An exhibition exploring the archaeology of the ancient city of Antioch is currently on display at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College through May 30. The presentation offers a comprehensive look at both the tangible artifacts recovered from the site and the broader excavation process itself, providing visitors with insight into the historical and archaeological context surrounding the discoveries.
The exhibit features a diverse range of objects, from small, intimate items like tokens to large-scale architectural elements such as ornate capitals. By placing these objects side by side, curators aim to engage viewers with different facets of ancient urban life. A magnifying glass positioned near the smaller items encourages close inspection, emphasizing the show’s approach to “archeology as narrative” through a deliberate play on scale.
Beyond the artifacts, the exhibition chronicles the excavation work through archival materials including maps, architectural plans, notebooks, correspondence, pay ledgers, and vintage film footage. The historic footage notably documents local laborers receiving weekly wages, highlighting the important yet often overlooked role that these workers played in the archaeological efforts.
The excavation of Antioch was conducted under a partage agreement, whereby finds were divided between foreign archaeological teams and the local governing authority. During the 1930s, when much of the work took place, the region of Antakya—modern-day southern Turkey near the Syrian border—was under French mandate, which governed parts of present-day Lebanon and Syria. This political context complicates the understanding of ownership and control over the artifacts, raising questions about the layers of cultural imperialism involved. Curators emphasize the challenge of presenting this history and its power dynamics to audiences without imposing interpretive judgments.
One limitation acknowledged by the exhibition team is the physical scale and weight of the mosaics and architectural elements, which restricts the ability to tour the show to multiple venues. The exhibition thus remains hosted solely at the Davis Museum for its current run.
The display includes notable pieces such as a fifth- or sixth-century floor mosaic depicting beribboned parrots and marble sculptural fragments dating back to the first century. Together, these works underscore the artistic and cultural significance of Antioch, once a flourishing city in the ancient world and now a subject of renewed scholarly and public interest through this focused exhibition.