Classics Research Projects
Current projects
Anachronism and Antiquity
This Leverhulme Trust-funded project, running from
2016 to 2019, is undertaking the first systematic study of the concept of
anachronism in Greco-Roman antiquity and of the role played by the idea of
anachronism in the formation of the concept of antiquity itself. Read More...
Collective Rituals and the Construction of Social Identity in Early Iron Age and Archaic Greece
This
is a research project based at the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford and the CReA-Patrimoine at the
Université libre de Bruxelles, ULB. The project is funded by the Ph. Wiener-M. Anspach
Foundation. The aim is to study
distinctive collective rituals from the Early Iron Age to the Archaic period.
Read more...
Food for the Gods: Perceptions of a Greek Cultural Paradox
Why do gods eat, and why do people worship
them with offerings of food? This project will explore the role of paradox and
doubt as essential aspects of religious belief and the transmission of
religious narratives and rituals. In many ancient cultures, the
production and distribution of food is linked to divine higher powers as the
creators and enablers of natural life.
Read more ...
Greek Literary Hands of the Roman Period
The objective of this project is to bring more substance to
the process of dating book-fragments on papyrus or parchment recovered by
excavators at Oxyrhynchus and elsewhere, by a focused and systematic search for
objectively dated material relevant to defining styles and analysing their
development.
Read more ...
Imaging Papyri
This project works to capture
digitised images of Greek and Latin papyri at Oxford and Naples,
for the creation of an Oxford bank of digitised images of papyri.
Read More...
Khirbet et-Tannur Nabataean Temple Project, Jordan
Khirbet
et-Tannur is a hilltop sanctuary on the King’s Highway, near Khirbet edh-Dharih
which was the third caravan stop 70 km north of the Nabataean capital Petra. In
use from the 2nd century B.C. to the 4/6th century A.D., this temple complex is
exceptional because of the information it provides about religious practice due
to the astonishing preservation of carbonized cult offerings and vessels. Read More...
Last Statues of Antiquity
The ‘Last Statues of
Antiquity’ is investigating all evidence for new statuary of the period
circa 280–650, as well as the slow decline (and eventual death) of the
ancient statue-habit.
Read more ...
Late Antique Egypt and the Holy Land: Archaeology, History and Religious Change
Late
Antiquity (c. A.D. 250–750) saw a shift in religion in Egypt and the Middle
East from paganism to Christianity and subsequently Islam. The texts that
record this process have been intensely discussed; the archaeological dimension
much less so. This multidisciplinary project examines the spatial and iconographic
aspects of material culture to reveal a complex and nuanced picture of
interactions between pagans, Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Read More...
Lefkandi
Lefkandi is a key
site in the Aegean during both the Bronze and Iron Age. The ancient settlement
on Xeropolis is a tell which was occupied without break from the Early Bronze
Age (c. 2100 BC) to the end of the
Iron Age (c. 700 BC). The importance of the site is renowned from the
excavations of the Early Iron Age cemeteries which are located some 500 m from
the settlement on Xeropolis. Among them is the rich in burial offerings Toumba
cemetery closely linked with the outstanding tenth century BC Toumba funeral building
Read more ...
Lexicon of Greek Personal Names
The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names is a project to collect and publish all ancient Greek personal names from the 8th Century BC to the late Roman Empire. Ancient Greek names provide crucial evidence to the historian.
Read more ...
Manar al-Athar Photo Archive
The Manar al-Athar website, based at the University of Oxford, aims to
provide high resolution, searchable images for teaching, research, and
publication. Read more ...
Monumental Art of the Christian and Early Islamic East: Cultural Identities and Classical Heritage
This
project will analyse the monumental art (large decorative programmes on
buildings) of two areas of the former eastern Roman Empire which came under Islamic
rule but which have never been the subject of an integrated comprehensive
study: Egypt and Syro-Palestine (modern Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and
Israel/Palestine). Read More...
Oxford-Paris Alexander Project (OPAL)
The OPAL project, run jointly with the Bibliothèque
nationale de France, takes as its focus Alexander the Great. OPAL will investigate how such a corpus of
material can contribute to the understanding of the ancient world. The project will create a group of over 4,000
digitized objects that will be presented through the websites of the Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Read More
Oxford Roman Economy Project
The research programme addresses the fundamentals of the Roman imperial
economy and analyses all major economic activities (including
agriculture, trade, commerce, and extraction), utilising quantifiable
bodies of archaeological and documentary evidence and placing them in a broader structural context.
Read more ...
Oxyrhynchus Papryi
This project began with the excavation, in 1897-1907, of the town-site
of Oxyrhynchus in Egypt. The excavators, B P Grenfell and A S Hunt, recovered more than 100,000
pieces, fragments and scraps of papyrus, mostly in Greek, dating
from the Roman and early Byzantine periods. The focus of the project is the publication of this material.
Read more ...
Roman Provincial Coinage in the Antonine Period
The aim of this project is to produce a standard typology of the
provincial coinage of the Roman Empire in the period AD 138-192, together with a
commentary and introduction.
Read more ...