Images

A Roman stone olive press known as a trapetum. From Pompeii. The device consisted of a large stone bowl (mortarium) into which the olives were poured and then crushed under two concave stones (orbes) attached to a central beam (cupa) fixed...

An olive grove on the Greek island of Corfu.

The 6 ivory panels, set within a plane framework, would originally have been mounted on the concave inner surface of a curved wooden support. By analogy with a similar curved back rest from Salamis in Cyprus, it seems likely that this piece...

The upper part is a freestanding basalt monument depicting the goddess Kubaba, consort of the storm god Teshub, and one of the most important deities at Carchemish. She holds a mirror and pomegranate, symbols of magic and fertility. Neo-Hittite...

This decorative tile of glazed faience originally ornamented the walls of a palace of King Ramesses III at Tell e-Yahudieh in the Egyptian Delta. This (and other tiles) would once have been included in symbolic friezes illustrating Egypt's...

It is possible that this hand formed part of the temple's cult figure. LBII, 1400-1200 BCE. From the Fosse Temple at Lachish, modern-day Israel. (The British Museum, London).

This plaque of gold is thought to represent the Canaanite goddess of fertility, Astarte. MBIIC, 1650-1500 BCE. From Tell el-Ajjul, Gaza Strip. (The British Museum, London).

These finely worked fragments were found scattered on the floor of tomb P19. Some were undoubtedly applied to small rectangular or circular wooden boxes, parts of which were recovered. Others might have been used to ornament items of furniture...

This bowl was part of a hoard found by Sir Henry Layard in 1850-1851 CE in the North-West Palace at Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). They were probably deposited there in the 8th century BCE. The decoration on the bowls is Phoenician, very similar...

The Muryangsujeon (Murangsu-jŏn) hall, part of the Buseoksa temple complex, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, South Korea. Buddhist temples were first constructed at the site in the 7th century CE but the hall dates to the Goryeo (Koryo) period...