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Reading Homer in Oxyrhnchus
Explore how Roman Egyptians read Homer's "Iliad" but largely ignored the "Odyssey." Examine ISAC's fragment and what ancient documents reveal about historical reading habits.
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Tell Asmar Statue Hoard
In 1934, excavations at Tell Asmar (ancient Eshnunna), Iraq, uncovered a hoard of statues buried in the so-called Square Temple—now divided among the ISAC Museum, Baghdad Museum, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.
View Lesson PlanMuseum in a box: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ancient Iran, and Libya
Explore the ancient world from your classroom with our "Museum in a Box"! It contains everything you need for your students to engage in hands-on, object-based learning that can be applied beyond the museum. The kit contains the following:
- Suitcase with magnifying glass
- Artifact replicas from our collection with information on each object
- Classroom activities involving object-based learning
- Ancient Mesopotamia box includes: A hard copy of the book: "The Adventures of Inanaka and Tuni: Learning to Write in Ancient Babylonia"; replicas of cylinder seals, roll out, and stamps seal, worshipper statues, and a cuneiform tablet.
- Ancient Egypt box includes: A hard copy of "So you Want to be an Epigrapher"; replicas of a shabti, amulet mold, a small stela, ancient Egyptian game Mehen, and a scarab.
- Hellenistic Iran box includes: replicas of ancient Greek inscriptions from Persepolis, inscription of Xerxes, coins, and a copy of the Persepolis Penelope.
- Roman Libya box includes: replica of the a female statue from Ptolemais, now thought to be the personification of Africa, a strigil, hairpin, comb, and dice.
Schools can rent or purchase the "Museum in a Box." If renting, schools may keep the suitcase for one month. Extensions available.
The "Museum in a Box" now focuses on ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, Hellenistic Iran, and Roman Libya!
Activity: Create your own seals
What do seals signify? Cylinder seals, small cylindrical objects usually made from a hard stone and engraved with different designs and sometimes script, are an important part of life in the ancient world from the 4th millennium BC onwards, replacing the earlier stamp seals. Although usually associated with ancient Mesopotamia, they were also used in Persia, Anatolia, the Levant, Arabia, and even spread to Egypt.
At the end of the first millennium BC, however, cylinder seals disappeared, replaced by stamp seals. Cylinder seals can convey the identity of individuals or the identity of a particular office, encompassing social, administrative, and religious identities. In addition, cylinder seals could also be decorative and used as jewelry. Want to create your own? Check out our free downloadable activities.
