ANTIQUITIES

PRINCESS FRESCO (detail) from the Ashmolean collections

ANTIQUITIES

The Department of Antiquities contains internationally renowned archaeological collections with particular strengths in Prehistoric Europe, the Ancient Near East, Ancient Egypt and Sudan, Minoan Aegean, Mycenaean and Classical Greece, Ancient Cyprus, the Roman world and Medieval and later Europe. We also hold the Museum's Founding Collection and historic archives.
The Ashmolean's longstanding Cast Gallery is also now part of the Antiquities Department.

TEMPORARY CLOSURE & ACCESS TO THE COLLECTIONS

The Ashmolean Museum’s Department of Antiquities is embarking on a major Collections Management Project commencing in January 2026.

This 2.5-year project will involve auditing the entire archaeological collections (approximately 275,000 objects) located in both on and off-site storage facilities, as well as improving digital records available on the museum’s Collections Online platform.
Our aim is to deliver significantly improved engagement with the collections by increasing access for research, teaching, and other core activities.

This transformative project will improve access and engagement with the collections, supporting research, teaching, and public discovery through a more comprehensive Collections Online platform.

To enable this work, the Department of Antiquities Study Rooms will be temporarily closed and access to the collections limited. However, the Department will continue to support University of Oxford curriculum teaching and students’ assessed work wherever possible. Teaching staff and students should contact the Study Room Supervisor, Anastasia Douglas (antiquities@ashmus.ox.ac.uk), to discuss arrangements.

All Department of Antiquities galleries in the Museum will remain open to visitors for the duration of the project.
Curatorial and Collections staff may take longer than usual to respond to enquiries about the collections.

Please contact the Study Room Supervisor for further information or for future visit enquiries at: antiquities@ashmus.ox.ac.uk

Storage jar (pithos) with octopus design, Crete, 1450-1400 BC

Explore the Ashmolean's Antiquities online collection

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CAST GALLERY

The Ashmolean Cast Gallery is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved collections of casts of Greek and Roman sculpture in the UK, containing some 900 plaster casts of statues, reliefs and architectural sculptures

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INTERACTIVE 3D TOUR

Examine the Arundel marbles in 3D and delve into their stories on this virtual interactive tour.

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READING AND WRITING

This gallery shows how reading and writing have developed globally in different cultures over thousands of years....

This gallery shows how reading and writing have developed globally in different cultures over thousands of years. The examples in the Museum’s collection give a voice to people in...

This gallery shows how reading and writing have developed globally in different cultures over thousands of years. The examples in the Museum’s collection give a voice to people in the past and show different ways...

This gallery shows how reading and writing have developed globally in different cultures over thousands of years. The examples in the Museum’s collection give a voice to people in the past and show different ways in which they have recorded facts

ROME & THE ROMAN EMPIRE GALLERY

The newly-refurbished Rome gallery provides a rich flavour of what it was like to live in Roman times and focuses...

The newly-refurbished Rome gallery provides a rich flavour of what it was like to live in Roman times and focuses on aspects of Roman public and private life throughout the empire from...

The newly-refurbished Rome gallery provides a rich flavour of what it was like to live in Roman times and focuses on aspects of Roman public and private life throughout the empire from about 400 BC to AD 300.

ITALY BEFORE ROME GALLERY

This gallery focuses on the Italian peninsula before its domination by Romans when it was a mixture of cultures,...

This gallery focuses on the Italian peninsula before its domination by Romans when it was a mixture of cultures, including Latin, Samnite and Etruscan.

GREECE

This gallery not only explores the familiar subject of life in classical Greece but shows how between 750 and 500...

This gallery not only explores the familiar subject of life in classical Greece but shows how between 750 and 500 BC Greeks founded hundreds of settlements abroad in southern Italy,...

This gallery not only explores the familiar subject of life in classical Greece but shows how between 750 and 500 BC Greeks founded hundreds of settlements abroad in southern Italy, Sicily, North Africa and around...

This gallery not only explores the familiar subject of life in classical Greece but shows how between 750 and 500 BC Greeks founded hundreds of settlements abroad in southern Italy, Sicily, North Africa and around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

CAST GALLERY

The Cast Gallery is one of the country’s oldest, largest and best-preserved collections of casts taken from monuments...

The Cast Gallery is one of the country’s oldest, largest and best-preserved collections of casts taken from monuments and sculptures of the ancient world.

