The Collection

Open Hours: Autumn, Winter and Spring Quarters are Monday through Thursday 9:00 am-3:30 pm (the Museum is closed Summer Quarter and during University holidays and breaks) and by appointment

The artifacts in the collection of the Museum have been donated by private individuals to OSU over the years. They are now brought together here for display, study, and educational purposes.

The collection is especially strong in prehistoric pottery from Cyprus, probably because a now-unknown donor acquired them together and presented them to the University.

Pottery from all periods, however, is displayed, from Neolithic (ca. 4000 BC) to the recent past (19th century AD). In addition, the Museum displays iron tools and weapons, examples of ancient writing, religious objects, and artifacts used in the construction of lavish Roman-period buildings.

image: Museum staff members working on the displays
image: One of the display cases presents material in chronological order, much the way it would be found in an archaeological excavation
image: Detail of some of the objects in the Chronology display
image: Pot from the Cypriot Bronze Age
image: One of the cases in the Museum, displays of "Archaeological Puzzles"
image: A Cypriot pot from the Geometric Age (ca. 1000-800 BC)

In addition to the objects on display, the Museum has hundreds of artifacts in storage. These are for study and research purposes, but some of them are brought out for "hands-on" examination by class groups.

The Museum also has a rich collection of models and photographs provided by the Committee for the Restoration of the Parthenon (a division of the government of Greece).

In addition, the Museum makes use of digital technology to bring students and researchers into direct contact with the OSU Excavations in Greece, where OSU students and faculty carry out research each year.

Much of the museum's collection is available on OSU's Media Manager site.