
      • Ancient Egyptian art
      • Materials and techniques in ancient Egyptian art
      • Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs overview
      • The mummification process
      • Mummification and funeral rites
      • Private tombs, portals to the afterlife
      • Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Mortuary Texts
      • Creation myths and form(s) of the gods in ancient Egypt
      • Egyptian deities
      • Egyptian Social Organization—from the Pharaoh to the farmer (Part 1)
      • Egyptian Social Organization—from the Pharaoh to the farmer (Part 2)
    • Predynastic, Early Dynastic, and Old Kingdom
      • Browse this content
      • Predynastic and Early Dynastic, an introduction
      • Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period, an introduction
      • Decorated jar, predynastic
      • King Den’s sandal label
      • Palette of King Narmer
      • Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara
      • The Great Pyramids of Giza
      • Pyramid of Khufu
      • Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx
      • Pyramid of Menkaure
      • King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and queen
      • The Seated Scribe
      • Wooden tomb statue of Tjeti
      • Statue of seated man, Ankhwa
    • Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period
      • Browse this content
      • Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period, an introduction
      • The White Chapel
      • Scarab pendant
      • Pectoral and necklace of Sithathoryunet
      • Statues of Senusret III
      • Statue of an Offering Bearer, Tomb of Meketre
      • Standing Hippopotamus
      • Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis
      • Stela of the sculptor Userwer
      • Apotropaic wand
    • New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period
      • Browse this content
      • New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period, an introduction
      • Temple of Amun-Re and the Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
      • Mortuary Temple and Statue of Hatshepsut
      • The tomb-chapel of Nebamun
      • Paintings from the Tomb-chapel of Nebamun
      • Bottle and toy: objects from daily life
      • Bronze statuette of Thutmose IV
      • House Altar depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Daughters
      • Portrait of Queen Tiye
      • Thutmose, Model Bust of Queen Nefertiti
      • Tutankhamun’s tomb (innermost coffin and death mask)
      • Head of Tutankhamun
      • Hunefer’s Judgement in the presence of Osiris
      • Paintings from the tomb of Sebekhotep
      • Canopic Jar with a Lid in the Shape of a Royal Woman’s Head
      • Barry X Ball on an Egyptian fragment of a queen’s face
      • Cult Image of the God Ptah
    • Late, Ptolemaic, and Roman Periods
      • Browse this content
      • Late Period and the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, an introduction
      • Meet an Ushabti, an Ancient Egyptian Statuette Made for the Afterlife
      • Ptolemaic
        • Egyptian mummy portraits
        • Faiyum mummy portraits
        • Decoding the Rosetta Stone
        • Multilingualism along the Nile
        • The Rosetta Stone
      • Roman Egypt
        • Mummy of Herakleides
          Getty conversations
      • Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush
        • Ancient Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush, an introduction
        • Pylon of the Nubian Lion Temple at Naga
        • Pyramids of Sudan
        • King Piye and the Kushite control of Egypt
        • Head of Augustus at Meroë (Kush)
        • Meroitic period of the Kingdom of Kush
  • Punic
    • Browse this content
    • Carthage
  • Ancient Aegean
    • Browse this content
    • An introduction to the ancient Aegean
    • Cycladic
      • Browse this content
      • Cycladic art, an introduction
      • Male Harp Player of the Early Spedos Type
        Getty Conversations
      • Male Harp Player from Keros
      • Akrotiri, Thera
    • Minoan
      • Browse this content
      • Minoan art, an introduction
      • Knossos
      • Restoration versus conservation: the Palace at Knossos
      • Kamares Ware Jug
      • Snake Goddess
      • Bull’s Head Rhyton
      • Harvester Vase
      • Octopus Vase
      • Palaikastro Kouros
      • Hagia Triada sarcophagus
      • Bull-leaping fresco
      • La Parisienne
    • Mycenaean
      • Browse this content
      • Mycenaean art, an introduction
      • The “Palace” and Grave Circle A
      • Mask of Agamemnon
      • The Treasury of Atreus
      • Lion Gate
  • Ancient Greece
    • Browse this content
    • A beginner’s guide
      • Browse this content
      • Ancient Greece, an introduction
      • Introduction to ancient Greek art
      • Introduction to ancient Greek architecture
      • Greek architectural orders
      • Classic, classical, and classicism explained
      • Contrapposto explained
      • Black Figures in Classical Greek Art
      • Greek sanctuaries as artistic hubs
      • Olympic games
    • Pottery
      • Browse this content
      • Greek Vase-Painting, an introduction
      • Ancient Greek vase production and the black-figure technique
      • Making Greek vases
      • Dipylon Amphora
      • Terracotta Krater
      • Commemorating the Dead in Greek Geometric Art
      • Eleusis Amphora
      • Sophilos: a new direction in Greek pottery
      • François Vase
      • Exekias
        • Ajax and Achilles playing a game
        • Dionysos Kylix
      • Euphronios, Sarpedon Krater
      • Euthymides, Three Revelers
      • Niobid Krater
    • Daedalic and Archaic
      • Browse this content
      • Tiny timeline: Archaic Greece in a global context
      • Kouroi and Korai, an introduction
      • Lady of Auxerre
      • Bronze helmet donated by Olympic gold medalist Son Gijeong
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Digging through time

by Dr. Darius Arya and Dr. Beth Harris

Dirt and detritus have built up in Rome over the centuries—the city now sits well above ancient street level.

 

Cite this page as: Dr. Darius Arya and Dr. Beth Harris, "Digging through time," in Smarthistory, December 9, 2015, accessed September 28, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/digging-through-time-a-beginners-guide-to-ancient-rome/.
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