EUROPEAN PREHISTORY

This gallery concerns the prehistoric peoples of Europe, and what can be learned about them from their surviving...

This gallery concerns the prehistoric peoples of Europe, and what can be learned about them from their surviving material culture.

ANCIENT CYPRUS

This gallery focuses on the wealth of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus from around 5000 BC to AD 200.

ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST GALLERY

This gallery traces the development of the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian empires in wall displays and reliefs,...

This gallery traces the development of the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian empires in wall displays and reliefs, and showcases the Sumerian King List treasure as well as objects from...

This gallery traces the development of the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian empires in wall displays and reliefs, and showcases the Sumerian King List treasure as well as objects from the ruined palace of Nimrud...

This gallery traces the development of the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian empires in wall displays and reliefs, and showcases the Sumerian King List treasure as well as objects from the ruined palace of Nimrud (900 to 600 BC).

AEGEAN WORLD

In this gallery you can find information about the Bronze Age (3200 to 1100 BC) around the Aegean Sea, especially...

In this gallery you can find information about the Bronze Age (3200 to 1100 BC) around the Aegean Sea, especially the early Cyclades, Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece.

GREEK AND ROMAN SCULPTURE

The sculptures and inscriptions on display here are part of the largest surviving portion of the first major collection...

The sculptures and inscriptions on display here are part of the largest surviving portion of the first major collection of Classical antiquities in Britain.

EGYPT AT ITS ORIGINS GALLERY

The galleries of Ancient Egypt and Sudan will take you on a tour through thousands of years of human occupation...

The galleries of Ancient Egypt and Sudan will take you on a tour through thousands of years of human occupation of the Nile Valley.

ANCIENT EGYPT AND SUDAN

Displays in this gallery chart the progress of ancient Egyptian culture, from the funerary concerns of Old Kingdom...

Displays in this gallery chart the progress of ancient Egyptian culture, from the funerary concerns of Old Kingdom officials (around 2575 to 1975 BC), through the monumental building...

Displays in this gallery chart the progress of ancient Egyptian culture, from the funerary concerns of Old Kingdom officials (around 2575 to 1975 BC), through the monumental building projects of Middle Kingdom kings...

Displays in this gallery chart the progress of ancient Egyptian culture, from the funerary concerns of Old Kingdom officials (around 2575 to 1975 BC), through the monumental building projects of Middle Kingdom kings (around 1975 to 1640 BC).

LIFE AFTER DEATH IN ANCIENT EGYPT GALLERY

The objects displayed in this ancient Egyptian gallery all served as practical tools designed to help their owner...

The objects displayed in this ancient Egyptian gallery all served as practical tools designed to help their owner make the journey from death to the afterlife, and to provide for them...

The objects displayed in this ancient Egyptian gallery all served as practical tools designed to help their owner make the journey from death to the afterlife, and to provide for them for eternity.

THE AMARNA 'REVOLUTION'

The informal theme of palace life is beautifully conveyed in the ‘Princesses fresco’ displayed in the wall...

The informal theme of palace life is beautifully conveyed in the ‘Princesses fresco’ displayed in the wall case on the right.

EGYPT IN THE AGE OF EMPIRES

This gallery covers the period after Akhenaten’s demise up to the Greek and Roman conquests of Egypt.

EGYPT MEETS GREECE AND ROME

The final room in the sequence of the Egyptian galleries charts the history of Egypt after the death of Alexander...

The final room in the sequence of the Egyptian galleries charts the history of Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great in 305 BC and the division of his empire.

MEDIEVAL CYPRUS

This small gallery highlights how Cyprus’s geographical position exposed the island to the campaigns of the Crusaders...

This small gallery highlights how Cyprus’s geographical position exposed the island to the campaigns of the Crusaders to the Holy Land in the Middle Ages.

ENGLAND 400-1600

This gallery displays items from the Ashmolean’s English archaeological collection – one of the finest in the...

This gallery displays items from the Ashmolean’s English archaeological collection – one of the finest in the world.

MEDITERRANEAN WORLD GALLERY

The Mediterranean World Gallery examines the Mediterranean region after the division of the Roman empire by exploring...

The Mediterranean World Gallery examines the Mediterranean region after the division of the Roman empire by exploring the sea and life in some of the principal cities around its sh...

The Mediterranean World Gallery examines the Mediterranean region after the division of the Roman empire by exploring the sea and life in some of the principal cities around its shores.