2,000-year-old artifacts unveiled for ‘Pompeii: The Exhibition’ at Carnegie Science Center
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Aphrodite has arrived in Pittsburgh.
The 2,000-year-old life-sized marble statue of the Greek goddess was unveiled on Thursday at the Carnegie Science Center on the North Shore.
She will be featured in “Pompeii: The Exhibition,” which opens Oct. 2 and runs through April 23.
More than 180 artifacts are on loan from Naples National Archeological Museum in Italy.
Aphrodite stands at 6 feet.
Joining Aphrodite will be gladiator helmets, armor, weapons, a ship’s anchor, lamps, jugs, other household objects, furniture, jewelry, medical instruments and tools.
A video introduces the exhibit. When the doors open at the Scaife Exhibition Gallery in PPG Science Pavilion at the science center, Aphrodite, the 1,200-pound marble statue, will appear.
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“This is an exquisite exhibit,” said Jane MacKnight, the exhibit’s registrar, who manages and oversees the artifacts. “These artifacts were under nine feet of ash and some had a little damage, but (Aphrodite) is almost pristine.”
The exhibition tells the tale of a city hidden until its discovery more than 250 years ago.
On Aug. 24, 79 A.D., the Roman city of Pompeii was frozen in time from an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. World Heritage Exhibitions of Medina, Ohio, helped bring this one to Pittsburgh.
“This is truly an immersive experience where guests come face-to-face with a piece of history,” said Anthony Tann, president of World Heritage Exhibitions. “Here you will have the opportunity to really connect the people and the culture of those who lived in Pompeii, while you encounter the catastrophic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and the tragic impact it had on those who lived across the region.”
The exhibit is history-rich, said Joe Powell, production manager for World Heritage Exhibitions.
“It’s priceless and can’t be replaced,” Powell said.
Unveiling of the statue of Aphrodite at the Carnegie Science Center for “Pompeii: The Exhibition” @CarnegieSciCtr pic.twitter.com/ozUpA2eDue
— JoAnne Harrop (@joannescoop) September 23, 2021
There will be a reproduced atrium inside a unique Roman villa, a theater and marketplace. Guests can learn how the people of Pompeii lived, loved, worked, worshipped and found entertainment. There will be paintings, mosaics, artifacts and casts of bodies preserved in motion.
The exhibit came to Pittsburgh on Sept. 17 from the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Texas. It will take until Wednesday to set up. The exhibit has one more stop in the U.S. before traveling home.
“We are fortunate to have this space to accommodate this blockbuster exhibit,” said Marcus Harshaw, senior director of museum experiences at the science center. “It is super special. It takes a lot of people to bring this to Pittsburgh, it takes a village, a whole Pompeii.“
Tickets available here.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday