Travelling with a Roman pocket sundial

Alexandria – Rome, there and back. Without a clock? No! Even in antiquity, people used the position of the sun – which seemed to wander across the sky – to measure time. Usually, a rod was used, which cast different shadows depending on the time of day and the season. When the sun was shining, the time could be read in this way. Whilst a sundial works anywhere on Earth, it must be adjusted to the latitude of the location. So what did people do when travelling? That’s where pocket sundials came in!

The Vitrine EXTRA series, which at regular intervals sheds new light on the Collection of Antiquities at the Kunsthistorisches Museum and temporarily presents previously unexhibited objects in the permanent exhibition, showcases in its ninth instalment one of the world’s best-preserved Roman examples – more than 1,800 years old, four centimetres in size, technically sophisticated and an ancient status symbol made of bronze.

Speakers at the opening:

Georg Plattner
Director of the Collection of Classical Antiquities and the Ephesus Museum, Kunsthistorisches Museum

Peter Habison
Astronomer, physicist, historian of science

Stephanie Stoss and Karoline Zhuber-Okrog
Curators of the Collection of Classical Antiquities and the Ephesus Museum, Kunsthistorisches Museum