Coffee and Circuses
by David Walsh
The Roman poet Juvenal once said people are entertained as long as they have 'bread and circuses'. Now we can go one better with 'coffee and circuses'! David Walsh chats to a range of people involved in the study of the Roman World: what led to their interest in this? what projects are they engaged in at the moment? where does the study of the Roman World go in future? You can contact the show at [email protected], and find David on Twitter and Instagram @d_j_walsh (https://twitter.com/d_j_walsh) Theme tune: 'La Calahorra' by Rolemusic (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/~/calahorra)
Episodes
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2: Rosemary Sutcliff: History is People
In this essay, 'History is People' acclaimed historical novelist Rosemary discussed her responsibilities as a children's author and her belief that human nature remains essentially consistent and relatable throughout history, using a range of texts from the Homeric Age to the English Civil War to...
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1: Rosemary Sutcliff and Re-imagining Roman Britain (Documentary)
With millions of copies sold in a variety of languages, as well as various literary awards and a CBE to her name, Rosemary Sutcliff was one of the most successful 20th century authors of historical fiction. Many of her works follow the adventures of a family across the generations, from Roman to...
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51: Goes to the Movies: 20 Years of Gladiator
Ridley Scott's Gladiator premiered on the 1st May 2000, and to mark the 20th anniversary David and Jay look back on the box-office smash, multi-award winner and cultural phenomenon. They discuss The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), on which Gladiator was based, recreating Rome for the 21st…
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50: Antony Lee (Durham University)
Antony joins David to discuss his PhD 'Gods Behind Glass', which looks at the interpretation of Romano-British religious practice and identity in museums. They discuss changing views of religion in Roman Britain, including shifts from interpreting it as accommodation to domination, the sensory...
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49: David Walsh (feat. Christopher Burden-Strevens and Matthijs Wibier)
Former guests Matthijs Wibier and Christopher Burden-Strevens, prosecco in hand, return to put David in the hot-seat, where he talks about what he's learned from doing the podcast, why he got into archaeology, the modern reception of Roman Britain, cringing over old Facebook statuses, and why you...
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48: Richard Reece Part 2 (UCL)
In the second half, Richard discusses his work on Roman coinage and how the desire to keep correcting himself propelled his work forward, his influence on those who have gone on to be prominent scholars in their own right (and why he's happy none of them are 'Reecian' in style), deciding to write…
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47: Richard Reece Part 1 (UCL)
Richard joins David for a two-part episode, reflecting on how the study of Roman Britain has evolved since he published 'My Roman Britain', his unique writing style, reviewer feedback - both to him and from him, and how his own approach to material nearly saw him axed from teaching Roman Britain…
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46: Emma-Jayne Graham (Open University)
Emma-Jayne joins David to discuss the OU's online learning tools, including the creation of the Hadrian: The Roamin' Emperor game and filming at Delphi. Emma-Jayne also chats about her research on disability and sensory experience in the Roman World, and how bodily experience would have been far...
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45: Anthony Gibbins (Legonium)
Anthony joins David to discuss Legonium, where he brings Latin to life with Lego sets. Anthony talks about where the idea came from, how its grown over the years and now includes the Legonium Season 1 book, and how he was never really into Lego growing up but the advent of Star Wars Lego changed...
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44: Csaba Szabó (University of Lucian Blaga, Sibiu)
Csaba joins David to discuss his work on Roman religion in the Danubian provinces, as well as his PhD on religion in Dacia, a Roman province that is roughly akin to modern Transylvania. He chats about modern Romania’s relationship with its Roman past, and how Roman archaeology in Eastern Europe…
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43: Katherine Harloe (University of Reading)
Katherine joins David to discuss her work on the pioneering 18th century art historian and archaeologist Johann Joachim Winckelmann: his life, unfortunate early death, Katherine’s project on Winckelmann’s love letters and his status as a major figure in queer history, and giving his name to...
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42: Owen Humphreys (Museum of London Archaeology)
Owen joins David to discuss his PhD on craft-tools from Roman London, including what they tell us about life in the city at the time, the misconceptions we can have about craftsman, particularly concerning how varied their experiences were, and how a tool for calming horses got misidentified as...
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41: Laura Jenkinson (Greek Myth Comix)
Laura joins David to talk about Greek Myth Comix, which started when she made an pact with one of her Classical Civilisation students to get back into drawing. She discusses her favourite graphic novel authors and writers, the difficulties in adapting the ancient world for modern audiences (and…
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40: Emma Bridges (Institute of Classical Studies)
Emma joins David to talk about her work as Public Engagement Fellow at the ICS, including some of the projects she's been involved in, the growing realisation among university departments that outreach is a vital, and how its important to engage with people with a wide variety of skills in...
