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N.D. (Nicholas) Aherne, MA

PhD Researcher—MARE Team

Field/Discipline

Expertise

Roman Sarcophagi; Roman East; Funerary Archaeology; Material and Visual Culture of the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds; Cults, Religion, Festival Culture; Classical Art and Archaeology. My PhD project (2022–2026) is titled 'Encoffined Bodies: on the Role of Decorated Sarcophagi in the Funerary Customs of Phoenicia During the Roman Period'. See Curriculum Vitae for details. This project investigates 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. For example, how do the interiors of the sarcophagi, their carving, skeletal remains, and grave goods reflect values of the dead and living? How does this compare to their representation through the exterior of the sarcophagi?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. The central dataset comprises sarcophagi of stone, lead, terracotta, and wood from major urban sites along the coast of Phoenicia.  See project tab for more details.
Last modified:06 February 2025 07.50 a.m.

Contact information

Poststraat 6
9712 ER Groningen
The Netherlands

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