When the Greek philosopher Plato first described an advanced civilization that sank beneath the ocean thousands of years ago, most listeners did not take it seriously. But the story acquired new popularity in the 20th century, and explorers have continually looked for evidence of its existence. Dr. C. Brian Rose, Curator, Mediterranean Section, speaks.

Pergamon and its Maritime Satellite Elaia: New Research on Urban Space and the Territory of a Hellenistic Capital Felix Pirson, Director of the German Archaeological Institute in Istanbul, and director of the Pergamon Excavations The Pergamon-Excavation of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) looks back to a history of more than 130 years reflecting various trends in archaeological research. Currently, the layout of the city as a whole, its relation with the suburban areas and with the...

This lecture is being given by Dr. Jean MacIntosh Turfa, Rodney Young Fellow in the Mediterranean Section. This talk details an Etruscan book of thunder-omens, translated into English for the first time. This book reveals the dynamic and perilous world that was ancient Etruria, from famine to slave revolts.

The complex palatial society of the island of Crete in the Bronze Age still dazzles us today, but what happened to this society after the palaces fell and before the rise of the Greek city-state (1200-700 BCE)? What was life like in this transitional period? In the eastern part of the island, people fled up into almost inaccessible mountain sites and maintained little contact with the rest of the Aegean, at least in the later part of the period. The lecture will bring together evidence from a...

By the 1990s, after more than 40 years of archaeological investigation, the deterioration of the standing ruins at Gordion was hard to ignore. After a government sponsored water project brought irrigation to fields far from the river, agricultural development has steadily encroached on the ancient tumuli that characterize the region. For the past 15-20 years, the Gordion project has been attempting to mitigate the adverse effects of climate and economic development on the archaeological...

This footage was shot during two excavation seasons at Gordion, Turkey in 1951 and 1957. The Midas Mound was opened in 1957 by an archaeological team headed by Rodney Young who appears at the beginning of the film and makes a brief appearance as he pieces together decorative wall moldings. The footage from 1951 shows men from a local village building a mud brick house at the site. The workers used mules to haul away debris during excavation. Also captured on film are the first images of the...

Dr. Lynne Lancaster, Professor of Classical Archaeology at Ohio University, presents the Kenneth Matthews Lecture in Roman Archaeology "Recent Research on the Colosseum" on February 19th, 2009.