Sign in

Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal

@traj-journal.bsky.social
1.2K followers 914 following 60 posts

The Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal #TRAJ publishes peer-reviewed #OpenAccess articles on #RomanArchaeology by @openlibhums.org | Edited by @emilyhanscam.bsky.social traj.openlibhums.org

PostsRepliesMedia
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
We are delighted to launch a new #TRAJ Special Issue! Edited by Mauro Puddu, 'For a Feminist-Postcolonial Archaeology of the Roman World' critically examines the evolution of theoretical debates in Roman archaeology through an intersectional lens. traj.openlibhums.org/collections/...
Women carry baskets on their heads
043
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
We are delighted to be part of the launch collection of the @ojcollective.bsky.social! The Open Journals Collective is working towards a sustainable future for academic journals by challenging the profit-making models of global corporate publishing & data systems. 👀 www.openjournalscollective.org
openjournalscollective.org
Landing — Open Journals Collective
042
Reposted by Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal
The Roman Society @theromansoc.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
We can't believe it's - checks datestamp - 11 days ago already. Thanks to everyone who participated in #RACTRAC!
031
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Come visit us in the exhibitors hall at #RACTRAC! Thanks to @openlibhums.org for the swag, & @theromansoc.bsky.social for sponsoring our flag!
094
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
#TRAJ Vol 9 is launched, ahead of #RAC/TRAC! 🥳 💩 Environmental Impacts of Roman Camps by Mike Dobson 📚 A Travel Through Time: Reflections on a Change of Mind by David Breeze 🇳🇱 The Lower Germanic Limes as Imperial Borderlands by Saskia Stevens et al. & more! traj.openlibhums.org/issue/1939/i...
The cover of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal, showing a historic photo of women carrying baskets onto a ship in Italy.
043
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
#TRAJ #BookReview "How do you summarize the Roman Empire in a single volume? Materialising the Roman Empire, the new volume from UCL, does so by offering a suite of contemporary perspectives from insightful voices" ✍️ Owen Humphreys doi.org/10.16995/tra...
Book cover showing a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall
060
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
📚 Check out this #BookReview! Beyond the River, Under the Eye of Rome by Timothy C. Hart, reviewed by Adriana Panaite. 'offers a highly detailed and nuanced analysis of the interaction between the Romans and these Danubian peoples from the first to fifth centuries AD' doi.org/10.16995/tra...
Book cover with two Roman coins
030
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
#RAC/TRAC2026 in Aarhus is coming up! Registration is open with an early bird discount until March 15: www.romansocietyrac.ac.uk/ractrac-2026... @theromansoc.bsky.social is also offering bursaries, check them out here: www.romansocietyrac.ac.uk/ractrac-2026... (Deadline 23 Feb) #AncientBlueSky
095
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Want to learn more about women in the Roman world? Check out this #BookReview of Emily Hemelrijk's Women & Society in the Roman World, ✍️ Sophie Chavarria "an impressive collection of inscriptions and graffiti that sheds new light on women’s lives in the Roman west" doi.org/10.16995/tra...
A red book cover with an illustration of two roman statues
060
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Have you read the latest #TRAJ editorial? 'Emerging from the Shadows' by Isabel Annal & Sian Therese 'explores the necessity of producing new narratives, theoretical as well as public facing, concerning the lived experiences of those enslaved in a Roman world'.. doi.org/10.16995/tra...
doi.org
Emerging from the Shadows: Building New Narratives of those Enslaved by the Empire
The editorial of the eighth volume of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal explores the necessity of producing new narratives, theoretical as well as public facing, concerning the lived experienc...
061
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
NEW #TRAJ research article! The Etruscan Woman: Romanization & Funerary Culture Alexis Daveloose examines the societal status of Etruscan women through analysis of male:female names in Etruscan epitaphs, rejecting the old paradigm of pervasive ‘Romanization' doi.org/10.16995/tra...
doi.org
The Etruscan Woman: ‘Romanization’ and Funerary Culture
This paper evaluates our knowledge of Etruscan women during the Hellenistic period (c. 325–31 BC). This subject is complex for two main reasons: firstly, the lack of Etruscan literary sources and seco...
