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All Australia Acton Australian National University Classics Museum

Australian National University Classics Museum

A little-known museum of Ancient Roman and Ancient Greek artifacts.

Acton, Australia

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Caitlin Setnicar
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Scale model of Ancient Rome.   CaitlinSetnicar / Atlas Obscura User
Aztec calendar stone replica, with coins model of Ancient Rome in the foreground.   CaitlinSetnicar / Atlas Obscura User
Collection of Ancient Roman pottery.   CaitlinSetnicar / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance to the ANU Classics Museum in the A.D Hope Building.   CaitlinSetnicar / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The Classics Museum, located in the heart of the Australian National University campus, is a small, well-maintained museum that's open to the public. But though the museum is indeed open to the public, it isn't well-known and is typically quiet outside of teaching periods.

The museum contains a collection of artifacts from Roman and Greek antiquity that the university staff has amassed since the museum's founding in 1962. The collection is used as a resource for teaching university students in the Classics Department. 

In the center of the museum, you'll spot a scale model of Ancient Rome, as well as a life-sized replica of an Aztec calendar stone. The installation of this calendar stone once sparked the outrage of famed provocative anthropologist Derek Freeman, an ANU professor best known for his life's work of discrediting fellow anthropologist Margaret Mead.

You'll also see display cabinets containing pottery depicting various scenes, ancient coins, and everyday items such as combs and hairpins, and tombstones. Throughout the building, though not part of the Classics Museum, are displays of contemporary artifacts and skeletons from the anthropology department.

Related Tags

Museums Museums And Collections Universities Models Ancient Greece Roman

Know Before You Go

The museum offers free guided tours on the second Friday of each month. Parking at the university is expensive and often difficult to come by during teaching periods. The A.D Hope building is a 20-minute walk from the city center.

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CaitlinSetnicar

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December 28, 2018

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  • http://slll.cass.anu.edu.au/classics-museum/about
  • https://insidestory.org.au/was-derek-freeman-mad/
Australian National University Classics Museum
14 Ellery Cres
Acton
Acton
Australia
-35.278181, 149.121396
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