Dates & Times:
Thursday 26 March 2026, 18.30-20.00. Public Lecture (no booking needed)
Friday 27 March 2026, 9.30-18.00. Public Symposium (booking essential)
Location: Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin.
Admission is free.
Overview
In 2024, the Weingreen Museum was gifted a spindle whorl from ancient Troy. Join us to hear the stories which bring our object to life.
In 2024, the Weingreen Museum of Biblical Antiquities at Trinity College Dublin was gifted a spindle whorl from the ancient city of Troy. Given by the early excavator of the site, Heinrich Schleimann, to Lady Augusta Gregory when she visited Athens in 1880, this decorated spindle whorl then made its journey to Ireland.
Lady Gregory mentions it in her diary and wrote an identifying note which remains attached to the back of the whorl. This small terracotta object, dating from the Bronze Age, connects us not just to the historical worlds of ancient Anatolia and Greece and the universal experiences of humanity reflected in the Homeric epic but also to the daily lives of women who would have used this object in their production of textiles, and, in more modern times, to the European excavators obsessed with these legendary tales and to the woman who brought it to Ireland.
We invite you to join us for two events, booking is required for the Friday symposium, but not the public lecture on Thursday evening.
Schedule
Thursday 26th March 2026, 18.30-20.00. Public Lecture (no booking needed)
A public lecture given by Professor Rustem Aslan, Director of Troy Excavations, on “Spinning the Past: Schliemann's Discovery of Spindle Whorls in Troy.” Synge Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin.
Friday 27th March 2026, 9.30-18.00. Public Symposium (booking essential)
This event will explore the historical and cultural biographies of our Trojan spindle whorl through talks and readings, as well as presenting artistic works commissioned and co-created with the project. The full programme is available on Eventbrite here.
Organisers: Professor Christine Morris, Department of Classics, and Dr Zuleika Rodgers, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Trinity College Dublin.
Generously supported by the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Trinity Long Room Hub.