@mareproject
Mortuary Archaeology in the Roman East: a five year project investigating mortuary rituals in the Near East (1st c. BCE - 4th c. CE). Housed at University of Groningen @rug.nl - funded by NWO. For previous activities see our archive on X: @MARE_Project
Thinking about publishing your work on funerary materials from the Roman Near East? Have a look at the MARE Publication Grant! The selection committee meets again on Friday 24 April, so now would be a good time to apply!
www.rug.nl/MARE-Publication-Grant
🥳Celebrating a great achievement!
On 21 November, MARE PI Lidewijde de Jong delivered her inaugural speech to officially receive the title Professor of East-Mediterranean and West-Asian Archaeology. Congratulations from the team! Obviously, we had to mark the occasion by carving her a stele 🤩
Congratulations to MARE postdoc Tamara, who has her co-authored chapter 'The Cities of the Dead' published! 🥳
In print soon: Dijkstra, T. & Borbonus, D. (2025). The Cities of the Dead. In P. Davies, & C. Williamson (Eds.), The Cambridge Urban History of Europe: Ancient Europe (Vol. 1, pp. 696-716)
Looking back on a fruitful Necropoleis Research Network Annual meeting, held in the Archaeological Museum of Chania, Crete ☀️So many inspiring presentations and conversations. Huge thanks to all organizers, speakers and attendees 🙌 Until next year!
Hi @ullamr.bsky.social, thank you for reaching out! To join the Network and be on the mailing list, please send your details to NecropoleisResearchNetwork@gmail.com
You can also find more information here:
independent.academia.edu/NecropoleisR...
Hope to see you in a future meeting! 😄
Only one week until the Necropoleis Research Network Annual Meeting – and we’re excited to see a programme packed with inspiring themes to be explored! Looking forward to an Annual Meeting that connects scholars from across the field, fosters the exchange of ideas, and sparks new collaborations ✨
📣 MARE Publication Grant reminder! The selection committee meets again on 30 October, so make sure to apply before then :)
Tomorrow, prof. Jonathan Prag will give a lecture on the impact of Roman colonialism on Sicily, with a focus on epigraphic evidence. We are looking forward to it!
The call for papers for the Necropoleis Research Network (NRN) Annual Meeting in Crete, 24-26 October 2025, is out! The MARE project offers travel grants for scholars presenting on funerary materials of the Roman Near East - visit our site www.rug.nl/MARE-Travel-Grant for more information
🚨Publication alert!
Want to learn more about cremation and identity in Roman Beirut? Check out this new article by Vana Kalenderian and colleagues. Highly recommended - a very interesting read!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
❗ Did you know that we have a MARE Publication Grant? Check out www.rug.nl/MARE-publica... for more information!
Nicholas presented about Tyrian sarcophagi at the Graduate Archaeology Oxford conference this week - and discovered this sarcophagus at Blenheim Palace. It depicts Dionysus, Ariadne, Herakles, and Dionysiac thiasos. The scene was a favourite of the Romans, exclaiming 'Enjoy life while you can!' ✨
Do check out his project description on the MARE webpage:
www.rug.nl/research/gro...
In contrast to my current research focus, most
of my teaching roles primarily concern art, architecture, and archaeology of the Greek world (3200 BC–30 BC).
More specifically, I have been interested in the religious and funerary art and architecture of the Hellenistic world and Roman (eastern) provinces as well as theoretical approaches to the relationship between image and text.
I previously studied in England, specialising in the material and visual culture of the Graeco-Roman world (MSt – University of Oxford; BA – University of Warwick).
In the case of ritual practice, some sarcophagi possess attached altars upon which we can actually identify traces of burned offerings. I am particularly interested in reconciling artistic and archaeological approaches to reconstruct funerary customs and how they were experienced spatially.
Hello! My name is Nicholas and my PhD investigates
the ritual function of sarcophagi of Roman-period Phoenicia (Lebanon). This means
examining how the shape, material, iconography, and inscriptions of the sarcophagi
represented the dead, consoled mourners, and shaped ritual practice.
Today, PhD candidate Nicholas Aherne will introduce himself! His PhD is entitled 'Encoffined Bodies: on the Role of Decorated Sarcophagi in the Funerary Customs of Roman-period Phoenicia' 🔽
With a strong emphasis on placing funerary evidence into ritual sequences, his research examines the rituals of these regions ranging from the preparation of the body to ancient re-engagement with previous burials.
His project studies instances of well preserved funerary material found in Roman Pisidia and Lebanon. Using a wide array of evidence including grave good assemblages, tomb architecture, and bodily positions, the thesis attempts to capture the range of activities that took place in and around tombs.
To start, we'd like to introduce one of the MARE PhD candidates: John Turco! John is working on his thesis entitled, Rituals in Space: Reconstructing Funerary Rituals through Gifts and Bones. Read more about his research in the replies ⬇️
Hi all! We are still quite new here, but starting to find our way round BlueSky. Be sure to check in, as we will introduce our team members in the next weeks. Looking forward to meet you all! :)
Poster announcing the Sixth NINO Annual Meeting, “Heritage and politics in the Middle East: historical perspectives”, 30 January 2025 at the University of Groningen
The sixth NINO Annual Meeting is held on Thursday 30 January at the University of Groningen. Theme: Heritage and politics in the Middle East: historical perspectives.
To register, please send an email to ninoconf25@gmail.com
Full program: https://buff.ly/42iqdkb
Hello all!
We are the MARE (Mortuary Archaeology of the Roman East) project at the University of Groningen, and we are happy to join Bluesky! We will share updates about our research, grants, publications and more here – but check out our website as well:
www.rug.nl/research/gro...