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39: Lee Graña (University of Reading)
Lee joins David to discuss his PhD thesis on fishing in Roman Britain, spending the summer in excavating in Pompeii, and how for both them studying for their MAs was a big turning-point. There's also plenty on Lee's other major area of research: experimental archaeology. He chats about how he got...
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38: Luke Lavan (University of Kent)
Luke joins David to discuss his forthcoming book on public space in Late Antiquity, reading Gibbon's Decline and Fall at the age of 12, how a birthday trip to Hadrian's Wall had to be postponed so he could have an emergency operation, why Constantine I is one his favourite emperors but he doesn't...
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37: Pete Savin (Hadrian's Wall: A Journey Through Time)
Pete joins David to discuss the recently published Hadrian's Wall: A Journey Through Time, which features many of his photographs. He talks about how he came to archaeology via volunteering at sites such as Vindolanda, how posting his photos of Roman archaeology to Twitter has generated a...
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36: Helen Forte (Minimus Latin)
Helen joins David to discuss the Minimus Latin course, for which she is the illustrator, that has been going for twenty years! Helen chats about creating Minimus with Barbara Bell, how it has spread across the globe and became much bigger than they ever thought possible, the importance of finding...
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35: Ben Greet (University of Reading)
Ben joins David to discuss his PhD on the representation of the eagle in Roman society, which included looking at the traditional military/political/divine aspects, but also delved into lesser known themes, like what the symbol meant to women and how it related to pregnancy. He also talks about…
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34: Liz Gloyn (Royal Holloway)
Liz joins David to discuss her forthcoming book Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture. They chat about the portrayal of monsters in Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion films of the 1960s-80s, as well as more recent depictions, such as in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, reflecting on what…
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33: Mai Musié (Oxford University)
Mai joins David to discuss her work on outreach, particularly her project on the fourth century Eritrean and Ethiopian Gospels. Mai talks about the importance of broadening our understanding of the ancient world to include regions outside Greece and Rome - the Mediterranean didn't exist in a...
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32: Lisa Lodwick (Oxford University)
Lisa joins David to discuss her work on plant remains from the late Iron Age to Roman periods. As Lisa explains, the growth in archaeobotany in recent years has given us a better understanding of not only what people in the Roman World ate, but how healthy they were, how different regions were...
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31: Dunstan Lowe (University of Kent)
Dunstan joins David to discuss his research on the grotesque in the Roman World and how it compares to today. What was considered ugly in Roman society? Why were some scars respectable and others not? What is the 'uncanny valley'? Dunstan also chats about his other main area of study: the ancient...
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30: Fiona Haarer (Roman Society/KCL)
Fiona joins David to discuss the Roman Society, including how it's developed and the challenges it faces, the upcoming FIEC & CA conference, her work on the emperors Anastasius and Justinian, what led her to study Byzantium, and what areas of Late Antiquity she thinks need exploring. Fiona is...
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29: Alex Davis, Charlie Edwards and Vicky Saward-Read (University of Kent)
Three guests for the price of one this week: Charlie Edwards, Alex Davis and Vicky Saward-Read, all of whom have just finished their UG degrees in Classics and Archaeology here at Kent. They reflect on their time here at university and what a life-changing experience it’s been. Charlie discusses...
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28: Richard Hobbs (British Museum)
Richard joins David to reflect on how he originally had no plans to go into archaeology or museums, and just wanted to be a drummer in a band, but through a knack of meeting the right people at the right time his career kept progressing. He also discusses what valuable objects can tell us about…
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27: Caroline Lawrence (Author of the Roman Mysteries)
Caroline joins David in the London Mithraeum to discuss her new book The Time Travel Diaries, in which a boy from modern London is transported back to Roman Londinium via a portal in the temple. Caroline reflects on how she came to write historical fiction, if she could travel through time where...
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26: Phil Smither (University of Kent)
Rounding off the TRAC 2019 episodes, David is joined by Phil, who served as Head of the TRAC Local Organising Committee, to reflect on the conference and discuss Phil's PhD on Richborough Roman Fort. Phil gives advice for any would-be conference organisers, talks about why Brexit-late Roman…
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25: Miller Power (Durham University)
For the third episode recorded at TRAC, David was joined by Miller Power, who was presenting a poster at the conference on non-binary and intersex visibility in Roman archaeology. Miller chats how his own trans-identity and autism informs his work, the importance of discussing marginalised...
