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Staff Profiles

Dr Thea Ravasi

Research Associate - Rome Transformed

Background

Research Associate and co-drafter of the Rome Transformed project, a 5 years ERC Advanced Grant project directed by Professor Ian Haynes that looks at the transformation of the urban layout of Rome's Eastern Caelian in centuries 1-8 CE.


Since my PhD on the design of sculptural display at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, my research interests have focused on domestic and monumental architecture in Rome and Italy. I have worked extensively on the architecture and design of Roman elite residences in Rome, Herculaneum and Pompeii and on the architecture of bath complexes, like the Severan Baths under the Lateran Baptistery in Rome and their subsequent, Late Antique changes. 


Qualifications

  • PhD in Roman Archaeology, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy
  • 3Ys Postgraduate Diploma in Classical Archaeology (top achievable marks), Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
  • 4Ys Degree in Classics and Archaeology (First-class honours), Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy


Honours and Awards

  • 2018, 6 months Fellowship at the British School at Rome (Italy)
  • 2006-2008, Full 3 years PhD scholarship, Università degli Studi di Perugia
  • 2002-2004, Full 3 years scholarship, Scuola di Specializzazione dell’Università degli Studi di Milano


ORCID 

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9244-495X

Research

The archaeology of the Eastern Caelian

I am currently working with Ian Haynes (Newcastle) and Paolo Liverani (University of Florence) at the Rome Transformed project, an ERC funded project that looks at the transformation of the urban layout of the Eastern Caelian in C1-8 CE, in the area comprised between the Lateran Cathedral and nearby buildings, the Aurelian Walls and the Sessorian Palace. Thanks to a 6 months fellowship at the British School at Rome I was able to greater understanding of the archaeology of the area under the Lateran Baptistery, where a bath complex of the Severan period was excavated in the 1960s' and of the surrounding areas (check my blog entry about it here).

Roman sculpture and architecture: aesthetics, and control

I am interested in the relation between sculpture and architecture and the disposition of sculptures as part of the planning projects of Roman imperial residences. Some of the results from my research are published in Ravasi T. 2013, "The aesthetics of display in Roman sculpture", Destrée P., Murray P. (eds), A Companion to Ancient Aesthetics (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World), John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Romanization and economy in Northern Italy

My research also focuses on broader transformations in the Roman economy as suggested by changes in the distribution and consumption of oil, wine and ‘garum’ fish sauce across Northern Italy, from the Republican age to the 2 century AD. I have published extensively on roman trade and economy in the Po valley and on the Roman republican and early imperial amphorae found in the Roman colony of Cremona. 

Logboats and river archaeology between Adda and Oglio rivers (Italy) (2006-2010 - PI)

Research and conservation project for the archaeological collection of logboats at the Museo Civico di Crema e del Cremasco in collaboration with the Archaeology Heritage Regional Board of Lombardy. Aim of the project was to reconstruct the historical significance of the only surviving archaeological evidence of fluvial navigation along Adda and Oglio rivers. Major output of the project was the setting of a permanent exhibition at the Museo Civico di Crema e del Cremasco in 2010.   

The setting of Roman small settlements (Italy) (2000-2007 - Fieldwork supervisor, Milan University, Italy)

Long-term excavation project of the Roman vicus of Calvatone-Bedriacum, near Cremona, Italy. The excavation focused on the area occupied by the Domus del Labirinto, built in the C 1BC and rebuilt during the Augustan age with lavishly decorated walls and opus signinum floors. The house comprised two triclinia, small rooms and open courtyards.

Roman colonies and urban landscapes (Italy) (1999-2005 - Fieldwork supervisor, Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Lombardia, Italy)

The research comprised the mapping of the archaeological records and the setting up of a GIS within the conservation project of the colony of Cremona (Northern Italy). The project aimed at the reconstruction of the original forma urbis of the colony. An accurate study, recording and positioning of all the archaeological evidence provided the reconstruction of the blocks and the road distribution within the city. It was also possible to locate the position of the Po river at the time of the foundation of the colony, in 218 BC.

Teaching

Current PhD supervisions:

  • Elettra Santucci, Sustaining Rome.The supply and use of water in the Eastern Caelian (2021)
  • Roxana Montazerian, Comparative cost analysis of major construction projects in the Eastern Caelian 1st to 8th centuries CE (2021)
  • Susan Rands, Cost Analyses for Construction and Sustainment of the Castra Nova Equitum Singularium and the First Lateran Basilica on Rome’s Eastern Caelian (2023)


From 2010 to 2019 I have taught the following modules:

  • (UG) CAC1012 Classical art and archaeology 
  • (UG) ARA2091 The Archaeology of the Roman Empire (in 2010, 2014 and 2017) 
  • (MA) ARA8050 Graduate Seminar in Roman Archaeology (in 2010 and 2014)
Publications