Roman Networks in the West

Online-Vortragsreihe

Im Rahmen der Initiative „Roman Networks in the West" führt unser Amt in Kooperation mit der Universität des Saarlandes, der Universität zu Köln und der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission in Frankfurt eine digitale Ringvorlesung durch. Ziel ist es, den wissenschaftlichen Austausch zu fördern und Einblicke in neue Forschungen zu vermitteln.

Der Themenschwerpunkt der Vorträge liegt auf spätlatènezeitlicher und frühkaiserzeitlicher Archäologie im römischen Westen. Spezialisten verschiedener Disziplinen präsentieren online ihre aktuellen Ergebnisse und stellen sich selbstverständlich auch den Rückfragen des Publikums.

Zu der Initiative haben bereits zwei Tagungen stattgefunden (siehe unten) und aus den Ergebnissen der ersten Tagung resultierte ein eigener Forschungsband.

Titel eines Buches "Spätlatène- und frühkaiserzeitliche Archäologie zwischen Maas und Rhein"
Spätlatène- und frühkaiserzeitliche Archäologie zwischen Maas und Rhein (Materialien zur Bodendenkmalpflege im Rheinland 28)

Vorträge

Der letzte Vortrag in dieser Reihe fand am 9. März 2026 um 18.15 Uhr statt:

Referenten: Justine Bayley und Thilo Rehren
Thema: Parting precious metals: evidence from Britain soon after the Roman conquest

Parting is the process by which gold and silver were separated. It came into widespread use in Britain in the later first century AD to ‘Romanise’ the pre-existing pool of mixed precious metal alloys in use in the late (pre-Roman) Iron Age.

There are a number of sites scattered across southern England that have produced good evidence for parting precious metals in the decades immediately following the Claudian conquest in 43 AD. New analyses are expanding our understanding of details of the processes that were carried out at Chichester, Exeter and London. Ceramic vessels of varied designs were used as reaction vessels. Most are small, hand-made forms, probably manufactured by the metalworkers themselves, but others are competently wheel-thrown, suggesting cross-craft interactions with professional potters working in a fully Roman tradition.

Archaeological evidence for parting is known in Asia Minor from at least the 6th century BC but we are not aware of any excavated finds from continental Europe before the early medieval period. We hope this seminar will change this situation by raising awareness of the process and the diagnostic finds it leaves behind.

About Justine Bayley and Thilo Rehren: Justine Bayley worked for many years for what is now Historic England, the government’s heritage service, and is an honorary researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. She is an archaeological scientist specialising in metal and glass working of the Roman to post-medieval periods. She has a long association with The Historical Metallurgy Society, and edited its journal Historical Metallurgy for over 30 years.

Thilo Rehren specialises in the archaeometry of ancient metals and glass. He is Director of the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center at The Cyprus Institute since 2017. Before, from 1999, he had the Chair in Archaeological Materials and Technologies at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, from where he was seconded for five years to set up UCL Qatar in Doha.

Zwei rötliche Bodenscherben eines Keramikgefäßes.
Two fragments of parting vessels.

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