092
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Interested in learning more about how urbanism developed in Wales during the Roman occupation? Check out Siân Thomas' new research article: 'Urbanism in Roman Wales: A New Look at Roman Carmarthen', published in #TRAJ Vol. 8 doi.org/10.16995/tra...
doi.org
Urbanism in Roman Wales: A New Look at Roman Carmarthen
Moridunum, which lies under modern Carmarthen, is one of only two civitas capitals known in Wales, the other being Caerwent. Excavations undertaken by Archaeology Wales in 2018 afforded a rare opportu...
021
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
#TRAJ Vol. 8 is complete! Feat. 5 research articles, 13 book reviews & an incisive editorial from our @uclarchaeology.bsky.social guest editors Isabel Annal & Sian Therese. 👀 Women in Etruria Roman Carmarthen in Wales Analogies in Roman Frontier Arch & more! traj.openlibhums.org/issue/1682/i...
062
Reposted by Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal
Curtis Dozier @curtisdozier.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Thanks to @emilyhanscam.bsky.social for the invitation to review "Classical Controversies" for @traj-journal.bsky.social. I took the opportunity to reflect on how, reviewing in 2025, some themes/emphases resound differently from when the book came out in 2022. traj.openlibhums.org/article/id/2...
Cover of the book Classical Controversies showing bronze statue of Leonidas
2164
Reposted by Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal
Roman Roads @romanroads.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Obviously those feet and shoes would have trodden on roads. Roman roads. Which, when you start to think about these things, starts to get quite mindblowing
091
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
NEW TRAJ #BookReview Roman Feet and Shoes by Elizabeth Shaw, ✍️ Marquita Volken "an invaluable resource and a starting point for identifying Roman mentalities regarding the significance of shoe- and foot-shaped artefacts" doi.org/10.16995/tra... @barpublishing.bsky.social
0115
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
NEW #TRAJ Book Review 📚 Roman Urbanism in Italy: Recent Discoveries and New Directions edited by Alessandro Launaro, reviewed by Myles McCallum. "an important and stimulating volume" doi.org/10.16995/tra...
031
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
A very topical book review by @curtisdozier.bsky.social of pharos.vassarspaces.net 📚 Classical Controversies: Reception of Greco-Roman Antiquity in the Twenty-First Century ed. by Kim Beerden & Timo Epping doi.org/10.16995/tra...
052
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
NEW in #TRAJ Vol. 8: Performing Gender Normativity & Queerness in the Roman Funeral: An Analysis of Historical Sources & Iconographic Evidence by Jessica Tilley doi.org/10.16995/tra... #AcademicSky #RomanArchaeology
doi.org
Performing Gender Normativity and Queerness in the Roman Funeral: An Analysis of Historical Sources and Iconographic Evidence
This article contributes to the emerging field of Queer Death Studies by offering a queer analysis of the gendered performances of mourners during the Roman funeral through an examination of subversio...
0137
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Kick off the fall with a #TRAJ #BookReview! 📚 'At Home in Roman Egypt' by Anna Boozer, reviewed by Stefania Alfarano "she successfully highlights the complexity of household life in Roman Egypt, challenging assumptions of its exceptionalism within the broader Roman world" doi.org/10.16995/tra...
a fresco of a person from Roman Egypt on the cover of the book
020
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
🍇 Interested in #Wine and #AncientRome? Check out this review of Methods in Ancient Wine Archaeology: Scientific Approaches in Roman Contexts ed. by @emlynkd.bsky.social & @divali.bsky.social, reviewed by Anna Meens. doi.org/10.16995/tra...
A book cover showing a Roman relief of two satyrs picking grapes from central vine tree, small wicker basket before each.
0175
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
NEW #TRAJ review, 'In the Footsteps of the Etruscans: Changing Landscapes around Tuscania from Prehistory to Modernity, by Graeme Barker & Tom Rasmussen. "The long-awaited publication of the Tuscania survey offers a dataset of high quality and importance." ✍️ Robert Witcher doi.org/10.16995/tra...
