Antiquities

Isis/Horus amulet

Bronze Corinthian helmet. Greece. Approximately 700 BC

Coarse Roman pottery. Two handled storage jug (amphora) from excavations in Roman London.

Coarse Roman pottery. Single-handled flagon from excavations in Roman London.

Greek lamp

The papyrus reed which grows in the Nile marshes of Egypt was used by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans to form a type of paper by laying thin strips over each other and pressing them. If the manuscript was of any length, a number of papyrus sheets were attached to form a long roll., Thebes, Ptolemaic Period.

Three gods in one. The figure represents three gods in one: Ptah - the creator of the world; Socharis (or Seker) - the god of death or the under world; Osiris (or Asar) - the god through whom all people obtained life in the underworld. This wooden figure was originally gilded. The stand was hollowed out to contain a prayer written on a piece of papyrus. In a hole on the figure was placed a small portion of the deceased's body. So long as this body portion remained intact the body lying in the tomb would be assured of everlasting life. The figure was placed in the tomb with the coffin.