The Archaeological Museum pursues ambitious projects that deepen our commitment to collections stewardship, teaching, and research. Below are a selection of recent projects.
Excavating the History of the Archaeological Museum: Racism and Repair in the Academy
In 2021, the Archaeological Museum undertook a three-year research project to understand the history of the museum and to examine how its collecting, teaching, and exhibitions were historically used in ways that perpetuated racist ideologies. Recent controversies in the fields of Classics, Egyptology, Archaeology, and museology have made clear that a more critical study of past practices is essential for developing more transparent, accurate, and transformative ways of teaching with material culture from the ancient world. Former director Sanchita Balachandran, worked closely with Curator Kate Gallagher and graduate students from Classics, History of Art, and Near Eastern Studies to conduct archival research on the history of collecting and teaching.
This project, funded through the faculty grant in “Racism and Repair in the Modern Academy” was made possible through the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s grant.
Housing Archaeological Collections
A free e-publication
Our free e-publication Housing Archaeological Collections at the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum, written by Sara Berg with contributions by Kate Gallagher, Sanchita Balachandran, and Betsy Bryan. This publication is the culmination of a multi-year “Museums for America” grant awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This grant enabled the museum to rehouse more than 8,000 objects and photograph more than 4,000 items, making them more accessible for teaching and research while ensuring their physical care and documentation. This e-publication shares some of the insights we gained throughout this process, and provides step-by step instructions for others in small institutions with limited staffing and resources in search of implementable, low-cost strategies.
Recreating Ancient Greek Ceramics
Sanchita Balachandran co-taught a course titled “Recreating Ancient Greek Ceramics” with expert ceramics artist Matthew Hyleck of Baltimore Clayworks. Along with then-JHU graduate student Ross Brendle, ceramics artist Camilla Ascher, and 13 undergraduate students, the course attempted to recreate the most iconic, beautiful, and technologically complex objects known from ancient Athens: the red-figure kylix or cup. The course brought together students across disciplines and involved extensive consultation with art historians, archaeologists, art conservators, and materials scientists across the country in the attempt to recreate vessels similar to 6th-4th century BCE ancient examples on view at the Archaeological Museum.
This experimental course was generously supported by the JHU Program in Museums and Society and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. As part of the project, the short film “Mysteries of the Kylix” documented the experience of recreating the vessels. A series of radio conversations about the project, by Sanchita Balachandran, Matthew Hyleck, and student participants, aired on Baltimore’s WYPR station as part of the Humanities Connection segment. Additional reporting in The Baltimore Sun newspaper described some of the new research questions that emerged from this course.