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24: Frances McIntosh (English Heritage)
Frances joins David in the second TRAC episode to discuss her role as curator of Chesters Roman Fort, and her PhD/new book on the Clayton Collection housed at Chesters. She talks about the collection's founder John Clayton, the impact of antiquarians, the difficulties in adding enough strings to...
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23: Deb Mayers (University of Glasgow)
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…
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22: Ada Nifosi (University of Kent)
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...
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21: Phil Hughes (University of Leicester)
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...
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20: Laura Nissin (University of Helsinki)
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...
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19: Giacomo Savani (University of Leeds)
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...
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18: Matthijs Wibier (University of Kent)
Matthijs joins David to talk about his work on Roman law, and how it gives us a window into life in the ancient world. Roman laws were issued to deal with problems that arose in people's everyday lives, but how were they communicated across the provinces? How do you stop 'fake' laws circulating?...
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17: Sophie Chavarria (University of Kent)
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...
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16: Ian Haynes (University of Newcastle)
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...
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15: Adam Parker (Open University)
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…
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14: Karl Goodwin (University of Kent)
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...
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13: Patty Baker (University of Kent)
Patty joins David to talk about her current work on Roman gardens and their relationship with mental and physical health, medical care in the Roman army, and the differences between studying at universities in the US and Britain. We also discuss her interest in sailing, how studying gardens has...
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12: Jo Stoner (University of Kent)
Jo joins David to talk about the recently opened 'Sounds of Roman Egypt' exhibition at the Petrie Museum in London, her forthcoming book The Cultural Lives of Domestic Objects in Late Antiquity , learning to love craft, Flight of the Conchords, how it wasn't until her third shot at undergrad she...
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11: Becky Newson (Rome Tour Guide)
Becky joins David to discuss her six years working as a tour-guide in Rome, how she ended up in this role, how she preps for tours, and her advice for anyone visiting Rome. She also chats about getting used to the Roman way of life (and adjusting when she visits home), #Rome on instagram, and how...
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10: Christian Bace (Former History Press/ English Heritage)
Christian Bace, former Digital Marketing Executive for the History Press Publishers and English Heritage, talks about how marketing heritage via social media has changed, the 1066/2016 E.H. Twitter campaign, making animated videos about Hadrian's Wall, rubbing shoulders with David Attenborough…
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9: Rebecca Usherwood (Trinity College, Dublin)
Rebecca talks about her research on political disgrace in Late Antiquity and why she doesn’t like the term damnatio memoriae, how a trip to the Basilica Nova in Rome inspired her, who her obscure choice for favourite emperor is and her distaste for the emperor Julian, Hans Zimmer, and how…
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8: Sadie Watson (Museum of London Archaeology)
Sadie chats about how commercial archaeology has changed over the years, its relationship with academia, tackling sexism on site, and how she became Dr Watson. We also discuss some of her highlights from working in archaeology, including when she directed the Bloomberg/MOLA Walbrook excavations,...
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7: Jay Ingate (Canterbury Christchurch University)
Jay Ingate stops by to talk about his research on water in the Roman world and his upcoming book on the subject. How important was water, not only practically, but spiritually and politically in the Roman World? Why have people looked down on the aqueducts of Roman Britain? And how did Jay get…
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6: Christopher Burden-Strevens (University of Kent)
Christopher makes the voyage down the corridor to talk to David about his new book on Cassius Dio, his own path into the world of Classics (and how this involved teaching himself Latin from a 1930s text book!), and he shares his thoughts on the importance of public engagement. There's more talk…
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5: Andy Gardner (UCL)
Andy Gardner talks about the importance of theory in the study of archaeology, the relationship between archaeology and anthropology, and how archaeology can become politicised. We also chat about the presentation of the ancient world in gaming, lego Star Wars, and does Guinness taste better in...
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4: Jan Montefiore (University of Kent)
Jan Montefiore joins David to discuss Rudyard Kipling's presentation of Roman World. Kipling wrote a number of stories set in Roman Britain, the most famous of which are the Parnesius stories collected in Puck of Pook's Hill, and was one of the most widely read British authors of the early 20th...
About this show
The Roman poet Juvenal once said people are entertained as long as they have 'bread and circuses'. Now we can go one better with 'coffee and circuses'! David Walsh chats to a range of people involved in the study of the Roman World: what led to their interest in this? what projects are they engaged in at the moment? where does the study of the Roman World go in future?
You can contact the show at [email protected], and find David on Twitter and Instagram @d_j_walsh (https://twitter.com/d_j_walsh)
Theme tune: 'La Calahorra' by Rolemusic (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/~/calahorra)
Hosted by
David Walsh
Categories