Late Antique Archaeology 2018

Burial and Memorial in Late Antiquity

Birkbeck, University of London

Saturday 17th March 2018

This conference reviews the state of late antique funerary practices, on a thematic basis, from
scientific examinations of skeletons and their DNA, to treatments of the deceased body, to the
nature of memorial structures and how they were treated over time.

(A) DEMOGRAPHY
(i) OSTEOLOGY: LATE ANTIQUE LIVES FROM BONES
09.45-10.45 Flavio de Angelis (Sop. Arch. Di Roma) and Andrea Battistini (Sop. Arch. Di
Roma) Lives from Bones: Anthropological Evaluation in the City of Rome

(ii) BIOMOLECULES IN LATE ANTIQUITY (ISOTOPES, DIET, MIGRATION,

EPIDEMIC, ENDEMIC DISEASE)
11.00-11.30 Alexandra Chavarria (Padova) Northern Italy
11.30-12.00 Mathew Emery (McMaster) Southern Italy (via Skype)

(B) RITUALS AND IDENTITIES: DEATH RITUALS AND TREATMENT OF THE

BODY
12.15-12.45 Rhea Brettell (Bradford) Organic residues from mortuary contexts (Britain).
12.45-13.15 Thibaut Devièse (Oxford) Colourants and dyes
Respondant: Béatrice Caseau (Paris IV) Treatment of the body: Ointments and perfumes

(C) COMMEMORATION, MONUMENTS, FUNERARY TOPOGRAPHY

(i) MEMORIALS - LATE ANTIQUE COMMEMORATION,
14.00-14.30 Zsolt Magyar (?Budapest) Mausolea in Pannonia
14.30-15.00 Chris Sparey-Green (Kent) Mausolea in NW Europe

(ii) SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS OF DEAD TO LIVING

15.15-15.45 Judit Ciurana Prast (Barcelona) Funerary Landscapes of Catalonia
15.45-16.15 Efthymios Rizos (Oxford) Christian elite burials in Anatolia / Constantinople &
the cult of relics

(iii) MEMORIAL AND OBLIVION: SPOLIA AND ATTITUDES TO TOMBS

16.30-16.45 Luke Lavan (Kent) Spolia and the archaeology of memory
16.45-17.15 Douglas Underwood (Kent) City walls and tomb destruction (Skype)
17.15-17.45 Nick Mishkovsky (Kent) City walls and tomb preservation
17.45-18.00 Conclusion.

All are Welcome. Admission 25 GBP, 10 GBP Students.

Venue: Room 421 inside Birkbeck College, Malet Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HX.
Metro: Russell Square.

To register go to
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/late-antique-archaeology-2018-burial-and-memorial-in-late-antiquity-
tickets-
43038902516?utm_campaign=new_event_email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eb_email&utm_
term=viewmyevent_button

Conveners: L.Lavan/M.Mulryan (Kent) T.Penn (Edin.) R,Darley (Birkbeck).

Sponsors: University of Kent, Birkbeck (University of London), J.Beale, Brill.