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Finds processing at the BSR

Jude and I are currently in Rome carrying out finds processing in the laboratory of the British School at Rome. We have been processing for a few days discovering fairly run-of-the-mill stuff in the bags and boxes. For Jude this is brick stamps and for me a lot of nails, rusty and corroded. Today, however, was a good day when pearls came out of the many oysters we have opened. Continue reading →

Topographic survey

Following the start of the new season of excavation at the Palazzo Imperiale, being undertaken together with a restoration project, we have started planning all the walls and floor surfaces. A few months back I undertook a photogrammetric survey of all the standing walls that will be restored in the area, and am now fixing these into the site plan. Yesterday we cleaned USM11043 and began a detailed survey of the wall. Continue reading →

Curriculum Innovation at Portus

We have received the first stage of approval for a new Curriculum Innovation Programme (CIP) module focused on Portus. The CIP is adding a new level of multi- and interdisciplinary education at the University of Southampton. CIP Portus will start in summer 2013 and offer a combination of hands-on practical archaeological training and academic content. Continue reading →

Providing virtual access to fieldwork

We have learned that a Student Centredness grant application that the Portus Project was a partner on has been funded. The bid led by Dr Rex Taylor will design, test and evaluate a methodology for virtual fieldwork that will be appropriate to disciplines with fieldwork components from across the University. The resulting environment will be particularly suited to students who are limited in their ability to participate in fieldwork projects, for mobility, visual or other reasons. Continue reading →

Discovery of massive building at Portus

Archaeologists from the University of Southampton and the British School at Rome working at Portus under the direction of Professor Simon Keay, working in conjunction with others from the Cooperativa Parsifal (Rome), have discovered a massive building at the maritime port of Imperial Rome, near Rome's international airport which they believe may have played a role in shipbuilding centred at the port. Continue reading →

New excavation season has started

The fourth season of excavation at Portus takes place between late March and early May 2011. As in previous years these have been undertaken by the University of Southampton, in conjunction with the British School at Rome and the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The area chosen for excavation lies to the south of areas excavated in previous years, but still within the confines of the Palazzo Imperiale. Continue reading →

Portus Project Achieves Next Stage in Funding from the AHRC

The AHRC have awarded three years of funding to continue and develop our work at Portus. The establishment of Portus, the maritime port of Imperial Rome, under Claudius and its enlargement Trajan, refocused Rome's economic and social relationship with its Mediterranean provinces. It helped ensure the centrality and dominance of Roman power at the City of Rome for over 500 years down to the late antique period. Continue reading →