Recently, the Classics Department of the University of Reading was delighted to announce the release of a special video called What Can a Dog Called Margarita Teach us About Ancient Rome? In this video Prof. Peter Kruschwitz (University of Vienna), Prof. Xavier Espluga (University of Barcelona) and Dr. María Limón (University of Seville) discuss the lettered world of ancient Rome […]
What’s it Like? – A Mini-Series that Dishes the Dirt on Archaeology and Classics!
At the beginning of the year, I started a mini-series during my role as Social Media Manager for the Classics Department, University of Reading. The aim was to produce a collection of short interviews which articulated what it was really like to work in the various areas of ancient history careers. These interviews discuss the stark reality of the pros, […]
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Episode 4: Prof. Barbara Goff – A Specialist in Ancient Greek Literature, Language, Tragedy and their Later Reception.
Interviewee: Prof. Barbara Goff. Interviewer: Bunny Waring. Date: 21st May 2021 Welcome to the mini-series called What’s it Like? Originating from my work with the Classics Department, University of Reading, these episodes include interviews of staff, volunteers and students from across the globe, who specialise in all the different fields of academic and commercial studies in Classics, Archaeology and Museums. […]
The Secrets of Saqqara Tomb (no spoilers)
In April this year, I watched a documentary on the recent excavations at the Bubasteion Necropolis in the Giza desert. The film follows the 2019 excavation season of Egyptologist Mohammad Mohammad Yousef and his team as they uncover the tomb of Wahyte, a high-ranking priest who lived around 4500 years ago. Recording the highs, lows, logistics and passions of an […]
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Episode 3: Dr Claudina Romero Mayorga – A Specialist in Sensorial Archaeology in Museums and Classics.
Interviewee: Dr. Claudina Romero Mayorga. Interviewer: Bunny Waring. Date: 16th April 2021 Welcome to the new mini-series called What’s it Like? Originating from my work with the Classics Department, University of Reading, these episodes include interviews of staff, volunteers and students from across the globe, who specialise in all the different fields of academic and commercial studies in Classics, Archaeology […]
An Introduction to: Ides of March – Frivolity, Feasting and Folklore.
The Ides of March 44 BCE is remembered each year by history enthusiasts as the day of Julius Caesar’s assassination. The execution of the most prevalent Roman leader of his time by the co-governing senate was no small matter and is often marked as a turning point in Roman politics. Before this infamous day, however, the 15th March was already […]
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Episode 2: Dr James Lloyd-Jones – A Specialist in Ancient Music and Song.
Interviewee: Dr. James Lloyd-Jones, Interviewer: Bunny Waring. Date: 5th March 2021 Welcome to the mini-series called What’s it Like? Originating from my work with the Classics Department, University of Reading, these episodes include interviews of staff, volunteers and students from across the globe, who specialise in all the different fields of academic and commercial studies in Classics, Archaeology and Museums. […]
21st Century Classics – Why Bother?
If there is one thing Lockdown number 5,409 has taught the collective ‘us’, it’s adaptation. With enforced periods of dull, gray nothingness, Covid has presented many of us with time to think, reflect and redirect our unspent energies. As an experienced archaeologist and a relatively green Classicist, I find myself confronted more and more with questions such as Why is […]
WHAT’s IT LIKE? Episode 1: Professor Eleanor Dickey – A Specialist in Ancient Languages and Education.
Interviewee: Prof. Eleanor Dickey, Interviewer: Bunny Waring. Date: 19th February 2021 Welcome to the first in a new mini-series called What’s it Like? Originating from my work with the Classics Department, University of Reading, these episodes include interviews of staff, volunteers and students from across the globe, who specialise in all the different fields of academic and commercial studies in […]
An Introduction to: The Nereid Monument
Introduction In 1848, antiquarian Charles Fellows began directing an excavation on the south-west coast of Turkey. Inspired by ancient literary descriptions of the socio-political influence of Lycia during the Persian Wars, Fellows began searching for material remains of the key Lycian settlement, Xanthos.[1] During the excavation, large stone fragments surrounded by the rubble of carved stones were discovered, just outside […]