KELSEY MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN FALL 2O12 NEWS NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR STAFF It is always a pleasure for me to read the current Kelsey Newsletter in preparing to write Sharon Herbert, Director the notes from the director. Despite being in the center of things in the director’s office, Dawn Johnson, Associate Director I always find things in theNewsletter that are new to me or enrich my own work. In this Curators issue my eye was immediately caught by Nicole High-Steskal’s photograph of a seal ring Suzanne Davis, Conservation from Ephesus, which bears a striking resemblance to the thousands of seal impressions I Elaine K. Gazda, Hellenistic and Roman am studying from the Kelsey’s excavations at Kedesh. I was also delighted to learn in her Sharon Herbert, Greek and Hellenistic Janet Richards, Dynastic Egypt article about the opening of the new Mosaic Museum at Gaziantepe. When I was there Margaret Cool Root, Greek and Near Eastern in 2003 the salvaged mosaics were piled around the museum’s courtyard and impossible Lauren Talalay, Academic Outreach to view. It is wonderful to hear they now have a safe home open to the public. Terry Wilfong, Graeco-Roman Egypt The story of the Zeugma mosaics—rescued by international teams of archaeologists Research Scientists and conservators racing against the rising waters of the Euphrates River and now safely Geoffrey Emberling displayed in a modern museum environment—underlines the breadth of skills that are Richard Redding needed to discover, preserve, and display the treasures of the past. This fall’s special exhi- Research Associates/Affiliates bition, Conserving Antiquity, dramatically illustrates the Kelsey’s ongoing commitment to Gary Beckman Christopher Ratté and leadership in these efforts. Artemis Leontis Ann van Rosevelt Despina Margomenou Carola Stearns The Kelsey’s mission has us operating on many fronts, from international research to Laura Motta Nicola Terrenato K-12 education. Our dedicated staff is adept at keeping us ahead in all our endeavors. Lisa Nevett The recent arrival of Dawn Johnson from the Tampa Museum of Art to serve as a full- Support Staff time associate director is already allowing us to move forward with new initiatives in our Carl Abrego, Administrative Specialist exhibitions and public programming. With more professional security staff in the offing Kathryn Carras, Museum Entrance Monitor Claudia Chemello, Conservator we are now exploring the possibility of having the galleries open over at least part of Sebastián Encina, Coordinator of Museum Collections the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, something many of the Associates have been Michelle Fontenot, Collections Manager requesting for years. All our programs are supported in a large way by our Associates. I Todd Gerring, Community Outreach Supervisor Margaret Lourie, Editor thank you all once again and look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events. Sandra Malveaux, Museum Office Assistant Sharon Herbert, Director Scott Meier, Museum Exhibition Coordinator Lorene Sterner, Graphic Artist, Gifts Manager Alex Zwinak, Graduate Program Coordinator GALLERY HOURS Tuesday–Friday 9 am–4 pm Saturday–Sunday 1 pm–4 pm INFORMATION Web site: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/kelsey/ phone: 734.764.9304 email: [email protected] UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN REGENTS Julia Donovan Darlow Andrea Fischer Newman Laurence B. Deitch Andrew C. Richner Denise Ilitch S. Martin Taylor Olivia P. Maynard Katherine E. White Mary Sue Coleman, ex officio The Kelsey Museum Newsletter is sponsored by the Associates of the Kelsey Museum. DESIGN STEVEN DRISCOLL HIXSON This fall Coordinator of Museum Collections Sebastián Encina is serving as registrar for the University of California–Los Angeles team excavating at Karanis, Egypt. He sends this photo of the site’s present-day appearance. Read his blog posts at http://kelseymuseum.tumblr.com. Gold ring with Artemis Ephesia engraving, second Mosaic of Daedalus and Icarus, Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum. century AD, Harbor Necropolis, Ephesus. Photo: Niki Gail, ÖAI PEDLEY WINNER TRAVELS to ANCIENT EPHESUS AND ZEUGMA IN TURKEY With the help of the John G. Pedley cording to some scholars, Ephesus was in specialists and their willingness to assist Award for Travel and Research I was able economic decline. The amount and origin and discuss topics that did not pertain to to travel to Turkey for eight weeks this of the amphorae suggest otherwise. their immediate research topics made my summer and participate in a project on The second part of my work at Ephesus learning experience beyond anything I the Roman period cemeteries of ancient consisted in the study of the metal, bone, had hoped for this summer. Ephesus. and gold finds from the necropolis. Many Initially I had also planned on travel- The cemeteries to the north and south