Book cover image, showing three people field walking in Tuscany.
092
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Check out one of our latest book reviews! Gabii through its Artefacts, ed. by Laura M. Banducci & Mattia D'Acri, reviewed by Adeline Hoffelinck. "This volume stands out for its qualitative analysis of everyday objects ... contributions are of outstanding quality" doi.org/10.16995/tra...
Book cover showing Roman artefacts on a black background
040
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
NEW Research Article in #TRAJ Vol 8 - 'Command & Control on Hadrian's Wall: Exploring the Use of Analogy in Roman Frontier Archaeology' by Paul Kitching @arcdurham.bsky.social doi.org/10.16995/tra... #HadriansWall #RomanArchaeology #Archaeology
doi.org
Command and Control on Hadrian’s Wall: Exploring the Use of Analogy in Roman Frontier Archaeology
Analogy is a ubiquitous but contested feature in archaeological reasoning, used differently in the contexts of discovery, justification and communication. The limitations of the archaeological record ...
043
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
There are some great new Book Reviews in the latest issue of #TRAJ, including - 📘 Gabii through its Artefacts 📕 Methods in Ancient Wine Archaeology 📗 In the Footsteps of the Etruscans 📙 #Roman Feet & Shoes Check them out here! traj.openlibhums.org/issue/1682/i...
a row of old leather-bound books
052
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
NEW #TRAJ research article by Anthony King, Grahame Soffe & Kate Adcock 'Processional Routes, Orthopraxy & a Political Sacred Island: Exploring the Iron Age & Roman Religious Landscape of Hayling Island & the Chichester region' traj.openlibhums.org/article/id/1... #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology
traj.openlibhums.org
Processional Routes, Orthopraxy and a Political Sacred Island: Exploring the Iron Age and Roman Religious Landscape of Hayling Island and the Chichester region
The role of processions and pilgrimage in the pre-Roman to Roman transition in southern Britain is considered in this paper. The example chosen for detailed examination is the temple on Hayling Island...
0158
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
🎉 #TRAJ Volume 8 is launched! Check out the first paper of our Cosmologies Special Issue on pilgrimage routes to Hayling Island in Britain, a review of ancient wine archaeology & more! FREE traj.openlibhums.org/issue/1682/i...
A cover for a journal showing the mosaic floor of the Guildhall in London.
3198
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Spring is a great time to read about the 'planty’ agency of trees, plants, flowers, and fruits in the creation of the Roman funeral landscape 🌷 Check out 'There Buds the Laurel’: Nature, Temporality & the Making of Place in the Cemeteries of Roman Italy' from #TRAJ Vol. 1 doi.org/10.16995/tra...
doi.org
‘There Buds the Laurel’: Nature, Temporality, and the Making of Place in the Cemeteries of Roman Italy
Using the necropolis environments of the Vesuvian region of Imperial period Italy as a case study, this paper examines the ways in which multiple, overlapping, and temporally specific senses of place ...
0106
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
We used to celebrate #FindsFriday in the old place, for today, how about the Colchester Cup from the British Museum? Read more about 1st century Roman mold-blown glass cups in Cassibry 2018, 'Spectacular Translucence: The Games in Glass' from #TRAJ Vol 1 doi.org/10.16995/tra...
A green glass cup from the Roman Empire showing horses and monoliths
17410
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
We are always pleased to see a new round of the conference which inspired TRAJ! The Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference 2025 will be held online from 22-24 Oct, see the call for sessions. #TRAC2023 was also held on Gather.town, for commentary see our Vol 7 editorial: doi.org/10.16995/tra...
A poster advertising a conference with lots of white text on a brown background
052
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Check out a recent #TRAJ #BookReview! Revelation & Material Religion in the Roman East ed. by Leach, Smith & Keddie, reviewed by Constanze Graml 'contributions on the textual world of the New Testament, which provide interesting and creative thought experiments" doi.org/10.16995/tra...
