The Department of Art History and Archaeology
at the University of Maryland supports archaeological research
of the Mediterranean, Africa, and the Americas. Using a variety
of approaches, archaeologists within the department pursue the
study of landscape, urbanism, architecture, and objects and
their broader cultural contexts. Students have the opportunity
to engage in on-going projects first-hand, both in the field
and during other stages of research.
The Department houses several collections of artifacts from
Israel, Egypt and Africa. Located in a special archaeological
seminar room, these artifacts are used for both teaching and
research. The Braunlin/Fleischmann Collection of Byzantine coins
and seals, one of the finest private collections in the United
States, was recently donated to the Department for use in teaching
and as an international research tool. Special appropriations
from the Maryland Senate have helped to augment library holdings,
particularly in the field of Mediterranean archaeology. The
University of Maryland possesses, for example, the library and
archives of Peter Topping, a prominent historian and ethnographer
of medieval and early Modern Greece. In addition to the resources
of the Department and the University, students have an unparalleled
opportunity to draw upon the resources of the greater Washington-Baltimore
area, including museum collections at Dumbarton Oaks, the Smithsonian
Institution, the Walters Art Museum, and the Baltimore Museum
of Art. The specialized research libraries provide an incomparable
range of works for consultation. In addition to the Library
of Congress, a number of area libraries represent the single
best collections in their respective research areas. For example,
Dumbarton Oaks has an unequalled collection in Pre-Columbian
and Byzantine studies. The Hellenic Center and the library of
the National museum for African Art also have excellent holdings
in their respective areas.
