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Ovidiana — archaeological theatre

August 26, 2026 by Michael Shanks

Becoming stone [Link] [Link]

Nolan’s Odyssey (3) — the collapse of civilization and the shape of history

August 26, 2026August 26, 2026 by Michael Shanks

Performing the archive — a study in theatre/archaeology In July I posted a response to Nolan’s Odyssey [Link] — an old story, I argued, but not the one that was being talked about. The movie faithfully restages not Homer but a nineteenth-century grand narrative of civilization and its fall. A month of reviews and a…

Roman

August 25, 2026August 25, 2026 by Michael Shanks

A Roman. 300 CE? No provenance, no context. Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

Classical figuration

August 23, 2026 by Michael Shanks

National Museum Athens. 1992.

More on Nolan’s Odyssey (2) — The Trickster and the Civics Class

August 4, 2026August 26, 2026 by Michael Shanks

On Ezra Klein’s review of Nolan’s Odyssey, New York Times July 31 A second wave of response to Nolan’s movie has begun to arrive, and with it a piece worth pausing over: Ezra Klein in the New York Times. I want to take it seriously — more seriously than it takes itself — because it…

From Meroë

August 2, 2026 by Michael Shanks

From Meroë. 2nd Century CE? Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

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Exploring the archaeological imagination – to gain a bigger picture on things that matter.

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michaelshanks @ me.com

mshanks @ stanford . edu

1 650 996 8763

Recent Posts

  • Ovidiana — archaeological theatre
  • Nolan’s Odyssey (3) — the collapse of civilization and the shape of history
  • Roman
  • Classical figuration
  • More on Nolan’s Odyssey (2) — The Trickster and the Civics Class

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