“Mummies: Science and Myth” and “Roman Golden Earrings”

Based on the motto “something for everyone, and enough to intrigue”, a team of experts from the Archaeological Museum has prepared two exhibitions to mark the end of 2012 and welcome in 2013 – “Mummies: Science and Myth” and “Roman Golden Earrings”, which visitors can view until March 1st. Both exhibitions have an educational character, while visitors can look forward to quite a unique experience - getting close up and personal with real mummies!

If you are interested in golden earrings or the science and myth associated with mummies, you are welcome to the Archaeological Museum, where two intriguing exhibitions on the aforementioned themes were opened in mid-December of 2012 and will go on until March 1st of this year.

The first exhibition – “Mummies: Science and Myth”,  attractively presents mummies through two aspects, the scientific on the one hand and the mythological on the other, by means of 50 exhibited items, 15 posters and ten projections (two films and eight short videos). The exhibition will be an opportunity for everyone interested in the mystical aspects of history to learn about the mythology of the Egyptian Pharaohs’ afterlives, as well as be informed about the results of the vast body of scientific research on mummies with the help of state-of-the-art medical technology.

In order to make the exhibition even more interesting, visitors will have an opportunity to see nine real mummies – four of humans and five of animals, as well as numerous human body parts and many CT and RTG scans taken over many years of research.

The exhibition has a strong educational character because visitors will learn about the entire process of mummification – from equipment and materials required for the process to the beliefs and mythology related to the afterlife. Part of the exhibition makes reference to the mythology concepts commonly applied in contemporary life, particularly feature films in which mummies play an important role. 

Those more interested in jewellery from the period of the Roman Empire, more precisely, golden Roman earrings, should not miss the other aforementioned exhibition, also open until early March.

The exhibition features a total of 60 pieces of jewellery, 20 photographs and ten legends. All exhibits are part of the holdings of the Antiquity Collection of the Archaeological Museum. Apart from the earrings themselves, the exhibition also presents the technology of their production as well as the traditions related to wearing and securing them. 

Since this topic is fairly broad, the exhibition titled Roman Golden Earrings at the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb features mostly items found at known sites of antiquity, such as Siscia (modern day Sisak), Salona (modern day Solin), Virminacium in Serbia and Sirmium (area around modern day Srijemska Mitrovica).

Some pieces of exhibited jewellery date back to the period between the 1st and the 4th century AD. They are commonly decorated with pearls, which are still considered a luxury, as well as glass castings and precious stones. All the items are very valuable and they were either gifts or purchased by the museum. The largest amount of such jewellery was found during the dredging of the Kupa River basin in Sisak at the beginning of the 20th century, more precisely, between 1900 and 1913.