CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- RACHELE DUBBINI
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- L-ANT/07
Training objectives
- The aim of this course is to study “sacred spaces” and the sanctuary phenomenon – according to their various “cultural”, and not so strictly “cultual”, expressions – in the classical world. These archaeological contexts form the cornerstones of itineraries that traverse and redefine landscapes as well as social and economic balances, stimulating mythical and historical memory and engaging individual and collective experiences, playing a crucial role in antiquity; because it is indeed within these spaces that both the religious and political, economic and aesthetic spheres intermingle. They are places that are fundamental to our knowledge of the ancient world, as here we can clearly identify those processes of negotiation and social and cultural building that foster a better understanding of the cultural dynamics specific to the Greek and Roman world.
The goal of the course is to provide students with basic knowledge of the complex problems relating to the construction and development of sacred spaces in the ancient world and hence their religious, social, economic and political function in classical culture. The study of archaeological sites and how they evolved over time is intended to help familiarise students with the various aspects of their functioning in relation to the history of the places, their relationships with the local area, cultural practices and beliefs and so forth.
Students will mainly become familiar with:
- the principal Greek and Roman sanctuaries in the Mediterranean area
- notions about landscape and the cultural landscape that are essential to understand archaeological contexts.
- notions about Greek and Roman architecture and urban planning
- the basic elements relating to the archaeology of cult
- the problems in interpreting archaeological contexts also using an anthropological approach
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
- analyse sanctuary contexts within the landscape
- identify the communication strategies specific to monuments and ancient public spaces
- analyse archaeological materials to understand ancient ritual behaviour
- use an archaeological bibliography
- work on a scientific team
- develop a written research project
- orally present a research project Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of ancient history, ancient Greek and Latin literature and classical archaeology, also with regard to geography, architecture and art.
Course programme
- This is a 30-hour course, including:
- 20 hours of classroom teaching time
- 10 hours of laboratory
Lessons will generally focus on how sacred spaces were created and their function in the classical world. The core topics of cults and ancient rituals and how they relate to economic life and the social and political structure of ancient communities will be addressed. The most important sanctuary phenomena in the Mediterranean during the classical era will be discussed in relation to their specific landscape context, including an introduction to their spatial structure and the basic handcrafts produced (20 hours)
After the introductory lessons, some critical case studies will be selected and presented by specialist scholars (10 hours). Didactic methods
- The course will be organised as follows:
- lessons in the classroom on all the topics to be discussed during the course
- laboratories Learning assessment procedures
- The aim of the exam is to verify the extent to which the educational goals have been reached.
There will be two parts to the exam:
- an oral assessment of a case-study in order to understand whether or not the student has understood the topics discussed during the lessons and can properly use the archaeological bibliography, present a scientific work orally in public;
- an oral test which will assess, not so much the student’s ability to “regurgitate” what has been discussed during the lessons, but rather his/her ability to connect and compare the different issues discussed in the course. Passing the test is proof of having acquired knowledge of the main sanctuaries in the classical world as well as the notions needed to interpret archaeological contexts.
- The final mark is based on the sum of the marks given in the two parts of the exam. Reference texts
- Specific literature will be provided by the professor and available on the course website.
NON-attending students: J. Ruepke, Pantheon. Una nuova storia della religione romana, Einaudi 2018 (from p. 53 up to p. 288)
