Mediterranean Marketplaces: Connecting the Ancient World

By Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

Thousands of years ago, ancient people across the Mediterranean were connected to faraway places and cultures through trade. Learn more in this exhibition at Harvard's Museum of the Ancient Near East.

a woman and two children looking at a life-size replica of an ancient Mediterranean house
Thursday, February 22 – Fri, February 21 2025
Sunday through Friday. Morning and Afternoon.

The museum will be closed the following days:

  • Wednesday, November 27, 2024 (day before Thanksgiving)
  • Thursday, November 28, 2024 (Thanksgiving Day)
  • Sunday, December 22, 2024
  • Monday, December 23, 2024
  • Tuesday, December 24, 2024 (Christmas Eve)
  • Wednesday, December 25, 2024 (Christmas)
  • Wednesday, January 1, 2025 (New Year's Day)

All ages.

Request assistance

Contact

Harvard Museums of Science and Culture
hmscpr@hmsc.harvard.edu
617-496-6064

No application or registration needed.

Free!

Location

  • In-person only.

Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East

6 Divinity Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Translation services available - Contact the organization for more details..

Audio tours available in English and Spanish.

Additional information

Much like today, ancient “consumers” were connected to distant markets. Both basic and precious goods from faraway lands “shipped” to royal palaces, elite estates—sometimes even rural households—and technological advances in craftsmanship and commerce transcended boundaries of language, religion, or culture to spread rapidly. Mediterranean Marketplaces explores how the movement of goods, peoples, and ideas around the ancient Mediterranean transformed the lives and livelihoods of people at all levels of society, driving innovations that had lasting impacts—even on the modern world. Audio tours available in English and Spanish.

image: EJSP Visual | Julieta Sarmiento

Program continues to run during Winter vacation, February vacation, and April vacation.