Dressing the Dead
Clothing, textiles and bodily adornment from funerary contexts in the Graeco-Roman world
This one-day conference will highlight and explore a multidisciplinary approach to clothing and textiles in the context of death and burial in the Graeco-Roman world. Investigations of funerary rituals have focussed on grave markers, burial ritual and grave goods and analyses of human skeletal material, while the roles of clothing and textiles in these rituals are less well-understood. This conference will provide an important opportunity to investigate these issues.
The topic will be explored by using a variety of different types of evidence: textiles in graves, such as shrouds or coverlets or the clothing in which the dead were dressed; clothing and textiles associated with death rituals, such as mourning dress; funerary portraits in sculpture or painting that depict the deceased dressed to convey messages about identities; jewellery and dress accessories worn in death and included in the grave; and written documentation for clothing and textiles in funerary contexts. The period examined ranges roughly from the fifth century B.C. to the fifth century A.D., with the geographical scope encompassing the Mediterranean as well as the European, Asian and North African lands that were part of the Graeco-Roman world or that interacted with it in a variety of ways.
The keynote speaker is Prof. Barbara Borg from the University of Exeter. Other speakers include participants in the EU-funded research project Clothing and Identities: New Perspectives on Textiles in the Roman World (http://www.dressid.eu) and scholars from various institutions in the UK, Europe, North America, and the Middle East.
Venue:
Sir Robert Hadfield Building (St. George´s Complex)
Department of Engineering Materials
Lecture Theatre 22
University of Sheffield
Access is from Orange Street and Portobello Street (the Department of Archaeology is on the corner of West Street and Orange Street, only a 2 minute walk from the Robert Hadfield Building)
The conference is hosted by the University of Sheffield; the Department of Archaeology; and the EU project DressID: Clothing and Identities. New Perspectives on Textiles in the Roman Empire.
See links at right to download programme, registration form, and payment details. The conference fee for waged delegates is £40, for student delegates £20; this includes coffee/tea and lunch.
Enquiries about this event should be directed to Dr. Maureen Carroll (p.m.carroll@sheffield.ac.uk) or to Rachel Symonds
email : r.symonds@sheffield.ac.uk
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