My research focuses on expressions of cultural identity among the groups of pre-Roman Italy. Throughout the MPhil, I plan to approach the material culture of pre-Roman Italy through a broad lens that encapsulates the variety of cultures known from the archaeological record of the Archaic period. In doing so, I aim to refine our understanding of pre-Roman cultural groups without relying on Greco-Roman perspectives. My MPhil dissertation will examine the earliest examples of cippi in architectural forms (columns, capitals, entablatures, pilasters, and houses, to name a few) across northern, central, and southern Italy in order to understand whether the development of these cippi types is an isolated occurrence or perhaps reflective of larger-scale trends across the peninsula.
