Classical Archaeology Research Articles

Against Method

Against Method

Genealogy and interpretive potential of an iconic regional survey project: The British School at Rome's Tiber Valley Project - H. Patterson, R. Witcher, and H. Di Giuseppe [contr. by M. Millett, S. Keay, and C. Smith; preface by A. Wallace-Hadrill]. 2020. The Changing Landscapes of Rome's Northern Hinterland. The British School at Rome's Tiber Valley Project, Archaeopress Roman Archaeology 70.

Genealogy and interpretive potential of an iconic regional survey project: The British School at Rome's Tiber Valley Project - H. Patterson, R. Witcher, and H. Di Giuseppe [contr. by M. Millett, S. Keay, and C. Smith; preface by A. Wallace-Hadrill]. 2020. The Changing Landscapes of Rome's Northern Hinterland. The British School at Rome's Tiber Valley Project, Archaeopress Roman Archaeology 70. Oxford: Archaeopress. - Volume 35 Issue 1

The Roman Baths at Wallsend. By Nick Hodgson, with contributions by R Brickstock, Alexandra Croom, W B Griffiths and K F Hartley. 295mm. Pp x + 91, 65 figs (many col), Arbeia Society Roman Archaeological Studies 2, South Shields, 2020. isbn 9781527257696. £18 (pbk).

The Roman Baths at Wallsend. By Nick Hodgson, with contributions by R Brickstock, Alexandra Croom, W B Griffiths and K F Hartley. 295mm. Pp x + 91, 65 figs (many col), Arbeia Society Roman Archaeological Studies 2, South Shields, 2020. isbn 9781527257696. £18 (pbk).

Correction: Innovation and Agency: To What Extent Did Cultural Appropriation Affect the Development of Jewellery in Britain During the 1st to 2nd Centuries AD?

This article details a correction to the article. Webster, E. (2021). Innovation and Agency: To What Extent Did Cultural Appropriation Affect the Development of Jewellery in Britain During the 1st to 2nd Centuries AD? Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal 4(1): 6, pp. 1–29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16995/traj.4333

Art and Archaeology

My first title in fact comprises two independent books. Within a section dedicated to Graeco-Roman art and archaeology, the subject may come as something of a surprise: the case study is not ‘Greek’ or ‘Roman’, nor does it derive from the extended Mediterranean. Rather, From Memory to Marble analyses the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, inaugurated in 1949. Elizabeth Rankin and Rolf Michael Schneider have delivered a pair of volumes almost as monumental as the installation they describe, the first examining the context, origin, and legacy of the building's frieze, the second cataloguing its twenty-seven scenes. One of the many remarkable aspects of these two books is that both have been made available as free downloads. But what really stands out in the analysis is the ‘unconditional collaboration’ (5) between an art historian and a classical archaeologist: on the one hand, the project showcases how a broader art-historical training can enrich the traditional sorts of questions posed by classical archaeology, especially when it comes to issues of pictorial narrative; on the other, it demonstrates what classical archaeological formalism can offer to contemporary art history, and indeed larger debates about cultural history and contemporary identity politics. The result will be essential reading for anyone concerned with the legacy of classical ideas and imagery in South Africa.

Philip in Text and Realia: Contextualising a Biblical Figure Within Roman Hierapolis

The interrelationship between text and material culture is an ongoing discussion in academic studies. While early Christianity and classical archaeology often intersect in their respective fields of inquiry, they are often unaware of discussions and discoveries in each other’s discipline. This article discusses a biblical figure named Philip whose legacy is found in texts and realia related to the Phrygian city of Hierapolis in western Asia Minor. Biblical scholars have conducted a vigorous discussion about the identity of this Philip based on early Christian texts. Italian archaeologists have recently discovered a tomb and basilica in Hierapolis that they have associated with the apostle Philip. The discussion seeks to put these disciplines in dialogue by collocating the relevant texts and realia regarding this important biblical figure. The first section explores the prominence of two Philips in early Christian literature—the disciple/apostle Philip, particularly in the Gospel of John, and the deacon/evangelist Philip, particularly in Acts. Hierapolis was a major “pagan” pilgrimage destination with its sanctuaries of the Apollo temple and the Ploutonion. These were destroyed in Late Antiquity and replaced by a martyrium and basilica associated with a martyrdom tradition related to Philip. This monumentalisation around his tomb made Hierapolis an important Christian pilgrimage destination in Asia along with Ephesus.

