modules
Modules
ARA2091 : Archaeologies of the Roman Empire: The Roman World from Augustus to Justinian
- Offered for Year: 2017/18
- Module Leader(s): Dr Mark Jackson
- Lecturer: Dr Rob Collins, Dr Thea Ravasi
- Visiting Lecturer: Miss Lindsay Allason-Jones
- Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
This course examines the archaeology of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Justinian. It spans a period that saw high drama and rapid change for many of the peoples of Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor and the Near East. The different and unequal ways that the imperial authorities and local populations adapted to one another are manifested in a plethora of settings, from epic monuments to humble homes, and from rich graves to rubbish pits. This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the landscapes, buildings and artefacts of the Empire, while at the same time revealing the important role of regions far beyond Rome in generating new forms, styles and ideas.
Outline Of Syllabus
Week 1 (Timetable week 5) Introduction
Lecture: Introducing the Early Empire: Historiography and the Empire from Augustus to the Tetrarchy - TR
Lecture: Introducing the Later Empire: Historiography and the Empire from the Tetrarchy to Justinian. Writing Societal Change: from Decline to Transition - MJ
Week 2 (Timetable week 6)
Seminar: Group A Wild monks and excitable virgins MJ
Seminar: Group B Wild monks and excitable virgins MJ
Lecture: The Tetrarchic and Constantinian adventus; Imperial propaganda and ideology MJ
Week 3 (Timetable week 7)
Seminar: Group A: Coinage Seminar 1 RC
Seminar: Group B: Coinage Seminar 1 RC
Lecture: Power and Patronage: Archaeology of self-advertisement / Discussion: Costume and identity in the Roman World - TR
Lecture: Power and Patronage: Innovating urban design in Late Antiquity MJ
Week 4 (Timetable week 8)
Seminar: Group A: Coinage Seminar 2 RC
Seminar: Group B: Coinage Seminar 2 RC
Lecture: Urbanism: Roads and the Creeping power of urbanism/public space - TR
Lecture: Urbanism: Streets, commerce and infrastructure in Late Antiquity, A case study from Constantinople MJ
Week 5 (Timetable week 9)
FIELDTRIP Segedunum
Thursday 15.00-17.00
VISIT TO SEGEDUNUM (WALLSEND) Studying a Roman Fort - TR
Week 6 (Timetable week 10)
Deadline: Monday NOON FINAL DAY FOR SUBMISSION OF EMBASSY EXERCISE PAPERS
Seminar: Group A: Team Preparation for Embassy Exercise TA
Seminar: Group B: Team Preparation for Embassy Exercise TA
Lecture: Religion and ritual: The Archaeology of belief in the Roman Empire/ Practical: curses and vows - TR
Lecture: Religion and ritual: Archaeology of Belief in Late Antiquity – the rise of the Church MJ
Week 7 (Timetable week 11)
Seminar: Group A: Leisure and Entertainment: Decorating the hippodrome MJ
Seminar: Group A: Leisure and Entertainment: Decorating the hippodrome MJ
Lecture: Leisure and Entertainment: Theatres, Amphitheatres and other centres of spectacle/Practical: Gladiators - TR
Lecture: From Late Roman rural housing to urban palaces and elite dwellings in Late Antiquity MJ
Week 8 (Timetable week 12)
Lecture: Palaces and Houses under the Early Empire/ Excavating Roman farms and villas - TR
Week 9 (Timetable week 13)
Tuesday 18.30-20.00 Hrs SEGEDUNUM ROMAN FORT EMBASSY EXERCISE - TR & MJ, RC
Tuesday MIDNIGHT COIN EXERCISE GOES LIVE ON BLACKBOARD (Deadline is 9 January, 2017)
Lecture: Archaeology of the Roman Economy: Riches from the Earth Archaeology of the early Roman Economy - TR
Lecture: Archaeology of the Late Roman Economy: Late Antique Pottery in use: Pisidia pottery production
Late Roman ships and shipwrecks MJ
Week 10 (Timetable week 14) YOU SHOULD HAVE LEARNT EPIGRAPHY ABBREVIATIONS BY THIS TIME
GREAT NORTH MUSEUM
Practical: Reading Roman Inscriptions in the GNM - TR
GREAT NORTH MUSEUM
Practical: Reading Roman Inscriptions in the GNM - TR
Lecture: Late Roman Funerary Art and mortuary practice. Pagan to Christian: sarcophagi, tombs and martyria & Investigating Roman sarcophagi with Greek Inscriptions in Asia Minor MJ
Week 11 (Timetable week 15) YOU SHOULD HAVE LEARNT MAPS BY THIS TIME
Lecture: The ties that bound: Religion and the sea in the early Roman Empire - TR
Lecture: Religion and the sea in Late Antiquity MJ
Week 12 (Timetable week 19) Revision
Monday MIDNIGHT FINAL DAY FOR SUBMISSION OF COIN EXERCISE ON BLACKBOARD
Revising the Early Empire - TR
Revising Late Antiquity - MJ
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 60 | 1:00 | 60:00 | 40% of guided independent studies |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 19 | 1:30 | 28:30 | N/A |
Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 50 | 1:00 | 50:00 | 40% of guided independent studies |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 1 | 1:30 | 1:30 | Epigraphy exercise |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Saturnalia exercise |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | seminars |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Fieldwork | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Segedunum visit |
Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 50 | 1:00 | 50:00 | 20% of guided independent studies |
Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The programme combines lectures, seminars, practical (object handling) sessions and site visits to develop student familiarity with both synthetic analysis and raw material for the study of the Roman Empire. Particular emphasis will be placed on fostering basic finds handling skills.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Written Examination | 120 | 1 | A | 70 | Unseen |
Other Assessment
Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Prob solv exercises | 1 | M | 15 | data handling/coin assessment exercise |
Practical/lab report | 1 | M | 15 | Presentation: Saturnalia |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
Examination examines conceptual understanding through 2 essays (selected from six questions), 1 further essay and technical knowledge of Roman administrative machinery through short multiple choice section (25 questions).
Knowledge outcomes 1, 3 & 4.
Problem Solving Exercise/ Data handling exercise assesses knowledge outcome 2.
Practical Exercise/Presentation assess knowledge outcomes 1, 3 & 4. It aims to familiarise students with the unity and diversity of the Roman Empire through study of specific city case studies. Students will study and present the history, architecture and costume of different urban communities in the Empire.
Submitted work tests intended knowledge and skills outcomes, develops key skills in research, reading and writing.
All Erasmus students at Newcastle University are expected to do the same assessment as students registered for a degree.
Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending semester 1 only are required to finish their assessment while in Newcastle. This will take the form of an alternative assessment, as outlined in the formats below:
Modules assessed by Coursework and Exam:
The normal alternative form of assessment for all semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be one essay in addition to the other coursework assessment (the length of the essay should be adjusted in order to comply with the assessment tariff); to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.
Modules assessed by Exam only:
The normal alternative form of assessment for all semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be two 2,000 word written exercises; to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.
Modules assessed by Coursework only:
All semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be expected to complete the standard assessment for the module; to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.
Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending the whole academic year or semester 2 are required to complete the standard assessment as set out in the MOF under all circumstances.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- ARA2091's Timetable