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News and Events Archive
Public Lecture, by Dr Dries Tys, Open to All
6.00pm, Thursday 15th October
Dr Dries Tys of the Free University of Brussels will give a paper entitled:
'Seen and Unseen: Maritime Societies and theirHinterland Relations and the Origin of Antwerp and Bruges, between the 7th and 12th centuries.'
Dr. Tys will examine archaeology in the towns andcountryside, landscape and power relations.
The Lecture will be held in Darwin Lecture Theatre 1 at The University of Kent's Canterbury Campus. Following questions there will be a Reception with free drinks in the Darwin SCR, open to those attending the Lecture.
This is the 4th Annual Archaeology of the Transmanche Lecture.
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Excellent NSS results for the third year in row for C&AS!
We are delighted to announce that Classical & Archaeological Studies at Kent came 1st for Archaeology and 11th for Classics in the National Student Survey 2009, with 97% overall satisfaction for archaeology and 92% for Classics.
It is clear from these results that our students hold C&AS teaching and teachers in the highest regard, with all our modules being popular. The staff of C&AS would like to extend a thank you to all our students for their support.
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£1,000 scholarships for 2009 graduates
To celebrate the launch of the Graduate School, the University of Kent has established a scholarship fund for its 2009 Graduates; the scholarship is available to all 2009 graduates who have earned a Bachelors degree with honours (or undergraduate Masters degree) and register for a postgraduate degree at Kent in the 2009/10 academic year.
There is no need to make a separate application. The funding will be provided to all 2009 graduates on registration.
The University has made considerable investments in postgraduate studies in recent years and this is set to continue following the launch of its new Graduate School. The Graduate School is responsible for the strategic development of graduate education and research within the University.
Click here for more information
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British Academy Small Research Grant for Dr. Efrosyni Boutsikas
Congratulations to Dr. Efrosyni Boutsikas for her successful application to the British Academy for funding to undertake research on “Ancient Greek Mystery Cults”.
Click for more information on her project.
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Visualising Late Antiquity Workshop 1: Law Courts in Late Antiquity
A one day workshop of the Universities of Kent and London (King’s College) to be held at King’s College, London on Saturday 6th June.
Programme
11.00-11.30 Luke Lavan (Kent) Reconstructing Everyday Life in Late Antiquity: Potential and Problems
11.40-12.40 Luke Lavan (Kent) Visiting the Courts in Late Antiquity: An Overview
14.00-14.40 Sebastian Rascon (Madrid) A Law Court at Complutum: A Virtual Reality Approach
14.40-15.20 Caroline Lawrence A Law Court at Ostia: Acting a ‘Roman Mysteries’ scene for the BBC
Break
16.00-16.30 Jon Conyard (Comitatus) Dressing for Court in Late Antiquity: Experiments in Replica Reconstruction
16.30-17.00 Caroline Humfress (Birkbeck) Respondant
17.00-17.30 Discussion
Room details: Council Room (K2.29), near the chapel, on the first floor of King’s (Strand Campus), the Strand, London, WC2R 2LS.
Entrance is free, though places are limited. To reserve a place please email Michael Mulryan on info[AT]lateantiquearchaeology.com.
Location details: www.kcl.ac.uk/about/campuses/strand-det.html. Temple Tube station is closest. For flights try www.skyscanner.net.
Cheap UK train tickets can be obtained in advance from www.thetrainline.com. Direct trains from Canterbury West on Saturday morning leave at 8.35 or 9.06 and arrive 10.00 and 10.36 respectively, at Charing Cross. The best direct train from Oxford leaves at 9.01, and arrives at 9.59 Paddington. Ask for GroupSave4 tickets to allow four people to travel for the price of two.
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Three CLAS students awarded small grants.
Harriet Gemmel has won a £500 grant from the British Institute in Ankara to examine late antique shops in the ancient cities of Western Asia Minor.This will greatly assist her undergraduate dissertation on "Late Antique Shops: Aspects of Architectural Design".
