26 October 2013

University of Edinburgh Lunchtime Seminars

On November 19 at 1 PM, I will be giving a short lecture discussing the relationship between permeable boundaries and levels of access in Pompeian houses. The talk is part of the Roman and Late Antique Archaeology Seminar Series, a collection of monthly seminars intended to promote and enhance dialogue between University of Edinburgh scholars that have an interest in the archaeology of the Roman and Late Antique world. The 2013-2014 schedule is as follows:

15 October | Prof. Jim Crow
New cities in late antiquity: an antidote to decline and fall
19 November | Dr. Taylor Lauritsen
An "open door" policy? Reassessing access to the Pompeian house
21 January | Dr. Fraser Hunter
Late Roman silver and the barbarian world - ongoing work on the Traprain Treasure 
25 February | Dr. Candace Rice
Coastal Cilicia between Rome and Constantinople 
25 March | Dr. Ben Russell
The Roman art market from Republic to Empire: texts and shipwreck evidence
29 April | Dr. Ine Jacobs
A time for prayer and a time for pleasure: Christianity's struggle with the secular world 

All seminars are held at 1 PM in the Meadows Lecture Theatre, Doorway 4, Teviot Place. 

10 April 2013

Upcoming Talks

Just a quick note for interested parties: I will be giving a pair of talks summarizing the results of the Doors of Pompeii and Herculaneum Project over the course of next month. The first, entitled "Crossing the Threshold: Patterns of Movement in Roman Houses," will be delivered at the Public and Private in the Roman House Conference, which is being held in Helsinki at the end of next week. Full conference details (including a schedule of papers) are available here

The second paper will be given on May 7th at the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne as part of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology's seminar series. It is called "Rebuilding Boundaries in the Pompeian House: Towards a Functional Interpretation of Domestic Space." Full details, including time and location will be forthcoming on the school website.

21 January 2013

Panoramas and Publications

As it's been nearly 10 months since I last posted to the blog, a quick update seems a bit overdue. Most of the time since last March has been spent writing, an activity that is, as it turns out, not particularly conducive to producing exciting project-related events. I am approaching the end of this process, however, and there are a few developments that I would like to pass on to those who might be interested.

The first involves the production of Quicktime and Flash VR panorama images of a number of Pompeian houses. Virtual reality panoramas are an effective way of representing/describing space in classroom and lecture situations and I have often used them in my teaching. Though a number of houses and other structures at Herculaneum have been photographed in this manner by the University of Auckland (see Herculaneum Panoramas), Pompeian dwellings have received less attention. I have only completed a few panoramas so far (taken primarily in the houses that I am currently working on), but I hope to produce a more substantial catalogue when time allows. Below you will find two images from this preliminary set. These are produced in cylindrical format, so they distort towards the top and the bottom. To move the panorama, simply click anywhere on the image and drag the mouse; zoom in and out by rolling the trackball.

Casa di Fabio Amandio (I.7.3)


Casa di Ercole (VI.7.6)


There are also a couple of publication-related updates that I would like to pass along. The Privata Luxuria volume (ed. A. Anguissola), which includes my paper The Form and Function of Boundaries in the Campanian House, will be published at the beginning of February. It will be available for purchase here.

In addition, I have recently written a review of the excellent Pompeii: Art, Industry, and Infrastructure, edited by E. Poehler, M. Flohr and K. Cole. This was published in the European Journal of Archaeology in December (EJA 15.3, pp. 555-559) and will be made available on my Academia.edu page in the near future, pending copyright allowance.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention another boundary-related publication on the horizon, this being my friend Evan Proudfoot's study of entranceway doors in Pompeian houses, which is due to be published this spring in the proceedings volume for TRAC 2012.