N.D. (Nicholas) Aherne, MA
PhD Researcher—MARE Team
Telephone:
E-mail:
n.d.aherne rug.nl
Field/Discipline
Expertise
Roman Sarcophagi; Roman East; Funerary Archaeology; Material and Visual Culture of the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds; Cults, Religion, Festival Culture; Roman Domestic Space; Classical Art and Archaeology. My PhD project (2022–2026) is titled 'Encoffined Bodies: on the Role of Sarcophagi in the Funerary Customs of Roman-period Phoenicia'. See Curriculum Vitae for details. In this project I compile an unprecedented catalogue and analysis of stone, lead, terracotta, and wood sarcophagi from major urban sites along the coast of Phoenicia and further inland in the Bekaa Valley. I investigate the ritual function of the sarcophagi by taking a materiality and contextual approach. I investigate the funerary customs, values and belief systems of the communities of Roman Phoenicia through an analysis of the material and visual components of the sarcophagi: material, size, colour, decoration (both figure and ornament), text (inscriptions) as well as a consideration of their archaeological and spatial context including skeletal remains, grave goods, built structures, and cult apparatus. These novel approaches are in contrast to the traditional way that the sarcophagi have been studied as status symbols and with a disproportionate emphasis on the most decorative mythological sarcophagi. Other major questions concern the extent to which the sarcophagi reflect empire-wide trends versus local market demands. See project tab for more details.
| Last modified: | 14 July 2025 10.54 p.m. |