MA student, Joe Williams, has received a conference grant from SECL to attend the postgraduate archaeology conference "Living in the Past: Living Conditions Through Time and Space" at Oxford on 28th and 29th March.
Postgraduate student, Andy Crane, has received a travel grant of £550 from the Classical Association of Western Canada to present a paper at their conference entitled "Violence in Greek and Roman Antiquity" in March. In addition, Andy has received another grant of between £250 - £300 for attending and presenting a paper at the joint Classical Association and Scottish Classical Association conference in April.
Well done to you all!
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Dr. Arthur Keaveney has been awarded a Margo Tytus Visiting Fellowship by the Department of Classics at the University of Cincinnati for the period March-June 2010.
Congratulations, Arthur!
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Late Antique Archaeology 2009: Late Antique Finds, Excavation and Analysis.
Saturday 7th March, 2009 - London.
A joint conference of the University of Kent and King's College, London, to be held at the Safra lecture theatre, KCL Strand Campus.
The study of late antique artefacts is no longer limited to silver plate and pilgrim tokens. Yet on many sites, finds are still excavated without thought for the information that they ultimately provide. Rich destruction deposits are excavated to a 'one size fits all' method, and finds are often studied only when digs have finished. Sadly, specialists are often kept out of trenches, despite the insights they can provide from finds in deposits actually under excavation. So do we simply collect finds?, or is there information, particular to each object type, and to late antique deposits, that needs to be recorded in order to study them properly? This meeting will examine the methods appropriate to the recovery and analysis of late antique finds, focusing especially on problems specific to the period and on new discoveries.
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Classical & Archaeological Studies RAE Results
The RAE panel has categorised 75% of our research as internationally recognised or better, with some of outstanding quality.
The RAE identified the research environment of Classical & Archaeological Studies at Kent as good and acknowledged the development of our research, conference organisation and increasing postgraduate provision. This is consistent with the expansion of the subject at Kent from 2004 onwards.
University of Kent's Ideas Factory Award
Dr Adam Bartley, from Classical & Archaeological Studies, Kent, has been awarded £4800 by the University of Kent's Ideas Factory. This money will fund the initial stages of the development of audio teaching materials for Ancient Greek and Latin, with a target audience of university, private and senior school students of ancient languages.
British Academy Small Research Grant for Csaba La'da
Congratulations to Csaba La'da (CLAS) for having just secured a British Academy Small Research Grant of £4000 to undertake research on a project entitled "Greeks, Jews and Egyptians: An Alphabetically Arranged Tax List of a Multi-Cultural Village in Ptolemaic Egypt (P.Vindob. G60514-60518)".
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One day workshop - Redefining Disability in the Ancient World
Previous studies of disability in the Greco-Roman, Byzantine and Medieval periods have focused on questioning what types of disabilities were common in the past and how those identified as disabled were treated. Yet, these interpretations of the subject are based on modern classifications and diagnoses of bodily and mental differences, which has led to many assumptions about the disabled. The assumption that disability was defined in the same manner in the past as in the present requires critical assessment that questions, not only how disability was understood, but even if using the term disabled to describe mental and physical difference is incorrect in certain instances.
This one day workshop, organised by Dr. Patty Baker (Kent) and Dr. Sarah Francis (Leeds), brings together scholars of classical and late antique/Byzantine literature, archaeology and paleopathology to discuss how the term disability should be used and defined amongst these different fields of scholarship.
Saturday, 24th January 2009, at the University of Leeds
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New Staff, starting January 2009!
The University has created two new posts, expanding the Classical and Archaeological Studies Section at Kent.
From January we are joined by :
Dr Efrosyni Boutsikas, Lecturer, with expertise in Greek archaeology.
Lloyd Bosworth, Technician, with particular expertise in geophysical survey.
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Distinguished Lecture, Wednesday, 28th January, 5.15 p.m.
