Staff Profiles

I have a background in cultural anthropology and music. My doctoral research focussed on the relation between architecture and music in early churches, with specific attention to: 

• How 19th - 20th century historiography on harmonic proportions is connected to nationalism, colonialism, racism and gender discrimination.
• Late antique engineering and building techniques.
• The role of mathematics and cosmology in late antique buildings.
• The history of acoustics and multisensorial perception.
• The philosophy and theology of late antique music.

I have been working primarily on the archaeology of the 1st millennium CE from the Mediterranean area to the northern European continent.

Currently, I am Post-Doctoral Historical Research Associate for the Rome Transformed ERC-funded research project, with a specific interest in late antique architecture, 3D digital modelling and acoustics.

My methodology combines digital approaches (e.g. 3D terrestrial laser scanning, room acoustics simulation, GIS, 3D digital modelling and animations) to the study of archival documents and historiography.

Rather than applying pre-defined methods, I pay attention to the definition of toolsets that are tailored to specific research questions, case by case. 

My research is focussed on:

• Intentional design in architecture and landscape.
• Music theory, acoustics, and the design of soundscapes.
• Multisensorial experiences and theory of perception.
• Mathematics, engineering and metrology in the past. 
• Late antique military strategies.
• Identity, memory, heritage, social conflict and hegemonic narratives.
• The ethics of scholarly reconstruction.
• Historical narratives for equality, diversity and inclusion.
• The role of archaeology in intersectional theory.
• Sustainable development in the past and the present.
• Archaeology and epistemology.

PhD supervision:

• Susan Rands, 'Cost analyses for construction and sustainment of the Castra Nova Equitum Singularium and the first Lateran Basilica on Rome’s Eastern Caelian.'

• Article

  • Haynes I, Liverani P, Ravasi T, Santucci E, Foschi G, Carboni F, Bailey P, Kay S, Piro S. Rome Transformed: structural survey and environmental analysis in southeast Rome. Papers of the British School at Rome 2023, 91, 323-327.

• Book Chapter

  • Foschi G. Divine Harmony in Stone. Musical Concepts in the Architecture of Early Churches. In: Hüglin S; Gramsch A; Seppänen L, ed. Petrification Processes in Matter and Society. Cham: Springer, 2021, pp.167-184.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

  • Foschi G. From Terrestrial Laser Scanning to Room Acoustics Simulation: Recent Approaches to 3D Modelling for the Investigation of Late Antique and Early Medieval Acoustics. In: The Acoustics of Ancient Theatres International Symposium. 2022, Verona: Associazione Italiana di Acustica.

• Edited Book

  • Barbaro Carmela, Foschi Gianluca, ed. Meaningful Gaps and Reliable Uncertainties: The Unexplored Potentials of Scholarly Reconstruction. The British Academy, 2024. In Preparation.

• Review

  • Foschi Gianluca. Laurence Wuidar, L'uomo musicale nell'antico cristianesimo. Latomus, Revue d'études latines 2018, 77/1, 303-305.