On 8 December 2015 celebration of the Hermitage Days – 2015 continued at the Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre.
In the lecture and exhibition block, five new exhibitions of the Department of the Ancient World opened: Ancient Architecture; Ancient Necropolis; Ancient Amphorae; Wooden Sarcophagi and Ancient Inscriptions. In all, on display in the rooms are some 700 archaeological objects found on the territory of the Greek city-colonies of the Northern Black Sea region. Chronologically the exhibits of the new open storage facilities span the whole ancient period in the history of those settlements, from the 7th century BC to the 4th century AD.
Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage, observed at the opening: “Stocks are the main thing that a museum has. And we have thought up how to let visitors in here. The new open storage facilities are a new phase of the Greater Hermitage project, the main aim of which is to open up the museum to the general public.”
None of the ancient artefacts on display at the Hermitage Restoration and Storage Centre had previously been accessible to visitors. The open storage premises organized by staff of the Department of the Ancient World and the Department for Scientific Restoration and Conservation make it possible to provide the best conditions for the preservation of unique archaeological collections and are the first research and education centre of its type for the study of the history of the Ancient World.
From the displays of the Department of the Ancient World the guests moved on to the Coach House, where a commemorative plaque was unveiled above the foundation stone of the Restoration and Storage Centre. 25 years ago, on 4 December 1990, on this very spot the first stone was laid in the foundation of the building of the Repository of the State Hermitage.
Then the lecture and concert hall became the setting for a concert by the Cypriot ensemble of Ancient Greek musical instruments Terpandros. The ensemble was founded by the musical craftsman and researcher of Ancient Greek musical instruments Professor Michalis Georgiou. He first established a school orchestra playing newly-constructed ancient instruments. Its public debut in March 2000 was followed by a series of performances in both Cyprus and Greece. The group achieved recognition and received a number of awards. As a result of this experience, in November 2000 the Terpandros ensemble was formed, which takes its name from that of a great poet and musician of Antiquity who is considered to have invented the seven-stringed kithara.
Musical instruments are not merely an acoustic mechanism. Some of the types that were widely used in Antiquity may seem primitive at first sight, but the structure of the natural materials from which they are made conceals within it a special harmony of sounds. The labour of the craftsman in recreating instruments that have not been made for 2,500 years is accompanied by extensive research that includes collecting, classifying and comparing a huge number of depictions on pottery, reliefs and fossils, as well as studying the written evidence of ancient authors.
At present the Terpandros ensemble is a non-commercial organization with a mission to study, revive and propagate Ancient Greek music and musical instruments.
Opening of the New Displays of the Department of the Ancient World
On 8 December 2015, in the lecture and exhibition block of the Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre, five new exhibitions of the Department of the Ancient World opened: Ancient Architecture; Ancient Necropolis; Ancient Amphorae; Wooden Sarcophagi and Ancient Inscriptions. Altogether on display in the rooms are some 700 archaeological objects found on the territory of the Greek city-colonies in the Northern Black Sea region. Chronologically the exhibits of the new open storage facilities span the whole ancient period in the history of those settlements, from the 7th century BC to the 4th century AD.
At the basis of the Ancient Architecture exhibition lies the image of a Greek dwelling house. The bases and capitals of columns, cornices, fragments of walls and mosaics are placed on a special structure designed in the form of a wall, so that visitors are able to picture the outward appearance and structure of ancient residential architecture. The assemblage of architectural details that has been called the “Dumberg House” after the archaeologist who found it comes from a single dwelling house located in Pantikapaion, the capital of the ancient Bosporan Kingdom. The architectural fragments in the display date from a period between the 4th century BC and the 3rd century AD and come from various ancient centres on the northern Black Sea – Pantikapaion, Chersonesus, Olbia, Nymphaion and Berezan island.
The Ancient Necropolis storage facility introduces visitors to the collection of Bosporan limestone and marble gravestones. The collection numbers over 100 exhibits from a period from the 2nd century BC to the 3rd century AD. Between them these present a vivid picture of the life of the inhabitants of the Black Sea settlements in Ancient times and the characteristics of their religious beliefs, especially those connected with the cult of the dead. The hall gives an idea of the appearance of the cemeteries of the ancient cities of the Crimean peninsula. A special system of fastenings and architectural supports has been devised as the display of the reliefs requires a vertical position, while none of the bases for the gravestones survive.
The Ancient Amphorae open storage facility presents the earliest examples of industrial design, embodied in mass-production of ceramics. To create the best possible display, a system of modules with suspension mounts has been developed. This enables the viewer to appreciate the shape and proportions of the vessels, to understand the distinctive features of the various types and also to clearly identify the difference between the artistic ceramics produced in different centres of the Aegean basin. The oldest vessels date from the 6th century BC, the youngest from the early Middle Ages.
Ancient coffins can be found in the Wooden Sarcophagi storage facility. Hardly any of these unique burial artefacts have survived down to our time and they are very rarely displayed in museums around the world. Ancient examples found in Pantikapaion retain elements of painting and plaster relief decoration.
The Ancient Inscriptions storage facility or Lapidarium is devoted to the collection of ancient inscriptions found in the northern Black Sea region. This collection is well known to specialists from the compilations of ancient inscriptions published back in the early 20th century. This is a one-of-a-kind gallery of ancient epigraphy, unparalleled in Russian museums.
All the ancient artefacts presented at the Hermitage’s Restoration and Storage Centre have never previously been accessible to visitors. The open storage facilities organized by staff of the Department of the Ancient World and the Department for Scientific Restoration and Conservation make it possible to provide the best conditions for the preservation of unique archaeological collections and are the first research and education centre of its type for the study of the history of the Ancient World.
