antiquities
Objects from antiquity
Antiquities are objects from ancient times—artifacts, artworks, statues, pottery, and other relics of civilizations long past.
The term typically refers to items from ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, or other early cultures: a museum's collection of Greek antiquities, the illegal trade in looted antiquities.
The singular antiquity more often means the quality of being ancient or the ancient period itself: a temple of great antiquity, in antiquity, the city was a major port.
Preserved items from antiquity
- vasesContainers for cut flowers
- statuettesSmall sculpted figures
- amuletsObjects worn for protection
- scrollsRolled written records
manuscripts · pottery · jewelry · coins · inscriptions · weapons · tools · textiles
Act of unearthing
- digUnearth by shoveling
- siteDesignated location
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- carbon-datingIsotope-based age measurement
potsherd · trowel · fieldwork · survey · context · numismatics · epigraphy · conservation
Competitive public sale
- dealerOne who sells goods
- collectorOne who gathers items
- provenanceRecord of ownership
- forgeryCreating fraudulent imitations
authentication · appraisal · market · smuggling · repatriation · looting · trafficking · Sotheby's
Public display of items
- curatorCollection overseer
- gallerySpace for displaying artwork
- collectionGathered set of items
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
display · conservation · restoration · catalogue · archive · acquisition · loan · storage
Relating to the pharaohs' land
- MesopotamianOf the two-rivers land
- GreekOf Athenian origin
- RomanOf ancient Italy's capital
- EtruscanAncient central Italian people
Minoan · Assyrian · Sumerian · Babylonian · Persian · Mayan · Chinese · Indus
Ancient Greek hilltop temple
- ColosseumFlavian arena in Rome
- StonehengePrehistoric megalithic circle
- PompeiiVolcano-buried Roman city
- PetraRock-carved Jordanian ruins
Angkor · Machu Picchu · Giza · Luxor · Ephesus · Delphi · Acropolis · Forum
What's passed down
- patrimonyInherited estate or legacy
- culturalRelating to shared traditions
- nationalOf a country
- restitutionRestoring what was lost
UNESCO · ownership · colonial · indigenous · ancestral · identity · preservation · protection
relics
Preserved items from antiquity
- vasesContainers for cut flowers
- statuettesSmall sculpted figures
- amuletsObjects worn for protection
scrolls · manuscripts · pottery · jewelry · coins · inscriptions · weapons · tools · textiles · ceramics
excavation
Act of unearthing
- digUnearth by shoveling
- siteDesignated location
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
carbon-dating · potsherd · trowel · fieldwork · survey · context · numismatics · epigraphy · conservation · provenance
auction
Competitive public sale
- dealerOne who sells goods
- collectorOne who gathers items
- provenanceRecord of ownership
forgery · authentication · appraisal · market · smuggling · repatriation · looting · trafficking · Sotheby's · Christie's
exhibition
Public display of items
- curatorCollection overseer
- gallerySpace for displaying artwork
- collectionGathered set of items
preservation · display · conservation · restoration · catalogue · archive · acquisition · loan · storage · artifact
Egyptian
Relating to the pharaohs' land
- MesopotamianOf the two-rivers land
- GreekOf Athenian origin
- RomanOf ancient Italy's capital
Etruscan · Minoan · Assyrian · Sumerian · Babylonian · Persian · Mayan · Chinese · Indus · Phoenician
Parthenon
Ancient Greek hilltop temple
- ColosseumFlavian arena in Rome
- StonehengePrehistoric megalithic circle
- PompeiiVolcano-buried Roman city
Petra · Angkor · Machu Picchu · Giza · Luxor · Ephesus · Delphi · Acropolis · Forum · Karnak
legacy
What's passed down
restitution · UNESCO · ownership · colonial · indigenous · ancestral · identity · preservation · protection · claim
- cultural heritagefolklore, traditions, customs, folk music revival, museum collections
- ancient artifactsjade mask, Viking sword, bronze sculptures, Roman coin, obsidian knife
- museum exhibitsscience exhibit, dinosaur skeleton, interactive exhibit, art displays, fossil exhibit
- antiquesGreek vases, brass candlestick, heirloom, highboy, marble sculptures
- artifactspottery shards, knives, masks, pottery, inscriptions
- European cultureFrench cuisine, Italian art, opera, ballet, Renaissance
antiquitiesreproductions
Copies of originals
replicas · fakes · forgeries · counterfeits · copies
antiquitiesdisposables
Items meant for discard
ephemera · trash · junk · commodities · kitsch
- Egyptian antiquitiesAncient Nile Valley artifacts
- Greek antiquitiesAncient objects from Greece
- antiquities tradeBuying and selling ancient artifacts
ancient, antique, antiquity, antiques, antiquated, antiqued, antiquing, antiquarian, antiquary