Book cover of Revelation and Material Religion in the Roman East
010
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
NEW #TRAJ Book Review 'Archaeology of the #Roman Conquest' by Manuel Fernández-Götz & Nico Roymans, ✍️ by Al McCluskey "excellent up-to-date references, well-written, lavishly illustrated & is highly accessible" "new multidisciplinary methodologies to conflict archaeology" doi.org/10.16995/tra...
A book cover showing an archaeology site covered in grass.
160
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Check out this recent #TRAJ review! 'Un insediamento di età romana dimenticato nel tempo' ed. by Paolo Visonà, ✍️ (in English) by Edoardo Vanni. 'a good preliminary historical-archaeological foundation history.. of the territory of the middle Agno-Guà Valley (Veneto, Italy)' doi.org/10.16995/tra...
030
Reposted by Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal
Open Library of Humanities @openlibhums.org · 12/02/2025
"The Role of the Digital in Roman Archaeology" Read the #TRAJ Vol. 7 editorial by guest editors Cristina Crizbasan & Dragoș Mitrofan: doi.org/10.16995/tra... @traj-journal.bsky.social
doi.org
The Role of the Digital in Roman Archaeology
The editorial of the seventh volume of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal explores the intertwining relationships between digital platforms and Roman archaeology. When faced with powerful digit...
094
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
🎉 With the publication of the Editorial by our guest editors Cristina Crizbasan & Dragos Mitrofan, #TRAJ Vol 7 is now complete! Don't miss 'The Role of the Digital in Roman Archaeology', with incisive commentary on digital platforms & misinformation doi.org/10.16995/tra...
doi.org
The Role of the Digital in Roman Archaeology
The editorial of the seventh volume of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal explores the intertwining relationships between digital platforms and Roman archaeology. When faced with powerful digit...
0152
Reposted by Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal
Fishbourne Roman Palace @romanpalace.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
If anyone thinks they have a Bowl more Super than ours, they are sadly deluded. 😎
A restored Roman Samian bowl. Check it out. It's a beauty! Dramatic lighting shows off the scrolling patters to maximum effect. This Bad Boy is from our collections and dates to, give or take, 100AD (we can't be more precise as we don't have access to our catalogue at the moment).
1566883
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
NEW #TRAJ 📚 #BookReview 🌳 Trees in Ancient Rome: Growing an Empire in the Late Republic and Early Principate by Andrew Fox, reviewed by Giulia Caneva "stimulating and extremely useful in this modern era of ‘plant blindness’" FREE doi.org/10.16995/tra... @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social #AcademicSky
0103
Reposted by Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal
Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Some things never change! A 2,000 year-old Roman souvenir pen with a joke inscription roughly equivalent to: “I went to Rome and all I got you was this cheap pen!" 😂 Dated to about 70 AD, this iron stylus pen was found in London during excavations by MOLA. 📷 MOLA #EpigraphyTuesday #Archaeology
The photo shows a Roman iron stylus pen used to write on wax-filled wooden writing tablets. It has an inscription which runs along its length on four sides. The image shows the four lines of inscribed text which read:

‘ab urbe v[e]n[i] munus tibi 
gratum adf(e)ro
acul[eat]um ut habe[a]s memor[ia]m nostra(m)
rogo si fortuna dar[e]t quo possem
largius ut longa via ceu sacculus est (v)acuus’

‘I have come from the City. I bring you a welcome gift
with a sharp point that you may remember me.
I ask, if fortune allowed, that I might be able (to give)
as generously as the way is long (and) as my purse is empty.’

Excavated in London by MOLA. Photo by Juan Jose Fuldain/MOLA
191174352
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
📣 One week left until the deadline! Submit a proposal for an #OpenAccess Special Issue of #TRAJ - push the boundaries of traditional approaches to studying the Roman world - Deadline 31 Jan, info below - #RomanArchaeology #Archaeology #AcademicSky
PDF call for special issue proposals
01313
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
We are very happy to welcome 3 new Editorial Board members! Dr Stuart McKie (U of Exeter) Dr Cristina Mondin (U of Padova) Dr Berber van der Meulen-van der Veen (U of Amsterdam) Curious about the humans behind #TRAJ? Have a look at our current editorial team: traj.openlibhums.org/editorialteam/
The Roman Pantheon, a classical building with columns.
