Collections of the Institute of Archaeology
ul. Gołębia 11
31-007 Kraków
archeo.sekretariat@uj.edu.pl
www.archeo.uj.edu.pl/instytut/zbiory
From the very beginning of its existence, in 1897, collecting objects for research and didactic purposes has been one of the principle activities of the Faculty of Classical Archaeology. The collection includes authentic relics which come from ancient Mediterranean cultures as well as a sizeable collection of plaster casts of important works of ancient art (now housed in the Collegium Maius building). Currently it has more than 800 exhibits. The core of the archaeological collection consists of so-called small fine-arts objects and objects of material culture such as ceramic vessels, lamps, terracotta figures, bronze figures and items of everyday use. The majority of the objects derive from ancient culture (Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Asia Minor, South Africa, and the Black Sea coast) dating from the Bronze Age to late antiquity. The most important part of the collection consists of ceramic vessels from Ancient Greece, although the Cypriot pottery and Egyptian artefacts (including a sarcophagus with a mummy, shabti figures, and fragments of Coptic textiles) are equally interesting. A separate group of objects, akin to souvenirs and curiosities, include a stone from the wall of Servius Tullius in Rome or pieces of lava from Vesuvius. A selection of the relics are on display in the Museum of the Jagiellonian University, while the rest of the collection is of a didactic nature. Since 1971, the seat of the Institute of
Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University has been located in the Collegium Minus building which is one of the oldest university buildings in Kraków, situated in the so-called university quarter.
