Sixty years after completing her master of arts at the University of Queensland, Dr Elsie Harwood has repaid the Classics and Ancient History Department with a solid silver coin.
The coin is approximately 2250 years old and comes from the island of Rhodes off the coast of modern Turkey. The topic of Dr Harwood's masters thesis was the history of the island from 411-167BC, a period when Rhodes (the name comes from the Greek word for 'rose') wielded the most important naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Donation of the coin filled a gap in the Antiquities Museum, as it is the collection's first Rhodian coin from the island's heyday in the third century BC. The Museum already displays the most comprehensive collection of ancient Mediterranean antiquities in Queensland, and is used for teaching, research and public viewing.
Dr Harwood, an eminent graduate of the Department, regularly participates in the Department's Friday readings of ancient authors in Latin and Greek. A distinguished psychologist, she is an honorary research consultant and former reader in the Psychology Department.
For more information, contact Classics and Ancient History Department head Professor Bob Milns (telephone 3365 2633).