The majority of research in this UoA is officially classified as world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour.
The following academic unit forms the submission to UoA 31:
School of History, Classics and Archaeology
As part of the School, all members of the Classics unit at Newcastle are research-active, all are internationally recognised and internationally well-connected.
The research undertaken by the unit has the following diverse strands:
Greeks under Rome
Roman rhetoric and Cicero
Roman republican history and Roman religion
Greek and Roman music
reception of Greek and Roman drama
Jewish history and culture, especially in the diaspora
Hellenistic and Roman Egypt
Greek papyrology
ethnography
ancient Persian and near Eastern history
Alexander the Great
Greek and Roman historiography
Roman Imperial history; the Emperor Julian
new testament and early Christianity
The classical world in general
Find out about the research, projects and members of staff within classics.
The following case studies demonstrate the impact of our research:
Public understanding of the classical world has been informed and enhanced via the 3rd and 4th editions of the prestigious and internationally acclaimed Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD). The significance of these latest editions has been noted in many media and critic reviews. Following their success, several spin-off publications were also produced in order to reach wider and more diverse audiences.
Both OCD and the spin-off publications have sold in huge numbers to fellow professionals, individuals, specialist, educational and public libraries all over the world, and have been translated into several languages. Therefore the dissemination of this research and expert knowledge has reached different audiences in at least 33 countries across five continents.
Using research collections to inform public understanding of the Ancient Greek and Etruscan past
Public understanding of ancient Greek and Etruscan culture has been informed and enhanced via an internationally recognised research collection of ancient Greek and Etruscan artefacts, now most commonly known as the Shefton collection. Research at Newcastle was instrumental in developing the collection and raising its profile as the most important collection of archaeological material from the Greek world in the north of England and one of the best collections of Etruscan material, outside the British Museum, in the country.
The significance of the collection as a research asset was recognised by funders of the Great North Museum: Hancock (GNM) Project. The move to the new GNM in 2009 ensured that a wider and more diverse audience had access to this important collection, which has enhanced the public understanding of hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and informed the education of thousands of school-age children.
