Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal

#RAC/TRAC2026 in Aarhus is coming up!

Registration is open with an early bird discount until March 15: www.romansocietyrac.ac.uk/ractrac-2026...

@theromansoc.bsky.social is also offering bursaries, check them out here: www.romansocietyrac.ac.uk/ractrac-2026... (Deadline 23 Feb)

#AncientBlueSky

A red book cover with an illustration of two roman statues

Want to learn more about women in the Roman world? Check out this #BookReview of Emily Hemelrijk's Women & Society in the Roman World, ✍️ Sophie Chavarria

"an impressive collection of inscriptions and graffiti that sheds new light on women’s lives in the Roman west"

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

Emerging from the Shadows: Building New Narratives of those Enslaved by the Empire The editorial of the eighth volume of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal explores the necessity of producing new narratives, theoretical as well as public facing, concerning the lived experienc...

Have you read the latest #TRAJ editorial?

'Emerging from the Shadows' by Isabel Annal & Sian Therese

'explores the necessity of producing new narratives, theoretical as well as public facing, concerning the lived experiences of those enslaved in a Roman world'..

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

The Etruscan Woman: ‘Romanization’ and Funerary Culture This paper evaluates our knowledge of Etruscan women during the Hellenistic period (c. 325–31 BC). This subject is complex for two main reasons: firstly, the lack of Etruscan literary sources and seco...

NEW #TRAJ research article!

The Etruscan Woman: Romanization & Funerary Culture

Alexis Daveloose examines the societal status of Etruscan women through analysis of male:female names in Etruscan epitaphs, rejecting the old paradigm of pervasive ‘Romanization'

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

Urbanism in Roman Wales: A New Look at Roman Carmarthen Moridunum, which lies under modern Carmarthen, is one of only two civitas capitals known in Wales, the other being Caerwent. Excavations undertaken by Archaeology Wales in 2018 afforded a rare opportu...

Interested in learning more about how urbanism developed in Wales during the Roman occupation?

Check out Siân Thomas' new research article: 'Urbanism in Roman Wales: A New Look at Roman Carmarthen', published in #TRAJ Vol. 8

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

#TRAJ Vol. 8 is complete!

Feat. 5 research articles, 13 book reviews & an incisive editorial from our @uclarchaeology.bsky.social guest editors Isabel Annal & Sian Therese.

👀 Women in Etruria
Roman Carmarthen in Wales
Analogies in Roman Frontier Arch

& more!

traj.openlibhums.org/issue/1682/i...

Cover of the book Classical Controversies showing bronze statue of Leonidas

Thanks to @emilyhanscam.bsky.social for the invitation to review "Classical Controversies" for @traj-journal.bsky.social.
I took the opportunity to reflect on how, reviewing in 2025, some themes/emphases resound differently from when the book came out in 2022.
traj.openlibhums.org/article/id/2...

Obviously those feet and shoes would have trodden on roads. Roman roads.

Which, when you start to think about these things, starts to get quite mindblowing

NEW TRAJ #BookReview

Roman Feet and Shoes by Elizabeth Shaw, ✍️ Marquita Volken

"an invaluable resource and a starting point for identifying Roman mentalities regarding the significance of shoe- and foot-shaped artefacts"

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

@barpublishing.bsky.social

NEW #TRAJ Book Review 📚

Roman Urbanism in Italy: Recent Discoveries and New Directions edited by Alessandro Launaro, reviewed by Myles McCallum.

"an important and stimulating volume"

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

A very topical book review by @curtisdozier.bsky.social of pharos.vassarspaces.net

📚 Classical Controversies: Reception of Greco-Roman Antiquity in the Twenty-First Century ed. by Kim Beerden & Timo Epping

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

Performing Gender Normativity and Queerness in the Roman Funeral: An Analysis of Historical Sources and Iconographic Evidence This article contributes to the emerging field of Queer Death Studies by offering a queer analysis of the gendered performances of mourners during the Roman funeral through an examination of subversio...

NEW in #TRAJ Vol. 8:

Performing Gender Normativity & Queerness in the Roman Funeral: An Analysis of Historical Sources & Iconographic Evidence by Jessica Tilley

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

#AcademicSky #RomanArchaeology

a fresco of a person from Roman Egypt on the cover of the book

Kick off the fall with a #TRAJ #BookReview!

📚 'At Home in Roman Egypt' by Anna Boozer, reviewed by Stefania Alfarano

"she successfully highlights the complexity of household life in Roman Egypt, challenging assumptions of its exceptionalism within the broader Roman world"

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

A book cover showing a Roman relief of two satyrs picking grapes from central vine tree, small wicker basket before each.

🍇 Interested in #Wine and #AncientRome?

Check out this review of Methods in Ancient Wine Archaeology: Scientific Approaches in Roman Contexts ed. by @emlynkd.bsky.social & @divali.bsky.social, reviewed by Anna Meens.

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

Book cover image, showing three people field walking in Tuscany.

NEW #TRAJ review, 'In the Footsteps of the Etruscans: Changing Landscapes around Tuscania from Prehistory to Modernity, by Graeme Barker & Tom Rasmussen.

"The long-awaited publication of the Tuscania survey offers a dataset of high quality and importance." ✍️ Robert Witcher

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

Book cover showing Roman artefacts on a black background

Check out one of our latest book reviews!

Gabii through its Artefacts, ed. by Laura M. Banducci & Mattia D'Acri, reviewed by Adeline Hoffelinck.