of these items were discovered in burial ing to Antioch and Zeugma to see the of the harbor channel in Ephesus were contexts, but due to frequent reuse of the spectacular mosaics discovered in the first constructed in the second century tombs the objects could not be correlated area. My dissertation focuses on images of AD and were probably in active use until with the remains of individuals. The spectacle, and many fine examples of such the end of the fourth century AD. In the artifacts included some outstanding pieces imagery have been discovered in Antioch course of the fifth century the necropolis of workmanship, such as a small gold ring and Zeugma. Due to the unrest in Syria appears to have become the dumping with a colored stone engraved with the and an incident between the Turkish and grounds for the city, as evident from the cult image of Artemis Ephesia. This piece Syrian armies, however, I was not able to discovery of enormous amounts of pot- documents the adherence of individuals travel to Antioch and only visited the site tery there. to the Artemis cult in the second century and mosaics of ancient Zeugma. With the excavations completed last AD, but by the mid-third century AD Situated along the Euphrates River, year, the 2012 season focused on the other individuals buried in the very same Zeugma was discovered during the analysis of small finds and pottery. My tomb were accompanied by lamps deco- construction of a large dam. Many work on the project was twofold. For the rated with Christian symbols. mosaics were found during the rescue majority of the time I participated in the The opportunity to work in Ephesus excavations and moved to a museum in processing of cook wares and amphorae, this past summer was extremely use- the modern city of Gaziantep to protect a project I had begun in 2008 but had not ful in many regards: I became more them from the rising water levels as well been able to continue. Working along- proficient at classifying amphorae and as extensive looting. The new mosaic side a Spanish amphora specialist, I was understanding what they tell us about a museum in Gaziantep, which just opened able to identify and document amphorae society beyond their immediate practical this past winter, displays many mosaics from the second century BC through the function. In addition, I had access to the from Zeugma and the surrounding area. seventh and eighth centuries AD. The exceptional labs and resources available at The various corpora in which most of origins of these amphorae were extremely the dig house in Ephesus. Thin-section- the mosaics have been published rarely diverse. We discovered pieces from ing equipment, for example, permitted include floor plans or descriptions of their Spain, France, North Africa, Egypt, and us to analyze clay composition based on context. But the museum design specifi- the Black Sea. These objects illuminate petrographic qualities, and a scanning cally focuses on context and was thus very the extensive trade connections Ephesus electron microscope made it possible to helpful in illuminating another facet of maintained with other Mediterranean examine minute details about the surface these mosaics. ports, mainly from the fifth through the composition of an object. Finally, the Nicole M. High-Steskal seventh century AD—a time when, ac- environment and availability of various IPCAA PhD Candidate CONSERVING ANTIQUITY OFFERS INSIDER’S VIEW these sites. We’ll show photos of our field labs, feature various projects from each When we were asked if we might like both from Graeco-Roman Egypt. The site, and discuss some of the challenges to curate an exhibition on conservation, mummy mask is cracked and brittle, with and rewards of conservation fieldwork. our first thought was,really ? As full-time many detached fragments, and before In the exhibition, we also ask visitors conservators, we both believe strongly in recent conservation treatment it was too to consider why conservation is impor- the value of preserving material culture. fragile to be displayed or even handled tant. Conservation in museums and for But it was hard for us to imagine how for research. It had been repaired in the archaeological and historical sites can’t we might construct an exhibition around past, but the old repairs were no longer exist without support from governments, what we do on a daily basis. Conserva- functional. We show visitors the painstak- the public, and private individuals. To tion, like many tasks in archaeology and ing process of removing these old repairs, learn from our visitors, we’re asking museums, is usually conducted behind the replacing the detached fragments, and them to share their thoughts on why we scenes, and it was a challenge for us to de- generally supporting and strengthening should preserve artifacts and sites. On a cide what aspects of our work should be the mask through the use of inert, revers- larger scale, preservation of objects and featured in an exhibition.