antiquity

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
antiquity/anˈtɪkwəti/

▶noun (pl. antiquities)

• 1 the distant past, especially the classical and other civilizations before the Middle Ages.

• 2 (usu. antiquities) an object or building from the distant past.

• 3 great age.

– origin ME: from OFr. antiquite, from L. antiquitas, from antiquus (see antique).