Coffee and Circuses

In the first of several episodes recorded during TRAC, Deb joins David to discuss her VR reconstruction of the Carrawburgh Mithraeum, sensory experience in VR, how it'll become increasingly common in museums, and you can listen to David's delight as he experiences the virtual mithraeum.

Deb Mayers is an MA student at the University of Glasgow. 

You can find her website here: http://debmayers.com/

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Ada joins David to discuss her new book, Becoming a Woman and Mother in Greco-Roman Egypt. She chats about attitudes towards menstruation, marriage, and unwanted children, and the changes that occurred in these (or didn't) from Pharonic to Greco-Roman Egypt. Ada also reflects on how excavating at Fayum in Egypt led her to focus on this topic (despite the scorpions), the importance of interdisciplinary approaches, and how she was pleasantly surprised by the massive reaction when she set up the Facebook group 'Women in Antiquity'.

Ada Nifosi is a Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Kent: https://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/classics/staff/nifosi.html

The Women in Antiquity Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/womeninantiquitynetwork/

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Phil joins David to talk about his PhD on prehistoric monuments in Roman Britain - how did people interact with these features in this  period? How did their presence effect the landscape around them? Phil also discusses his time with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, using the Force to identify flint, how an MA essay on crucifixion evolved into an article, and competing in archaeology's premier international football tournament: the Wickelmann Cup.

For more info on Phil's time with the PAS, and an image of him looking longingly into the distance, head to https://finds.org.uk/counties/nottinghamshire/meet-the-finds-liaison-assistant-phil-hughes/ 

Find him at academia.edu at  https://leicester.academia.edu/PhilHughes

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Laura joins David to talk about her current project on sensory experience in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia, her PhD on sleeping and privacy in the Roman world, how she's finding her stay in Canterbury, and the current state of archaeology and classics in Finland. We'll be tackling the important questions of: did Roman's have earplugs? What did they wear in bed? And what did Roman emperors smell like?

You can find out about Laura's publications and connect with her on social media at http://www.lauranissin.fi/laura-nissin/

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Giacomo joins David to talk about his recent article on the re-discovery of Roman baths in Britain, and how one image - mistakenly thought to be ancient Roman when it was centuries younger - led antiquarians studying Roman baths down the wrong path for years. 

He also talks about the recently published book 'Roman Leicester', which he contributed to as not only an author, but illustrator as well, and how engaging with your creative side can help understand the ancient world better. 

Finally, Giacomo reminisces about how visiting his grandmother as child led him got him into archaeology, including how he can still remember the taste of the stones (that's not a typo).

You can buy 'Roman Leicester' at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Roman-World-Leicester/dp/0957479255

Also, look out for A Necessary Fiction, edited by D. van Helden and R. Witcher, which includes Giacomo's co-authored chapter with Victoria Thompson: 'Ambiguity and Omission: Creative Mediation of the Unknowable Past.'

Find Giacomo on Twitter at: @GiacomoSavani ‏

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Sophie joins David to discuss her PhD on women in Republican Rome, and how she wants to repopulate our image of this time with women from across the social spectrum who have often been marginalised - not just the aristocratic women, but also slaves and actresses (who could become famous in their own right!). She also talks about her experiences studying in France, Hungary, Italy and the UK, the writers who influence her work, and why she decided to focus on gender studies. 

Sophie Chavarria is a PhD student at the University of Kent.

You could find Sophie on Twitter @chavarriasophie

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For most Roman archaeologists, it would be a difficult to choose between excavating on Hadrian's Wall, or at a large sanctuary site in Romania, or conduct laser scanning in Pompeii, or discover the childhood home of Marcus Aurelius under the Lateran in Rome (!?). But for Ian Haynes, all these projects are going on at the same time!

Ian talks to David about some of these projects, why archaeology is a team sport, keeping up with - but not getting carried away by - new technology in archaeology, catching malaria in the Amazon, travelling the Silk Road, and how a picture he saw during a wet-break time at school when he was 10 put him on the path to archaeology.

Ian Haynes is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Newcastle

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Adam talks about his PhD on magic in Roman Britain, including how its difficult to define what magic is, how different materials were believed to have 'magical' properties in the Roman period, and how experimenting with phallic images can reveal some interesting things about how they may have been used (not as suggestive as it sounds). Adam also discusses his experiences working for Yorkshire Museums, how he found himself studying magic, and his involvementwith the Women's Classical Committee Wikipedia editing workshops.

Adam runs a blog at: https://romanmagic.wordpress.com/

For info on the WCC: https://wcc-uk.blogs.sas.ac.uk/

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Karl joins David to talk about his PhD on the politics behind recreations of Roman cultural identity in museums, social media and museums, and why theory is so important in approaches to past. We also cover how he could have ended up becoming a banker, what his favourite museum/exhibition is, and Karl cuts a radio intro for the podcast.

Find Karl on twitter at: https://twitter.com/karl_goodwin?lang=en

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