Dr Dorothy Thompson: 'Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt'
Dr Thompson of Girton College, Cambridge, will deliver this talk in the SECL Distinguished Lecture series. Dr Thompson is a world expert on Hellenistic Egypt and papyrology, a Fellow of the British Academy, former President of the Association Internationale de Papyrologues and an outstanding speaker. Her paper will be based on the latest results of research into the late Ptolemaic period. The lecture will be followed by drinks and dinner.
Lecture Venue: Marlowe Building, Lecture Theatre 1
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UCAS Visit Days for prospective Students, applying to Classical and Archaeological Studies, to start in 2009.
The first Visit Day to the University and to meet Classics and Archaeology staff takes place on Wednesday, 17th December.
Further Visit Days take place through early 2009 on Wednesdays.
Schedule for UCAS Visit Days 2008/9:
(Wednesday 17 December)))Wednesday 28 Jananuary
Wednesday 11 February
Wednesday 25 February
Wednesday 11 March
Wednesday 25 March
Wednesday 8 April
Click here for more information »
The popular Film Nights organized by Stephen Penfold.
Classical and Archaeological Film Nights (Autumn term 2008)
Thursday Evenings, 6pm in CNW sem10 - FREE!
Programme of events for Autumn term (Weeks 1-12)
Week 1: Greece: A moment of excellence - 50 mins
Week 2: Great Excavations: Schliemann & Petrie - 50 mins
Week 3: Ancient Rome (BBC) pt.1 Caesar - 60 mins
Week 4: The Greeks: Crucible of Civilisation pt.1 - 60 mins
Week 5: Time Team: Swords, Skulls & Strongholds - 55 mins
Week 6: Ancient Rome (BBC) pt.2 Nero - 60mins
Week 7: The Greeks: Crucible of Civilisation pt.2 – 60 mins
Week 8: The Celts: The Beginning – 50 mins
Week 9: The Spartans Last stand of the 300 – 85 mins
Week 10: Akhenaten: Religious Reformer & Heretic? - 60mins
Week 11: Ancient Rome (BBC) pt.3 Rebellion - 60mins
Week 12 Christmas Special: “Clash of the Titans”
Hollywood’s version of the Perseus myth starring Laurence Olivier as Zeus.
With classic special effects by Ray Harryhausen
![C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Penfold\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\PNH91M75\MCj04362970000[1].png](/secl/classics/images/clip_image002.gif)
CLAS Film Nights![C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Penfold\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\PNH91M75\MCj04362970000[1].png](/secl/classics/images/clip_image003.gif)
Christmas Special
Come along and enjoy this Hollywood version of the Perseus Myth with stunning special effects by Ray Harryhausen
Thursday 18th December
6-pm CNWsem10
And it’s FREE !
For further details contact S.J.Penfold@kent.ac.uk
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Wednesday, 3rd December (Week 10)
5.15 p.m., Keynes Lecture Theatre 5 (KLT5), Canterbury Campus
Double Lecture: New Perspectives on the End of the Roman Empire
Dr Alexander Sarantis (University of Oxford):
‘The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation’
and Dr Elias Khamis (University of Oxford):
‘Classical Antiquity under Islam?: Syria–Palestine, 650–750'
The speakers will talk for c. 35-40 minutes each.
All are welcome to attend. Entrance free
Followed by a glass of wine and the presentation of three new volumes of
Late Antique Archaeology.
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Lecture on the mosaics of Roman Ostia
Dr Ellen Swift (Classical and Archaeological Studies and School of European Culture and Languages), will give a lecture entitled:
"Interpreting decorative mosaics at Roman Ostia"
on Thursday 27 November at 7pm in LT1, Darwin College. The lecture is being given in association with the Friends of Canterbury Archaeological Trust.
A small fee at the door - £2 for Friends; others £3; students £1.
All proceeds support the activities of Canterbury Archaeological Trust.
