Heidelberg Center for Cultural Heritage (HCCH) Antiquities Collection

The Antiquities Collection offers visitors a broad overview of the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean region from the 3rd millennium BC to the Roman Imperial period

The Antiquities Collection of Heidelberg University was founded in 1848 as an archaeological teaching collection and has been continuously expanded ever since. Today, it comprises nearly 9,000 original ancient objects, around 1,200 large plaster casts (copies) of ancient statues, portraits, and reliefs, as well as 14,000 small casts (of gems, coins, and similar objects). In this way, the collection conveys a broad overview of the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean region from the 3rd millennium BC to the Roman Imperial period.

The original finds include painted Greek and Etruscan vases, Roman vessels, and objects made of stone, bronze, and glass, as well as figures, reliefs, architectural elements, jewellery, and everyday objects from Greece, Italy, Cyprus, and the Near East. Since the 19th century, the plaster casts have been used as an important teaching aid in the study of archaeology; they make it possible to trace the development of Greek sculpture from its beginnings to the Roman Imperial period. The originals of the statues and reliefs in marble or bronze are held in many major museums around the world.