Imperialisms, National States and classical archeology: The archaeological studies’ paths of Germany and Brazil

Resumo Nesse artigo organizamos a vinculação da arqueologia com os movimentos paralelos e interligados da emergência dos Estados nacionais e do imperialismo europeu e sul-americano nos casos alemão e brasileiro, ambos a serviço da ideia de nação e de sua missão colonizadora imperial. A arqueologia clássica e o emaranhado luso-germano-brasileiro culminaram na criação do IHGB (1838) e, posteriormente, na do Museu Nacional (1892). O Museu Paulista (1891), por sua vez, foi idealizado para ser outro museu de Estado, sob os auspícios da modernidade, promovido pela agitação da cena cultural de 1922. O acesso às escolas francesas (EFA e EFR) consolidou uma nova geração de pesquisadores de distintas tradições e epistemologias. Por sua vez, o classicismo alemão desenvolveu-se por meio do Deutsche Archäologische Institut, (DAI), em Roma, que ampliou suas fronteiras e relações com outras territorialidades. Voltada às Artes, a arqueologia clássica alemã foi desenvolvida menos essencialista. Entretanto, assim como no Brasil, as abordagens de longa duração, as relações entre institutos de pesquisa e as territorialidades marcaram sua trajetória. Portanto, compreender as trajetórias e tradições de pesquisa nos permite questionar a condição dos Estados-nação na era da informação e vislumbrar as novas abordagens e capacidades do próprio fazer arqueológico na era da informação.

A Letter from the Editors-in-Chief

A Letter from the Editors-in-Chief

Where to put them? Burial location in middle Hellenistic to late Roman Sagalassos, southwest Anatolia

AbstractIn classical archaeology the spatial aspects of deathscapes and associated funerary phenomena are often taken at face value. Beginning from a relational understanding of space, this article examines the necropoleis of middle Hellenistic to late Roman Sagalassos (second century BC to fifth century AD) within the wider context of the city. To facilitate this methodologically, four spatial aspects are investigated for the Hellenistic, Roman Imperial and late Roman periods: the relations between the spaces of the living and dead, landscaping practices, visibility and accessibility. These four aspects offer insight into the funerary and non-funerary relations from which the necropoleis emerged, developed, expanded and eventually disappeared. A whole range of funerary phenomena are included, ranging from cinerary urns, rectangular and vase-shaped ostothekai, aediculae, naiskoi, arcosolia and sarcophagi to larger sepulchral structures like temple tombs. In addition to being compared with urban developments, the observed patterns are further evaluated within the larger framework of Asia Minor. Ultimately, the enunciated archaeological patterns facilitate multicausal answers to where the Sagalassians placed their dead, if and how this changed and became more varied, and why these developments occurred in particular (re)configurations of time-space.

“Selective memory”: A Museum and Its Past

“Selective memory” of the past, borrowing the definition from cognitive psychology and neuroscience, represents a phenomenon closely tied to the history of classical archaeology and the antiquarian, specifically within Italian museum studies, as a cultural-ideological result of 19th and 20th century historical events. A research recently undertaken into the current situation of museums pertaining to a subregional district of southern Latium, the region of central western Italy of which Rome is the county seat, constituted an opportunity for comparison based on the analysis of some indicators, both aesthetical and technical: museological and museographical approaches, management issues, exhibition design, and communication strategies. A common thread is a perpetuation of bygone ideological and propaganda symbols as nostalgia for the past and the reactivation of historical, political, and anthropological phenomena. As a case study the Archaeological Civic Museum of Terracina, a city 100 kilometers south of Rome, has been chosen, in consideration of its long history and the possibility to assist to the evolution of the fittings and locations from 1894, the year of foundation, until today, by dint of photos, inventories, and period letters. The central theme of criterion for selecting the archaeological material to be exhibited has been, since the beginning, the past that we choose to tell. This “selective memory” is identifiable in the different treatment reserved to single objects: some have been collected and preserved, some have been scattered, some have been perceived as unrepresentative, and thus deemed unworthy of display or narration, and stored in depots. The museum has consequently selected only certain aspects of the past of its community, which is almost entirely related to its Late Roman Republican and Imperial period, an attitude which in the literature is frequently referred to as “Romanolatry”. The cult of the “white archaeology” removes from consideration the material culture of everyday life, of prehistoric, protohistoric, late antique, medieval, and Renaissance phases, even when well documented. Is the museum a place of oblivion or a place of memory?

