Images of Ancient Technology

Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
This widely-reproduced picture purports to show the medieval view of the Universe. In fact, it's a 19th-century fake. It was reproduced uncritically for decades precisely because it confirmed popular prejudices about the Middle Ages. An object lesson in being careful about things that confirm our biases.
To see what has survived from antiquity, you really need to visit a world-class museum, like this one in Nurnberg, Germany. Most of the pictures that follow, unless otherwise noted, were taken here. It's no surprise that most of the objects from ancient times are lost. What is amazing is how much has survived.
The "oldest profession" isn't what you think. It's at least tied with stone-flaking. These are Paleolithic stone fragments. The long flakes chipped off a cylindrical core are typical of Neanderthal sites. Neanderthal humans weren't as primitive as stereotyped and there's disagreement as to whether they died out or simply interbred with more modern humans.
Neolithic tools like these, dating from a few thousand B.C., look very similar to tools crafted by native Americans.
An ancient Egyptian sarcophagus from the Archeological Museum in Istanbul. By 2000 B.C., paints made from mineral pigmnets were in use. The reds and yellows are probably iron compounds, the greens and blues are copper.
Glass has been known since before 1000 B.C. These are small Greek perfume vials, from the Archeological Museum in Istanbul.
In the Corning Glass Museum in Corning, New York is a remarkable video showing how the ancients made glass bottles. The vase here is a modern reproduction using the same techniques.
This glass-maker's shop was bought by the Corning Glass Museum from its owner in Afghanistan just before the Soviet invasion and subsequent war. It is virtually unchanged from what a shop 2,000 years ago would have looked like.
By Roman times glass-making had advanced to the point where clear glass was commonplace. This example from Egypt in the Corning Glass Museum still has its grass wrapping intact.
This quartz gem from the Archeological Museum in Istanbul has an identical twin in the museum in Naples. This is not a natural crystal shape but an abstract mathematical form, laboriously ground from hard quartz (called an icosahedron. Fans of fantasy role-playing games may recognize the shape, which is used for dice). It dates from the second century A.D.
The ancient Greeks were famous for their bronze sculptures, like this one in the Archeological Museum in Istanbul. Note the iron framework supporting the sculpture and a patch welded on the chest.
This bronze boar in the Archeological Museum in Istanbul is anatomically very accurate in most respects but has stylized elements as well. To make something this size requires the ability to melt and pour large amounts of molten bronze and to pour the excess bronze out of the mold. In short, it implies a large, well-equipped foundry.
The pure white of marble misleads us into thinking the ancients liked it this way. Actually marble was popular because it takes paint easily. Most ancient temples and statues were brightly painted. This example, from the Archeological Museum in Istanbul, is one of the few ancient statues with a face that would be attractive from modern American perspectives. Time is not kind to noses on statues.
This late (Roman era) Egyptian sarcophagus from the Archeological Museum in Istanbul has a strikingly simple, modern look. It is made of basalt, a very hard stone. The labor of carving and finishing this piece so superbly must have been prodigious.
Angels as we popularly picture them date from the dawn of Christianity. This Christian sarcophagus from the Archeological Museum in Istanbul can be identified as Christian by the chi-rho symbol in the center. The image of winged messengers from the gods is quite likely borrowed from Greco-Roman religion.
Roman soldiers shown in films about ancient times aren't just figments of some writer's imagination. We really know what they looked like. A tomb painting from the Archeological Museum in Istanbul.
A Roman helmet from the Rhine region of Germany. Germany west of the Rhine and south of the Danube was part of the Roman Empire.
A Roman officer undoubtedly wore this helmet.
Humans early on developed advanced cutting implements, which all too often were used for cutting other humans. Roman swords from Germany, with a modern replica at bottom.
Roman spears from Germany.
Roman coins have been found by the thousands and common examples are inexpensive. I warn potential buyers not to spend any more than they'd be willing to lose on a fake, since modern counterfeits are equally common.
Whether Romans or modern G.I.'s, a dice game in the barracks is a popular way to pass the time. The disks are counters for an ancient board game.
The disks above may have been used to play rota (Latin, wheel) on a figure like this. This tic-tac-toe-like game turns up everywhere there were Romans and flat surfaces. This example is from the Forum in Rome.
The ancient equivalent of a disposable flashlight. Oil lamps like these have been excavated by the thousands.
By the first century A.D., clear glass was cheap enough that even common vessels could be made of it.
The Romans had locks and keys, ranging from simple hooks to catch a loop of string to more complex keys.
Apart from keeping hair neat, these Roman combs had a less glamorous use - eliminating lice.
A late Roman (4th century) aqueduct in Constantinople (now Istanbul).
The aqueduct above fed this cistern. In the film From Russia With Love, James Bond rows across this cistern and emerges beneath the Soviet Embassy, which is actually several miles away and on the other side of a bay from here.
The Roman town of Pompeii, buried by volcanic ash in 79 A.D., is a time capsule. The streets had stepping stones for rainy weather, with stones of standard sizes so carts could pass between them. It is a complete myth that modern railroad gauges descend from Roman chariot wheels. For one thing, dozens of railroad gauges are in use. 
The Roman equivalent of McDonald's - a lunch counter. Fires were lit under the counters and jars of stew and soup placed in the holes. Don't ask how long the food stayed there! Remember, nobody knew about germs in those days!
A rotary grain mill in Pompeii
The plastic jugs of antiquity, jugs called amphorae have been excavated by the thousands from ancient sites. The tail at the bottom is a handle for assistance in pouring.
Wealthy homes in Pompeii and other Roman cities had water pipes made of lead. Lead sheets were rolled into a tube around an iron rod, then soldered with molten lead. The mounting bracket is almost identical to something you'd find in a modern hardware store.
These spoons from Pompeii differ little from those you'd find in your kitchen drawer.
The gladiatorial school in Pompeii was also preserved. Once upon a time real people put this gear on and tried to kill other people for public amusement.So in films like Gladiator, yes, we do know what they looked like.
This painting from Pompeii looks very Oriental in its colors, landscape, and architecture. We might dismiss it as coincidence if there were not other examples. It seems likely that somebody in Pompeii knew what China looked like.
Victims of the Pompeii eruption were buried by ash. Before the bodies decayed, the ash hardened. Plaster poured into the cavities creates replicas of the bodies.
Still standing after 2,000 years, the Pantheon in Rome is one of the greatest Roman architectural works.
The original doors. The doors pivoted on pivots in sockets at top and bottom, not modern style hinges
Some hand tools are very ancient. This is a bronze saw blade from about 2000 B.C. from the Minoan civilization on Crete.
A Minoan washtub from Crete, made of riveted copper. The tub is crushed because the Minoan civilization collapsed literally, from earthquake and the eruption of Thera in the Aegean.
The only surviving complex mechanism from antiquity, the Antikythera Mechanism, now in the Archeological Museum in Athens. It dates from about 80 A.D.
The Minoans loved nature and especially the sea and their work is noted for its use of marine motifs. This is in the museum at Heraklion, Crete.
Quite possibly the loveliest artifact from antiquity. A Minoan vase.
The Minoan culture was vibrant, original, and fun-loving. After viewing the Minoan section of the museum in Heraklion, you find a room full of stuff like this - stiff, cold, arrogant and cruel. It's like a bucket of ice water in the face, testimony to the emptiness of Roman culture.

Return to Course Notes Index
Return to Professor Dutch's Home Page

Created 27 August 1998, Last Update 27 August 1998