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Thursday, 13th November (Week 7)
19.30 – 21.30 p.m., Grimond Lecture Theatre 1 (GLT1)
Archaeological Fieldwork of the University of Kent in 2008:
Recent discoveries and current research of The Department of Classical and Archaeological Studies
An evening of illustrated lectures, free, and open to all. Come and listen to the latest work from Kent research projects in Greece, Italy, and the UK, on sites ranging from Bronze Age to Early Medieval in date.
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Two newly created posts in Classical and Archaeological Studies were advertized in the late Summer and early Autumn. The posts are a Lectureship in Archaeology and an Archaeological Technician. The University and Section hope to make these appointments before the end of the year (2008).
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Staff news, Autumn 2008:
Dr Ellen Swift has taken over as the new Head of Section for 2008/9
Dr Anne Alwis takes on the role of Director of Undergraduate Studies
Dr Csaba La'da now deals with Postgraduate matters
The following staff are on Research Leave this Autumn: Dr Bartley, Dr Keaveney, Dr Kyriakidis and Dr Willis.
Dr Kyriakidis will be mainly in Greece during the Spring and Summer of 2009.
Dr Willis is also on Research Leave during the Summer term 2009.
Expansion! The University will be appointing two new staff in Classical and Archaeological Studies this Autumn: a further Lecturer in Archaeology and a Technician to support the research and teaching undertaken by the Section.
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The Inner Workings of Mycenaean Bureaucracy Conference:
Canterbury, September 19-21
Programme Summary
Friday Evening: Drinks Reception
Saturday:
Marie Louise Nosch, “The Od series from Knossos – new Sets and Thoughts”
Christina Skelton, “The scribal hands of Knossos. Part I: phylogenetic analyses"
Richard Firth, “The scribal hands of Knossos. Part II: find-place analysis"
Discussion of Skelton and Firth (joint discussion)
John Killen, “The Scribes at Knossos: Degrees of Specialization”
Carlos Varias, “The Status of the Scribes of the ‘Ivory Houses’ at Mycenae”
Vanghelis Kyriakidis, “Hand 2 at Pylos: minister or underdog”
Godart Louis, “The Paleography of Tn 316. Old problems and new solutions”
Sunday:
Philippa Steele, "Legality' and Mycenaean Scribes"
Torsten Meissner, “The spread of literacy in Mycenaean Greece”
Jacob Lebovich Dahl, “Scribes in Proto Elamite inscriptions”
Yves Duhoux, "How were the Mycenaean scribes taught?"
Tom Palaima, "New developments in our understanding of Mycenaean scribal training and traditions: Considering the unknown Minoan factor"
Françoise Rougemont, “Tablet formatting and scribal practices. The case of opistho- and pleurography”
Discussion: Anna Morpurgo Davies, Pietro Millitelo, Anna Sacconi, Massimo Perna, Helena Tomas, Susan Lupack
This conference was generously funded by KIASH and INSTAP
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Above: University of Kent students on research and training excavation
at a Roman site near Hatcliffe, NE Lincolnshire, August 2008 (Trench C).
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The University of Kent's research and training excavations and survey at Ostia, port of ancient Rome, Sept. 2008:
Blog: www.lateantiqueostia.wordpress.com
Background:
Dr Luke Lavan is preparing the first Kent excavation campaign at Ostia,
the port of ancient Rome, from the 2nd to 28th of September. This is a collaboration
with Axel Gering, of the Humboldt University of Berlin, who is an expert
on the late Roman phases of the city. Ten Kent students will soon fly
off to Rome and start work on a late forum in the centre of the city -
the 'Foro della Statua Eroica' that is thought to date from the late 3rd
or early 5th century. This is a site that was dug during the 1940s, though
rather too quickly, without being published. We are undertaking a
programme of detailed cleaning, architectural recording and selected
excavation. The forum surface extends over some 40 x 50m and may contain
traces of market stalls and later medieval houses. The present ground
surface was established by building over a collapsed bath-complex and
filling in a street. This was part of a wider programme of monumental
works carried out in the 4th and early 5th centuries, in which a number of
minor streets were blocked with fountains and porticoes, in order to
improve the monumental appearance of the main avenue. Towards the end of
the campaign we hope to be able to cast our net wider in a programme of
sondages to obtain dates for these changes and so place them firmly into
our understanding of the late antique history of the city. A programme
of on-going historical work under taken by Luke hopes to understand
these transformations in terms of the changing use of the streets in
late antiquity: notably in terms of different public processions.