Jan Nepomucen Józef Braun (1926–2015), filolog klasyczny, orientalista, kartwelista, sumerolog

Jan Braun, born on 15th May 1926 in Łódź, studied classical philology and classical archaeology at the University of Lodz (years 1947–1951). His MA thesis (1951) was devoted to the ethnogenesis of the Etruscans. He also worked as junior assistant at the Department of Classical Archaeology, University of Lodz (from May 1949 do September 1950) and later as junior lecturer at the Department of Classical Philology of the same university (from October 1950 to September 1951). In October 1951, Braun left for Georgia in order to complete his doctoral studies. From there he returned to Poland as PhD, specializing in Georgian and other oriental languages, especially the ancient languages of the Near East. In the years 1955–2002, he worked at the University of Warsaw, initially as assistant professor. In 1970, he became associate professor. In 1991, he received the higher doctoral degree (habilitation), and in 1995 he obtained the position of full professor. He studied the genetic relations of ancient and modern languages, including a suggested Basque-Kartvelian connection. During his habilitation colloquium, he gave an interesting lecture entitled Basic problems of historical-comparative research over the ancient languages of the Mediterranean area (Warsaw, May 28th, 1991), which is presented in Appendix No. 1 (with some comments and bibliographical references). The paper presents Braun’s main fields of research and his achievements made in Łódź (Poland), Tbilisi (Georgia) and Warsaw. According to Braun’s view, suggested as early as 1951, Etruscan represents an external member of the Anatolian languages (deriving from Luwian), so that it belongs to the Indo-European language family. In his opinion, Basque is a western member of the South Caucasian (or Kartvelian) family.

Archaeology Lessons From Lockdown

The editorial of the fourth issue of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal (TRAJ) focuses on what we have learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. The editors focus on the positive outcome of the pandemic, while emphasising aspects of the TRAC organisation that can be improved in the coming years. In this editorial we highlight TRAC’s strong tradition of introspection to bring awareness to how we as a community can continue to improve in terms of diversity and inclusivity.

Post-Colonial Rome, and Beyond

Roman archaeology is one of the major subfields of archaeology in which post-colonial theory has flourished, and not just in relation to the role of the past in the present, but also as a means to approach the interpretation of the Roman world itself. The region of North Africa was a major focal point for some of the earliest post-colonial studies on the Roman Empire, and has remained an arena of investigation for scholars influenced by the Anglophone debate on post-colonial theory, which emerged in the 1980s and flourished in the 1990s, often with a focus on Roman Britain. Religion is both a key source of evidence and an obviously important theme in understanding cultural change, interaction and power, and thus it has likewise been of interest to scholars from within and beyond the region. Here, I give an overview of the work of some of the influential Roman archaeologists working within the post-colonial tradition. I also consider the complex intersections of ancient and modern, and of Britain and North Africa, found in this body of work, and evaluate the impact this tradition of thought continues to have on Roman archaeology going forwards.

John Boardman, A Classical Archaeologist’s Life: The Story So Far. An Autobiography

John Boardman’s contribution to Classical Archaeology has been prodigious. The list of publications at the end of this autobiography admits to 44 books (14 of which have been translated, most of them into more than one language), 18 joint books (4 of them translated), about 10 edited books (plus 7 years as editor of JHS, editor for 17 BSA Supplements, joint editor for 20 issues of OJA and for LIMC and ThesCRA, and major editorial roles for CVA and Kerameus), and some 280 articles, with more listed as forthcoming and something published in every year from 1954 to 2016. It is hard to think that this is a record that will ever be surpassed.

The Busy Periphery: Urban Systems of the Balkan and Danube Provinces (2nd–3rd c. AD) By Damjan Donev (Archaeopress Roman Archaeology 61). Oxford: Archaeopress 2019. Pp. viii + 379. $54. ISBN 9781789693492 (paper).

<i>The Busy Periphery: Urban Systems of the Balkan and Danube Provinces (2nd–3rd c. AD)</i> By Damjan Donev (Archaeopress Roman Archaeology 61). Oxford: Archaeopress 2019. Pp. viii + 379. $54. ISBN 9781789693492 (paper).

