iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Got a new book! Many interesting chapters on experiencing space in the past, including chapters dealing with Roman administration and republicanism - one of them mine.

Book: Experiencing space: Roman, Byzantine, and Medieval context

First page of my chapter: Magistrates in the Domus; Modelling Pompeian Houses

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

I’m organizing a workshop called ”Dynamics of Inequality in the Ancient Mediterranean” (22-23 October 2026, Helsinki) Here’s the CfP:

Call for papers: ”Dynamics of Inequality in the Ancient Mediterranean” workshop
22-23 October 2026, Helsinki

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Together with Liisa Jalkanen we wrote an article ”Feelings and the Roman house: A sentiment analysis of Pompeian graffiti”. The goal was to test sentiment analysis for Pompeian graffiti, and hopefully, further research using this methodology and graffiti will follow.

Abstract
This article introduces a new digital method for studying Roman domestic spaces: sentiment analysis. The first objective is to test how sentiment analysis can be used to study Roman graffiti, while the second is to examine what the results reveal about the functions of the Roman and Pompeian house and people's behavior within it. The article focuses on one house in Pompeii, the Casa delle nozze d'argento (V,2,i), which offers a well-documented context for the purposes of this work. The article combines the study of textual and material sources and introduces new innovative methods for studying life in the ancient world.
The use of sentiment analysis as a tool makes it possible to identify sentiments via computational methods, where the text is provided with values that define its sentiment polarity. Pompeian graffiti has not been previously studied using this method. Additionally, the article makes use of Space Syntax analysis – a mathematical tool used to calculate the relationships between rooms and spaces – to assess how the results of the sentiment analysis correlate with the visibility of the graffiti and their makers. Such an analysis will provide information on the location of negative, neutral, and positive examples of graffiti in relation to the scale of public and private spaces in the Casa delle nozze d'argento.

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Abstract and a picture from my new article ”Ambivalent republican and Roman models for Washington D.C.” (Planning Perspectives).

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

I have received my copy of Faravid's Special Issue "Antiquity and Its Reception". It's also published online: faravid.journal.fi/issue/view/1... There's also my article "Images of Inequality: AI Created Depictions of Ancient Social Stratification" faravid.journal.fi/article/view...

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

I wrote an article on ancient reception, exploring AI-generated images and inequality. Big thanks to the editors and anonymous reviewers, who offered clear, constructive suggestions for improvement. faravid.journal.fi/article/view... faravid.journal.fi/article/view...

AI image of Pompeian inequality: architecture and people.

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 22/10/2024

Antiikki ja me! Mukana myös lukuni "Antiikin materiaalisesta kultuurista", jonka otsikossa hyvää ciceromaisuutta. #antiikki #historia #arkeologia

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 16/09/2024

A glimpse into scholarly history found between the pages of Mauri's Alla ricerca di Pompei preromana. #Pompeii

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 31/03/2024

Pääsiäisenä on hyvä muistaa, että kristinuskon alkuvaiheiden historia on vahvasti Rooman valtakunnan alempien yhteiskuntaryhmien historiaa. Näiden ryhmien elämästä taas kertoo juuri materiaalinen kulttuuri, siksi on myös tärkeää, että antiikin materiaalisen kulttuurin opetus jatkuu Suomessa.

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 27/03/2024

This is the period when I have a great pleasure to write recommendations for our students who are applying for the courses of our institutes in Athens and Rome. Obviously, I think that the courses could be filled only with our students from the University of Helsinki...

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 26/03/2024

Teaching my Ancient inequality course. The lecture room is full again. Hard to believe the claims that there are only a few students interested in the Ancient cultures in the University of Helsinki.

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 25/03/2024

Here AIAC's (International Association for Classical Archaeology) official communication of the matter:

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Samuli Simelius @simelius.bsky.social · 25/03/2024

Returned from sunny and lovely Rome to Helsinki. I had so many discussions on the matter how it's possible that in Finland and Helsinki there's not going to be anymore teaching of ancient material culture. Our foreing friends might have a too rosy view of our small country?

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