Collection Connection

Dr. Michael Hoff: Mosaics, Baths, and Pirate Treasure, The Excavations at Antiochia ad Cragum in Asia Minor Wednesday, February 27 • 2:00 p.m. Since 2005, the Roman-era city Antiochia ad Cragum has been undergoing excavation by the University of Nebraska. The city was founded on the former base of the famed late Hellenistic Cilician pirates who preyed upon ships throughout the Mediterranean Sea. This talk explores the early history of the city, its pirate past, extraordinary mosaics, and is the first forum in which the 2018 discoveries will be announced. These include a mysterious victim whose body was found in a Roman bath building and a major hoard of over 3,000 mostly silver coins which may be loot from another era of pirates. Dr. Michael Hoff is a Professor of Art History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln specializing in Greek and Roman archaeology. He currently conducts research in Turkey where, from 1997 to 2004, he co-directed the architectural survey team of the Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project. Since 2005, he has been serving as Project Director of the Antiochia ad Cragum Excavations in Rough Cilicia on the south coast of Turkey.