My DPhil project looks at an assemblage of figurines which have come up in recent years during the excavation of Thonis-Heracleion in Egypt. Thonis-Heracleion was a major trading hub and emporium of Egypt during the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. The site experienced strong cultural interchange with the Greek world, a fact which is reflected also by the types of figurines that are found there, many of whom are either imports from Greece or bear testimony to the strong Greek influence on Egypt during the Ptolemaic Period. My research takes a strongly contextual approach, looking at the figurines in the contexts of manufacture, sale and usage within the site and incorporates novel archaeological methodologies such as paleodermatoglyphics, the study of ancient fingerprints, to tell us more about the production process and chaîne opératoire of figurine production. While the site is largely known for its monumental finds, such as colossal sculpture, my research aims to investigate the non-monumental material culture of everyday life by focusing on this assemblage of figurines.
My research interests extend to Graeco-Roman Egyptian material culture in general with a particular focus on Alexandria and its environs. I currently co-direct a secondary project with Dr Timothy Penn from the University of Reading on a large collection of Roman lead tokens which were discovered during the excavations of the IEASM (European Institute of Underwater Archaeology) in the ancient harbour of Alexandria. In terms of fieldwork experience, I have previously worked with the excavations of Mazarron (Spain, Roman), Tiryns (Greece, Bronze Age), Aeclanum (Italy, Roman), Thouria (Greece, Hellenistic) and am now working at Alexandria and Thonis-Heracleion (Egypt, Hellenistic-Roman).
