About

The Museum of Classical Antiquities is a student-led collection managed by the Department of Classics and Religious Studies.

Established in 1975 as an educational collection, the Museum offers unique opportunities for the community to learn about and engage with classical history. Through workshops, tours, and events–as well as through practical, hands-on projects–the uOttawa Museum provides students with practical knowledge and experience.

Our collection mostly features artefacts from the Graeco-Roman cultures of the Mediterranean between the 7th century BCE and the 7th century CE, but also includes earlier and later objects as well. Like most teaching collections, the range of artefacts is quite eclectic: we have everything from household objects, to weaponry. Because the collection has such variety, it’s a great source of information about the ancient world. The permanent collection is enhanced by loans from various institutions, including the Canadian Museum of History and the Greek Embassy, as well as some replicas which represent important artefacts.

Our Team

University Staff

  • Antonia Holden, Honorary Curator and Adjunct Professor
  • John Serrati, Director of Outreach and Adjunct Professor
  • Geoffery Greatrex, Chair of the Department of Classics and Religious Studies
  • Roxanne Lafleur, Specialist, Digital Humanities, University of Ottawa Library

Collections Managers

  • Georgian Parkes (2023-2024)
  • Chloé Storm (2020-2023)

Museum Interns

  • Valentina Donato (2023-2024)
  • Vera Hadzic (2023-2024)
  • Georgian Parkes (2022-2023)
  • Sophie Vigneux (2022-2023)

Student Volunteers

2023-2024

  • Mandana Adhami
  • Luke Bachetti
  • Gabrielle Clark
  • Nick Clarke
  • Sara Didi Hassane
  • Connor Hopper
  • Elise Jackson
  • Pierre-Olivier Larocque
  • Rhys Tushingham

2022-2023

  • Wren Bell
  • Madison Blunden
  • Gabrielle Clark
  • Nick Clarke
  • Sara Didi Hassane
  • Valentina Donato
  • Jasmin Holtz
  • Elise Jackson
  • Alysa Levy
  • Laetitia Philie
  • Vera Hadzic
  • Thomas Wort

Winter 2019

  • Eryn Ford
  • Sabrina Mailloux
  • Annika Mazzarella
  • Giulio Romano
  • Laura Thibedeau
  • Christine Tomlinson

Winter 2018

  • Holly Brant
  • Samantha Chicoyne
  • Elizabeth Hawker
  • Carly Jevcak
  • Lindsay MacMillan
  • Mélissa Mourez
  • Deanna Regan
  • Emily Weedmark
  • Morgan Weir

Museum Interns

  • Xaviera Ablaza-Bokuluta, Algonquin College Applied Museum Studies Program
  • Annika Mazzarella, MA Art Histo​ry & Curatorial Studies Program, Carleton University
  • Tara Ward, Algonquin College Applied Museum Studies Program

Acknowledgements

The Museum team very gratefully acknowledges the support and cooperation of the external contributors who have generously shared their time and expertise with us. 

  • James Hare, Field Placement Coordinator, Applied Museum Studies, Algonquin College
  • Madeleine Lafaille and Nathalie Guénette, Heritage Information Analyst, Canadian Heritage Information Network, (CHIN) Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada
  • Heather Montgomery, Applied Museum Studies, Algonquin College; Museum Education and Evaluation Specialist, Bank of Canada
  • Jennifer Mueller, Senior Officer, Heritage Policy and Legislation Unit, Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada

At the Canadian Conservation Institute, Government of Canada:

  • Elisabeth Joy, Manager Treatment and Collections - Objects, Paper and Archaeology
  • Jane Sirois, Manager Preservation Services
  • Simon Lambert, Preservation Advisor
  • Tom Strang, Senior Conservation Scientist
  • Kate Helwig, Senior Conservation Scientist
  • Greg Hill, Senior Photo and Archives Conservator
  • Christine McNair, Book Conservator
  • Jill Plitnikas, Objects Conservator

The project team is also grateful to the University of Ottawa Library for their resources, expertise, and technical support. In partictular, Roxanne Lafleur has guided the usage of digital technologies. Roxanne Lafleur has contributed to the cataloguing schema for this project, and her expertise in both JSTOR Forum and Omeka, and training thereof, has been invaluable.

The Technology

For pertinence and efficiency, a custom cataloguing schema and controlled vocabularies were created using JSTOR Forum (ARTstor’s asset management system), which enables the cataloguing of museum artifacts and related material. Thanks to the robust nature of JSTOR Forum, we are able to limit the access to the project team and participating volunteer students. In order to publish JSTOR Forum records to the Omeka.org site, the JSTOR Forum schema was mapped to Dublin Core. Once the records are published to Omeka, any needed html formatting is implemented and additional files are added. The Seasons theme was used. Access to JSTOR Forum, the implementation of the Omeka.org site, and training using these tools have been provided by the University of Ottawa Library and Library staff. 

Copyright

The Museum of Classical Antiquities, University of Ottawa site is hosted in Canada at the University of Ottawa, and we aim to comply with Canadian copyright laws. If you believe this site has violated Canadian copyright law, please contact us.

All site users are responsible to comply with the copyright laws in the country from which they access the Museum of Classical Antiquities, University of Ottawa site.

The Museum of Classical Antiquities, University of Ottawa project is strictly not for profit and intended for research and educational purposes only.