American Journal of Archaeology

The Torlonia Marbles showcases nearly 100 ancient statues selected from the thousands acquired by the rich and powerful Torlonia family in 19th-century Rome. Hidden from view for half a century, the works have been cleaned, conserved, and studied for the exhibition. Some of these are so famous that they are eponymous with the family: the Torlonia Port Relief, depicting the port of Ostia; the Torlonia Girl, depicting a young maiden; and the Torlonia Man, depicting a grizzled old man in Republican-period veristic style. Because of the collection's history (and vast size), the curators opted to display the works largely on the basis of the early modern collections to which they previously belonged, among them the Albani, Cesi, and Giustiniani. Thus, it offers a rare opportunity to consider how the shifting patterns of taste from the 16th through 19th centuries are revealed in the collecting, displaying, and restoring works of ancient sculpture.

Launched in 2021 in the midst of a global pandemic, the digital exhibition The Empire’s Physician: Prosperity, Plague, and Healing in Ancient Rome is the first of its kind at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. It centers the life and work of the pioneering physician Galen (129–ca. 216 CE) as formative to the history of science and medicine, exploring his influence throughout the Mediterranean world and his legacy in contemporary times. Through eight digital chapters, the exhibition utilizes Galen’s texts as grounding points for discussion as well as a plethora of images related to the history of science and medicine. This exhibition presents a timely opportunity to consider more fully the role of online platforms for learning about the ancient world in accessible, informative, and in-depth ways.

This article presents new data from fieldwork in the de facto state of Somaliland, a region in the Horn of Africa historically inhabited by nomadic pastoralists who played a key role in commercial exchange from the first century BCE onward. Relations between ancient empires and nomadic populations have received comparatively little attention in relation to other groups living within or outside imperial boundaries. Our understanding of these interactions has been colored by stereotypes from classical authors and the elusive nature of their archaeological record. It is thus not surprising that the role of nomadic groups in long-distance trade networks in antiquity has been often downplayed. This is the case in the Western Indian Ocean region. Archaeological evidence from survey and excavation work conducted between 2018 and 2020 in Xiis and the Berbera area reveals the strong integration of the region in the Indian Ocean network, the high purchasing power of the nomads, and their heterogeneity. Participation in long-distance trade seems to have provoked important social changes in local communities that did not, however, put them on the path to sedentism and political centralization.

The central Mediterranean today marks one of the most active and dangerous routes for sea crossings to Europe, due in no small part to border regimes designed to prevent the mobilities that have defined these waters from earliest antiquity. This article considers initial results of fieldwork undertaken to document and make visible the material culture of contemporary vessels used to carry forced and undocumented migrants to southeast Sicily over the past decade. These former fishing craft reveal structural and spatial adaptations to facilitate a different traffic, reflected also in items left behind when the boats were intercepted. Archaeology helps to embed these journeys within long-term frameworks of connectivity and to situate their ephemeral traces alongside more traditional notions of Mediterranean maritime heritage. In a region that celebrates its deep connections to the sea, care for the materiality of these contemporary mobilities foregrounds human experiences, while serving goals of advocacy, empowerment, and social justice amid global change.