"This volume stands out for its qualitative analysis of everyday objects ... contributions are of outstanding quality"

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

Command and Control on Hadrian’s Wall: Exploring the Use of Analogy in Roman Frontier Archaeology Analogy is a ubiquitous but contested feature in archaeological reasoning, used differently in the contexts of discovery, justification and communication. The limitations of the archaeological record ...

NEW Research Article in #TRAJ Vol 8 -

'Command & Control on Hadrian's Wall: Exploring the Use of Analogy in Roman Frontier Archaeology' by Paul Kitching @arcdurham.bsky.social

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

#HadriansWall #RomanArchaeology #Archaeology

a row of old leather-bound books

There are some great new Book Reviews in the latest issue of #TRAJ, including -

📘 Gabii through its Artefacts
📕 Methods in Ancient Wine Archaeology
📗 In the Footsteps of the Etruscans
📙 #Roman Feet & Shoes

Check them out here! traj.openlibhums.org/issue/1682/i...

Processional Routes, Orthopraxy and a Political Sacred Island: Exploring the Iron Age and Roman Religious Landscape of Hayling Island and the Chichester region The role of processions and pilgrimage in the pre-Roman to Roman transition in southern Britain is considered in this paper. The example chosen for detailed examination is the temple on Hayling Island...

NEW #TRAJ research article by Anthony King, Grahame Soffe & Kate Adcock

'Processional Routes, Orthopraxy & a Political Sacred Island: Exploring the Iron Age & Roman Religious Landscape of Hayling Island & the Chichester region'

traj.openlibhums.org/article/id/1...

#Archaeology #RomanArchaeology

A cover for a journal showing the mosaic floor of the Guildhall in London.

🎉 #TRAJ Volume 8 is launched!

Check out the first paper of our Cosmologies Special Issue on pilgrimage routes to Hayling Island in Britain, a review of ancient wine archaeology & more!

FREE traj.openlibhums.org/issue/1682/i...

‘There Buds the Laurel’: Nature, Temporality, and the Making of Place in the Cemeteries of Roman Italy Using the necropolis environments of the Vesuvian region of Imperial period Italy as a case study, this paper examines the ways in which multiple, overlapping, and temporally specific senses of place ...

Spring is a great time to read about the 'planty’ agency of trees, plants, flowers, and fruits in the creation of the Roman funeral landscape 🌷

Check out 'There Buds the Laurel’: Nature, Temporality & the Making of Place in the Cemeteries of Roman Italy' from #TRAJ Vol. 1

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

A green glass cup from the Roman Empire showing horses and monoliths

We used to celebrate #FindsFriday in the old place, for today, how about the Colchester Cup from the British Museum?

Read more about 1st century Roman mold-blown glass cups in Cassibry 2018, 'Spectacular Translucence: The Games in Glass' from #TRAJ Vol 1

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

A poster advertising a conference with lots of white text on a brown background

We are always pleased to see a new round of the conference which inspired TRAJ!

The Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference 2025 will be held online from 22-24 Oct, see the call for sessions.

#TRAC2023 was also held on Gather.town, for commentary see our Vol 7 editorial: doi.org/10.16995/tra...

Book cover of Revelation and Material Religion in the Roman East

Check out a recent #TRAJ #BookReview!

Revelation & Material Religion in the Roman East ed. by Leach, Smith & Keddie, reviewed by Constanze Graml

'contributions on the textual world of the New Testament, which provide interesting and creative thought experiments"

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

A book cover showing an archaeology site covered in grass.

NEW #TRAJ Book Review 'Archaeology of the #Roman Conquest' by Manuel Fernández-Götz & Nico Roymans, ✍️ by Al McCluskey

"excellent up-to-date references, well-written, lavishly illustrated & is highly accessible"

"new multidisciplinary methodologies to conflict archaeology"

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

Check out this recent #TRAJ review! 'Un insediamento di età romana dimenticato nel tempo' ed. by Paolo Visonà, ✍️ (in English) by Edoardo Vanni.

'a good preliminary historical-archaeological foundation history.. of the territory of the middle Agno-Guà Valley (Veneto, Italy)'

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

If the raccoons need a break, our Dino army 🦖 is standing by! They’ve been a little bored since the days of the earth shattering mosaic discovery.

The Role of the Digital in Roman Archaeology The editorial of the seventh volume of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal explores the intertwining relationships between digital platforms and Roman archaeology. When faced with powerful digit...

"The Role of the Digital in Roman Archaeology"

Read the #TRAJ Vol. 7 editorial by guest editors Cristina Crizbasan & Dragoș Mitrofan: doi.org/10.16995/tra... @traj-journal.bsky.social

The Role of the Digital in Roman Archaeology The editorial of the seventh volume of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal explores the intertwining relationships between digital platforms and Roman archaeology. When faced with powerful digit...

🎉 With the publication of the Editorial by our guest editors Cristina Crizbasan & Dragos Mitrofan, #TRAJ Vol 7 is now complete!

Don't miss 'The Role of the Digital in Roman Archaeology', with incisive commentary on digital platforms & misinformation

doi.org/10.16995/tra...

A restored Roman Samian bowl. Check it out. It's a beauty! Dramatic lighting shows off the scrolling patters to maximum effect. This Bad Boy is from our collections and dates to, give or take, 100AD (we can't be more precise as we don't have access to our catalogue at the moment).

If anyone thinks they have a Bowl more Super than ours, they are sadly deluded. 😎