Royal Ontario Museum Blog

Monthly Archive: December

Grandson visits ROM specimens named after his grandfather

Posted: August 12, 2013 - 09:00 , by royal
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Kevin Seymour and Neal Finn's in the collection room.

Neal and Bonnie Finn from Edmonton, Alberta, visited the ROM to see a fossil specimen named after Neal's granfather in 1925.

Damien’s Wish: A Day as a Palaeontologist

Posted: August 9, 2013 - 15:40 , by ROM
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Damien in the collection room with Dr. Hans Larsson and Dr. David Evans.

This week the ROM and Make-A-Wish Canada teamed up to help grant Damien—who has been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia—his wish to be a paleontologist for a day and work alongside curators behind the scenes. T

The 'Goddess' and the Museum: "What's in a name?"

Posted: August 9, 2013 - 08:10 , by ROM
The ROM Ivory 'Minoan' Goddess, 1991

In this third instalment of work on the ROM archives find out why the Ivory 'Minoan' Goddess has held such a lasting fascination.

The 'Goddess' and the Museum: Museum Attitudes

Posted: August 7, 2013 - 08:54 , by ROM
The ROM ivory and gold figurine on display

In this second instalment of my work on the archives I pick up the story of the ROM’s ‘Minoan’ Ivory Goddess, looking at her fluctuating reputation within the museum itself.

The 'Goddess' and the Museum: The Early Years

Posted: August 6, 2013 - 17:58 , by ROM
The front pages of The Palace of Minos volume 4, published by Sir Arthur Evans in 1935

Join me in delving into the archives to uncover the story of this iconic object.....

New Research from the Burgess Shale: Thorny worms that swarmed in the Cambrian seas

Posted: July 31, 2013 - 10:35 , by ROM
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Fossilized Hallucigenia sparsa.

Hallucigenia sparsa is no ordinary animal. This poster child of the Burgess Shale biota is the ultimate weirdo!

Re-enactment, Archaeology, and the Ancient Rome & Greece Weekend V of IV: The Final Story

Posted: June 18, 2013 - 14:50 , by Robert Mason
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Ancient Rome & Greece Weekend is over, and I thought I would show you the results of my attempt to create a recreation, re-enactment, or impression of a soldier from Dura-Europos (so this is not really one of the original IV, so to speak, hence it is V of IV). In the group above you can see me on the left, with members of the University of Toronto's Hart House Archery Club, who collectively constitute the ROM's 3rd century Roman army (or ROMan army - it being the ROM, we are posing in front of a dinosaur).

Re-enactment, Archaeology, and the Ancient Rome & Greece Weekend IV of IV: The Tunic

Posted: June 14, 2013 - 10:05 , by Robert Mason
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An important part of everyday life in the past, but one with very little impact on the archaeological record, is clothing...

Re-enactment, Archaeology, and the Ancient Rome & Greece Weekend III of IV: The Dagger

Posted: June 12, 2013 - 10:35 , by Robert Mason
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So in my project to recreate the equipment of a 3rd century Roman soldier from Dura-Europos, following the creation of the sword, I next moved on to the dagger. Little seems to be known about the daggers used by soldiers in the Roman World of the 3rd century AD.

Museums, stories and things.

Posted: June 10, 2013 - 15:45 , by royal
Visitors in the Birds Gallery

Get ready for an insider's look at the ROM from someone who's usually very far outside of it.