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The Centre for the History of Archaeology, University of Kent, presents a talk by Christine Finn entitled:
'Excavating Jacquetta: a study of archaeological biography and change-over-time'
22nd Sept at 5.30pm, venue: GLT2 (Grimmond Lecture Theatre 2). All welcome.
This presentation will look at the life and work of the archaeologist, broadcaster, and writer Jacquetta Hawkes (1910-1996), a passionate communicator of the past to the public, whose considerable output included poetry, theatre and film. It will consider how the practice and idea of archaeology changed during her lifetime, and why she continues to be a controversial figure, long after an amount of her works have gone out of print.
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Celine Murphy, 2nd year undergraduate has been awarded the Mortimer Wheeler fund for travelling to Crete in order to participate in the university's project there. Only three people from all over the UK were awarded this high honour.
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Helen Gittos and Gabor Thomas join forces with Classical and Archaeological studies in a Kent -Reading excavation project
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Study visit to the excavations at the Roman town at Famars, northern France, June 2008
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Dr John Williams, MBE, who recently retired as Head of Heritage with Kent County Council received an Honorary Doctorate at the University's Congregation on 9th July for his contribution to archaeology and conservation and the promotion of historic Kent. Dr Williams has produced a distinguished list of publications through his career and his wife, Frances, is an Honorary Lecturer in Classical and Archaeological Studies.
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Visit to the Ancient Cities of Turkey with a BIAA Travel Grant: Report on the trip by Richard Sadler, graduating in Classical and Archaeological Studies, summer 2008, and recipient of the grant
Richard writes: "If, during your time at Kent, you plan to study any modules on late
antiquity, then I cannot recommend highly enough that you apply for a £500 travel grant from the BIAA. Having received this grant, with the
help of my lecturer Dr. Lavan, I set about planning my trip around the
late antique sites of Turkey for two weeks. I set off mid-June to
Istanbul and spent two and a half days in this amazing city experiencing
such sites as the Hippodrome, Hagia Sofia and the Basilica Cisterns, one
of the few remaining late antique sites preserved in Istanbul as well as
the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, which has four floors packed full of
outstanding exhibits. Having left Istanbul I travelled to the British
Institute itself in Ankara where I was welcomed very warmly and allowed
to use their extensive library to do some further reading in order to
prepare me better for some of the sites I would visit later on. Having
left Ankara I travelled mainly around the south and south-east of Turkey
seeing a new site or more everyday, including Hierapolis, Ephesus,
Aphrodisias, Miletus, Priene and Didyma. The buildings in these cities
were so well preserved that one might not be to far off in saying that
all that is missing is the roof! After travelling around by coach for a
while, I had the pleasure of having my own driver to take me to many of
the more remote sites. Although this was expensive it is worth
every penny as without it, such sites as Sagalassos, Arykanda and Pinara
would be inaccessible. Again these are amazingly well preserved cities
and display many attributes of the late antique period such as the use
of spolia, encroachment, commercialisation, and Christianisation. Hardly
anywhere in the world can compare to Turkey for the sheer diversity and
scale of its archaeological heritage and the breathtaking landscapes in
which it is to be found. Just reading about it and studying it in class
is not enough, if you are serious about it you must visit."
Richard is intending to return to Kent to undertake post-graduate study.