Archaeology

The department of Archaeology of the Graz University houses two extensive study collections, a cast collection and a collection of original artefacts, both of which are open to the public. In the year 1865 the so-called "archäologisches Cabinet" is founded in use of the classical philology teaching, and it ranks among the oldest collections of its kind in the German-speaking world. The collection of plaster casts contains about 450 replicas of Greek and Roman sculptures in the round, reliefs, architectural elements and other small finds (http://gipsmuseum.uni-graz.at/). A selection of them is currently digitally recorded in a course of a pilot project.

The collection of original artefacts contains archaeological objects, many of which originate from Greece, South Italy and Etruria. The highest number of items is ceramic vessels, whole or fragments, and offers a comprehensive overview of the most important stylistic phases of Greek art. Beside the approximately 100 whole vessels, among of which are notable works of Greek vase painting, the university collection includes over 2.000 ceramic fragments.

In the recent years a digital, internal database was initiated to improve a property management of the objects. In the course of preliminary work, selected artefacts are accessible in an online portal (http://gams.uni-graz.at/arch).

Under the current project, the existing database of the original artefacts will be revised or updated and completed with the objects, which are not yet included. The main purpose of the project is to publish the whole inventory of the archaeological collections of the Graz University, i.e. the original- and cast collection, in this portal, as well as to make it available to the wider community of scientists.

The exhibition rooms of the archaeological collections are generally accessible during the opening times of the Department of Archaeology (http://archaeologie.uni-graz.at/de/institut/museum/).

Project manager: Peter Scherrer

Curator: Manfred Lehner

Project staff: Maria Christidis, Matthias Grebien, Stephan Karl, Johanna Kraschitzer