Animal Footprints on Roman Tiles from Perge and Aizanoi

For many years, tremendous interest has been reserved for the most beautiful, the largest, and the most spectacular of finds. This is especially true in the field of Classical archaeology. This has often resulted in an unfortunate disregard for other finds such as traces. Indeed every object from the past has valuable information to convey to us. The task of archaeologists is to examine the object at hand without prejudice. This study focuses on terracotta building materials with such traces. Examples from Perge and Aizanoi are analyzed from an ichnoarchaeological viewpoint, and interpretations regarding the environment and the economy of the relevant time period are offered on the basis of this analysis. The finds revealed that the environment surrounding the workshop area in Aizanoi was wider than the one in Perge. In this period, it is thought that Aizanoi had an open geography with little forestation and climatic conditions similar to current times.

Protocol Comparison for Organic Residue Analyses from Waterproofing Materials and Shards of Roman Archaeological Amphorae

With the aim of addressing the impact of extractive protocols in molecular characterization of ceramic content, sixteen archaeological shards and waterproofing coatings of Roman amphorae were studied to compare the extractive capacities of protocols prevalently mentioned in wine amphorae analysis. A microwave-assisted protocol is developed in order to esterify grape-derivative markers from archaeological pitch and shard. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is used to highlight the great capacities of a two-step protocol that combines organic extraction with BF3-etherate complex butylation applied on archaeological shards. Instead, simultaneous alkaline fusion and direct-resin acid-catalyzed butylation are favored for the characterization of waterproofing material. The identification of tartaric acid, together with succinic, fumaric pyruvic and syringic acids provide valuable insights on the archaeological grape-derivative content, possibly wine. Diterpenic markers highlighted Pinus pitch and wood tar, originally used to waterproof the amphorae. Since markers are reliable tools in organic residue analyses, protocols exhibiting high extractive capacities are favored to avoid false conclusions drawn through the absence of markers.

Perbandingan Busana Arca Harihara Era Klasik Akhir (Koleksi State Hermitage Museum, Museum Nasional Jakarta, dan Balai Lelang Christie’s)

Harihara is the amalgamation of two great gods in Hinduism, Siva and Vishnu. During the Late Classical Era (Majapahit period, 13th-15th centuries AD) three deification statues which portrayed the kings as Harihara have been found. Out of these three, two of them are not located in Indonesia anymore, one is part of the collection of Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, and one is in Christie’s Auction Gallery. Since these two statues are not widely known, they are barely mentioned or studied in the field of classical archaeology and art. This research focuses on the physical attributes of those two statues, particularly the clothing elements and divine attributes, in comparation to the deification statue of Raden Wijaya as Harihara, which is originated from Candi Simping and now is located in National Museum, Jakarta. The research was conducted using a qualitative-comparative method with iconographic and historical approach. It is found that while these statues show the amalgamation of Siva and Vishnu’s attributes, the depiction of Harihara in those statues are not exactly following Harihara iconography as regulated in the canons of Silpasastra and Manasara. While the canon physical attributes of Shiva and Vishnu side by side equally, in the depiction of Harihara in Java, those attributes are mixed and not always follows a rigid pattern. It is suggested that the depiction of kings as Harihara show an attempt to project them as the unifier of different factions and religious sects. The inequal depiction of Vishnu and Siva’s attributes in king’s deification statues indicates not only the dynamics of the religion in the era, but also as mean to build king’s image in the image of the God.

Gender, Identities, and Material Culture in the Italic Peninsula: Burial Practices and Loom Weights in Perspective

AbstractThis paper discusses the complex relationship between material culture and gender studies from a methodological point of view, with the aim of contributing to discussions in the field of Classical archaeology. First, we provide a few historiographical benchmarks for key epistemological developments, while evidencing the methodological difficulties inherent in the variability of our interpretations of burial practices and data. Then, in a second section, a case study focuses on simple objects of daily life. Discussing approaches inspired by gender studies, and considering the place of loom weights, we wish to tackle the presumption of textile work as an eminently female activity. The aim of this paper is to suggest a more nuanced and fluid approach to gender in relation to material culture.

Rebalancing Roman Archaeology: from disciplinary inertia to decolonial and inclusive action

This article analyses the current state of our discipline, particularly its decoloniality and inclusivity. This is investigated via two lenses: data from Roman Archaeology Conferences and Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conferences from 1991 to 2019; and data from the 2019 Roman Archaeology Teaching Survey. These two lenses provide ways into thinking about whose voices are heard in the discipline, current barriers to more diverse voices, and biases within the topics and regions of the Roman world in our research and teaching. The article argues that these data demonstrate a need for change within our discipline, across research and teaching, in order to promote a healthier, decolonial, and more inclusive discipline for the future. As a consequence, this article also makes numerous recommendations and suggestions for action to bring about positive change.