The Museum of Ancient Mediterranean Cultures at the University of Mary Washington, located in Fredericksburg Virginia, gives students practice in the research, design, and implementation of museum exhibits. Currently, visitors can stand in and interact with a Roman Thermopolium. Side exhibits, such as the current one on the mapping of ancient Rome, serve to educate the visitor on varied aspects of the ancient world.
The Museum of Ancient Mediterranean Cultures is located in James Farmer Hall on the University of Mary Washington’s Fredericksburg campus. Originally built in the 1940s under the name Trinkle Library, in honor of Virginia Governor E. Lee Trinkle and his support of the school, it was renamed after James L. Farmer, Jr. in 2019. James Farmer was one of the Big Four Civil Rights leaders in the midcentury, and from 1985-1998 taught history at UMW.
The University of Mary Washington, named after George Washington’s mother, was founded in 1908 as Fredericksburg’s State Normal and Industrial School for Women. From 1942-1972, then Mary Washington College was the women’s college of the University of Virginia, and in the 70’s MWC became coed and was recognized as an independent institution. In 2004 the General Assembly of Virginia in 2004 renamed Mary Washington College to the University of Mary Washington.
The city of Fredericksburg Virginia was established in 1728 along the Rappahannock river. As a colonial trading hub and a strategic site during the American Revolution and Civil War Fredericksburg flourished and was incorporated in 1781.
We acknowledge the Native American people who lived along the Fall Line of the Rappahannock River, on whose land the University runs. The Manahoac, Rappahannock Tribe and Patawomeck Tribe of Virginia are the Indigenous peoples of this unceded land. We honor their resilience, their fight for rightful recognition and tribal sovereignty, and their connection to the land on which we are grateful to gather, to teach, to learn.
Director
Dr. Liane Houghtalin
Professor Emerita of Classics, University of Mary Washington
lhoughta@umw.edu
Student Curators
The Museum of Ancient Mediterranean Cultures has been developed over the years thanks to teams of Student Creators.
Yoredanos Ayele (S26)
Eleanor Clark (S24)
Bex Colley (S26)
Vonne Daszkilewicz (S23)
Ally Dawahare (F25)
Alex Delano (F23, S24, S25)
William Jarrett (F25)
Shilah Morris (F22, S23, F23)
Charlotte Niblett (S25, F25)
Vesper Padgett (F25)
Elsie Stubbs (S26)
Jessica Thorne (S23)
Drew Tolley (F25)
Naomi Trout (F23, S24, S25)