081
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Check out a recent #RomanArchaeology #BookReview! GIS Applications in Roman Landscape & Territory. Methodologies & models in Hispania ed. by Pedro Trapero Fernández & André Carneiro, ✍️ José M. Costa-García FREE traj.openlibhums.org/article/id/1... @barpublishing.bsky.social
A red book cover with a blue and white map of iberia
0123
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Pompeii: Spectacular new discoveries unearthed include private spa
A huge private bathhouse is found after lying hidden for 2,000 years under volcanic rock and ash.
030
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Did you know the Romans wrote curses? Check out our 🆕 #BookReview of Living & Cursing in the Roman West: Curse Tablets & Society by Stuart McKie (@bigfridge224.bsky.social) reviewed by Madeline Line. "a valuable contribution to curse tablet scholarship" doi.org/10.16995/tra... #AcademicSky
A black and yellow book cover of Living and Cursing in the Roman West
072
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
NEW in #TRAJ 🪙 'Data Quality & Bias in the Coin Hoards of the Roman Empire Database: A Logistic Regression Analysis' by Philip Rademacher The author considers sources of bias in the 18,000 coin hoard database & if data quality correlates with hoard characteristics. FREE doi.org/10.16995/tra...
doi.org
Data Quality and Bias in the Coin Hoards of the Roman Empire Database: A Logistic Regression Analysis
The Coin Hoards of the Roman Empire database currently contains more than 18,000 coin hoards from all areas of the Roman Empire and beyond. This large data collection encourages data-driven approaches...
052
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Today is the last day to apply to join our editorial board! Drop us a quick letter & CV, and let us know how you would like to contribute to a growing Open-Access journal of Roman #Archaeology Info on how apply: traj.openlibhums.org/news/769/
traj.openlibhums.org
TRAJ Call for Editorial Board Members
The Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal (TRAJ) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal published by the Open Library of Humanities, providing a venue for innovative and interdisciplinary research in...
054
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
Publication day! 🎉 TRAJ Volume 7 is complete, featuring 3 research articles & 22 book reviews (with an editorial coming very soon). 👀 - Philip Rademacher's new research article on bias in the Coins of the Roman Empire database 6 new book reviews traj.openlibhums.org/issue/1279/i...
The cover of TRAJ Volume 7, featuring a Roman site in the UK.
01810
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Call for Special Issue Proposals! Following on from Sensory Experiences in the Roman North & in-progress Cosmologies Across Boundaries, #TRAJ is pleased to invite applications for 2026: - #OpenAccess - push the boundaries of traditional approaches to studying the Roman world - Deadline 31 Jan
A pdf document showing the TRAJ logo and text for the call for special issue proposals.
076
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
🌲 FREE #BookReview of Plants, Politics & Empire in Ancient Rome by Annalisa Marzano, ✍️ Andrew Fox "This book is especially strong in its discussion of economy & what the trade of plant products can tell us about the role of plants in the Roman world ..." doi.org/10.16995/tra... #TRAJ #archaeology
A book cover showing a Roman mosaic
073
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Start the week with a #TRAJ #BookReview! Senses, Cognition & Ritual Experience in the Roman World, ed. by @drblankam.bsky.social & Abigail Graham, ✍️ by Charlotte Spence (@ox.ac.uk) "a highly compelling case for increasing engagement with Cognitive Science of Religion" doi.org/10.16995/tra...
A blue book cover with a Roman sculpture.
0141
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal @traj-journal.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
📣 Hey all you #Roman theory people, come join us on the #TRAJ Editorial Board! We are looking for new members to join our international editorial board, applications are welcome from all researchers within the field of Roman #archaeology Apply by 31 Dec 👉 traj.openlibhums.org/news/769/
traj.openlibhums.org
TRAJ Call for Editorial Board Members
The Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal (TRAJ) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal published by the Open Library of Humanities, providing a venue for innovative and interdisciplinary research in...
0179