The conference dates for Late Antique Archaeology 2010 are now available. We will meet at King’s College London, on the Strand, on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th March 2010. The theme of the conference will be focused on regional trade and self-sufficency in late antiquity, a counter-balance to current studies of the economy which have stressed interegional trade as a source of prosperity in this period. More details soon

For those of you who didnt get to London last week – Caroline Lawrence has posted her paper on law courts, with images of the scenes from ‘Roman Mysteries’ on her blog

http://flavias.blogspot.com/2009/06/roman-law-courts.html

It is a good resume of law court in the late republic and early empire with much of direct relevance to Late Antiquity.

MA in Archaeology by Research – Fee Waiver
Visualising Late Antiquity: Everyday Life AD 300-650

Centre for Late Antique Archaeology, University of Kent

The School of European Culture and Languages is able to offer two MA fee waivers at Home /EU rate for the academic year 2009-2010, to support guided research into the Visualisation of Everyday Life in Late Antiquity. This degree will be taught through tutorials and guided research, although  it will also be necessary to attend lectures and
seminars on late antique archaeology in the first term. Assessment will be based on a 40,000 word dissertation, though students will be asked to write preparatory essays in the first term, connected to their subject.

The theme of the dissertation will be set by their supervisor and may include topics such as the architecture, furniture and material culture in late antiquity.

Programme Duration: Full-time 12 months
Start date: September 2009

Entry Requirements: Applicants are generally expected to have obtained an upper second-class honours degree, or the international equivalent, in archaeology or a related field. Applicants whose first language is not English are expected to have obtained IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 570. Candidates should have an established interest in late antiquity and its
architecture or material culture, and intend to progress to a PhD at Kent on this theme, if the opportunity presented itself. Excavation experience and organisational skills are desirable, as students will be expected to participate for one month in the Ostia Excavation Project, and offer some administrative assistance to the Centre for Late Antique Archaeology during the year. Knowledge of one or more modern European languages (French, German and Italian) would be an advantage, as would experience of Mediterranean archaeology.

Fee Waiver: the successful candidates will be offered a fee waiver of 3,670 GBP to cover one year of postgraduate fees at home / EU rate. No maintenance fee would be offered. Fees could be repayable in whole or part if the degree was abandoned without completion, or if efforts made were deemed to fall below the acceptable minimum standard for MA work.

Application Process
To be eligible for these studentships, candidates must send to Dr Luke Lavan (via email) a CV and a letter explaining why they would like to be considered for the University of Kent studentship,  accompanied by a piece of written work. The deadline for submissions is 16th June 2009. Selection will be based on written submissions, with the option of
interview by telephone / email.

Contact: Dr Luke Lavan,
Email: l.a.lavan@kent.ac.uk
Tel: 01227769665
School of European Culture and Languages,
Cornwallis North West,
University of Kent,
Canterbury,
Kent CT2 7NF
http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/classics/staff/LukeLavan/
www.lateantiquearchaeology.com

*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@lateantiquearchaeology.com.

Location details: http://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.

*Late Antique Archaeology 2009*
*Late Antique Finds: Excavation and Analysis*

 

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 into 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.

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 Strand, London, WC2R 2LS.

10.30 Welcome by Luke Lavan (Kent) and Tasssos Papacostas (KCL)

10.40-11.10 Steve Roskams (York) Animal Bones
11.10-11.40 John Pearce (KCL) Digging the Dead : Current and Future Approaches

11.50-12.20 Jerry Evans & Phil Mills (Leicester) Late Roman Pottery
12.20-12.50 Joanita Vroom (UEA) Early Medieval Pottery

2.00-2.30 Veerle Lawyers (KULeuven) Glass
2.30-3.00 Anthea Harris (Birmingham) Everyday Metals
3.00-3.30 John Casey (Kent) Coins

4.10-4.40 Stefan Groh (Vienna) The Archaeology of Waste in the Roman Fort and Vicus of Mautern-Favianis, Noricum (Austria)

4.40-5.10 Phil Mills (Leicester) Building Materials

5.10-5.40 James Gerrard (Pre-construct archaeology) Excavating and studying the hoard from Drapers’ Gardens, City of London

Entrance is free, though places are limited. To reserve a place please email Michael Mulryan on info@lateantiquearchaeology.com.

Location details: http://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.

This conference has been generously sponsored by www.romanmysteries.com and www.brill.nl

– 
Dr Luke Lavan
Lecturer in Archaeology,
Classical and Archaeological Studies,
School of European Culture and Languages,
Cornwallis North West,
University of Kent,
Canterbury,
Kent CT2 7NF

www.brill.nl/laa
www.lateantiquearchaeology.com
www.lateantiqueostia.wordpress.com

Telephone +441227823944