Staff in Classics
Dr Anja Slawisch
Dr phil. habil., M.A., FHEA
Senior Lecturer
- Tel: +44 (0)131 650 2455
- Email: Anja.Slawisch@ed.ac.uk
- Room 2M.18, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place
Office hours
Roles
Keeper of Collection (Classics)
Director of Research (Classics)
Biography
I am a classical archaeologist with a research focus on Greek material culture and archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean from Geometric to Roman eras, with a particular emphasis on Ionia and Thrace and on the period between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE. My publications span (a) detailed primary studies of material culture in historical contexts and (b) critical synthetic commentaries on political history, art, trade networks and the history of research.
My doctoral research on the textual and visual aspects of funerary monuments from the Roman province of Thrace was published in 2007. A second monograph, which formed part of my Habilitation qualification at Ruhr-University Bochum, is currently in preparation for publication and is entitled ‘Ionia in the 5th c. BCE: Collapse, Resilience, Regeneration’. It is the first holistic review of the material world of the neglected Classical period of this region.
I joined the University Edinburgh Classics Department in September 2019.
External appointments
AHRC Peer Review College Member (2022-2025)
Member of the Archaeology Committee at the British School at Athens (BSA). You can find more information on the role of the BSA here: https://www.bsa.ac.uk
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
I am on the advisory boards of Anatolian Research - Anadolu Araştırmaları, Istanbul University and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Journal of Social Sciences, Istanbul
Useful Links
Research interests
- Greek Art and Archaeology from the 8th to the 4th c. BCE
- Cross-disciplinary and synthetic analysis of archaeological material with textual sources
- Diachronic approaches to mobility, resilience, economy & cultural change
- Greek Archaic, Hellenistic and Roman funerary practices and monuments
Current research activities
Project Panormos
Started in 2012, this collaborative field project aimed to document and analyse the historic/archaeological landscape around the gateway port of Panormos, using traditional excavation and modern scientific techniques. From 2012 to 2014, I directed 3 seasons of excavation at a necropolis dating to the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, funded by the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and supported by the local Milet Müzesi. The necropolis has proven extremely important: before its discovery we had almost no grave finds in southern Ionia from this period in history – a time when the Milesian population must have been expanding to facilitate its creation of colonies across the Black Sea and Mediterranean. Modern excavation techniques have allowed us both to get a more nuanced understanding of chronology within the necropolis and more detailed data about the individuals interred. For example, samples of teeth have been taken to provide information about the potential origin of the individuals and their dietary history, which can be compared with the origin of grave goods to assess how 'international' this period truly was.
The fieldwork around Panormos has continued (in 2015, 2017 and 2019) with an intensive landscape survey designed to understand the wider settlement and land-use patterns in this part of the peninsula. It has been undertaken in collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute, and the Universities of Halle, Cambridge and Isparta. In 2015, the project started a pilot on an Open Data platform (using a GitLab-based service).
For more information visit:
http://www.projectpanormos.com/
More information on former research projects and outreach activities can be found here:
Undergraduate teaching
- Greek Art and Archaeology
- The Greek World 1B
- Handling Greek Pottery
- Death and Burial in the Greek World
- Piecing Together the Cultural Fragments of Ionia (Archaic Period)
Postgraduate teaching
- The Archaeology of the 'Greek Mircale'
- Death and Burial in the Greek World
- Skills and Methods (Classical Archaeology)
- Piecing Together the Cultural Fragments of Ionia (Archaic Period)
Current Students:
| Name | Degree | Thesis topic | Supervision type | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnani, Alex | PhD | The Mistress of the Animals in Archaic and Classical Greece | Secondary |
Publications
Books - Authored
- Slawisch, A. (2007). Die Grabsteine der römischen Provinz Thracia. Aufnahme, Verarbeitung und Weitergabe überregionaler Ausdruckmittel am Beispiel der Grabsteine einer Binnenprovinz zwischen Ost und West, Schriften des Zentrums für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte des Schwarzmeerraumes, ZAKS 9. Langenweißbach: Beier & Beran
- Slawisch, A. (Habilitation thesis). Ionien im 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr. Kollaps, Resilienz, Regeneration, Ruhr-University Bochum 2017 (in preparation for publication)
Books - Edited
- Slawisch, A. (ed.) (2013). Handels- und Finanzgebaren in der Ägäis im 5. Jh. V. Chr. — Trade and Finance in the 5th century BC Aegean World, BYZAS 18, Istanbul: Ege Yayınları
- Einicke, R., St. Lehmann, H. Löhr, G. Mehnert, A. Mehnert, A. Slawisch (eds.) (2009). Zurück zum Gegenstand. Festschrift für A. E. Furtwängler, 2 Vols., Schriften des Zentrums für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte des Schwarzmeerraumes, ZAKS 16. Langenweißbach: Beier & Beran, 640pp.
- Conrad, S., R. Einicke, A. E. Furtwängler, H. Löhr, A. Slawisch (eds.) (2006). Pontos Euxeinos. Beiträge zur Archäologie und Geschichte des antiken Schwarzmeer- und Balkanraumes, Schriften des Zentrums für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte des Schwarzmeerraumes, ZAKS 10. Langenweißbach: Beier & Beran, 504pp.
Articles
- Loy, M. and A. Slawisch (2021). Shedding light on the matter: evaluating changing patterns of object dedication in Ionian sanctuaries (7th/6th – 5th/4th centuries BC) with lexicometrical analysis, Journal of Greek Archaeology 6, 166–199.
- Wilkinson, T.C. and A. Slawisch (2020). An agro-pastoral palimpsest: new insights into the historical rural economy of the Milesian Peninsula from aerial and remote sensing imagery, accepted for Anatolian Studies 70, 181-206.
- Slawisch, A. (2019). Figures in Motion: An Ionian Perspective on the Severe Style, Annual of the British School of Athens 114, 1-21.
- Slawisch, A. (2019). Amphoren auf Amphoren. Wie Chios während einer Krisenzeit eine Marke einführte, Antike Welt, Schwerpunktthema Wirtschaft in der Antike, 8–16.
- Slawisch, A. and T. C. Wilkinson (2018). Processions, Propaganda and Pixels: Reconstructing the Sacred Way between Miletos and Didyma, American Journal of Archaeology 122.1, 101–143
- Slawisch, A. (2011). Aus unruhigen Zeiten: Die ‚Ächtungsinschrift’ aus Milet, ein Erlass aus dem frühesten 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr., Istanbuler Mitteilungen 61, 425–432.
Chapters
- Slawisch, A. (in print). M.Ö. 5. yüzyılda Ionia: Diplomasi, Sanat ve Iktisadi Yapı / Ionia during the Fifth century BC, Art, Diplomacy and Economy, Y. Ersoy and E. Koparal (eds.) Ancient Civilizations of Anatolia – Ionia, Yapı Kredi Publishing, Istanbul.
- Slawisch, A. and V. Sichelschmidt (in print). Ionia Plastiği / Sculpture in Ionia, Y. Ersoy and E. Koparal (eds.) Ancient Civilizations of Anatolia – Ionia, Yapı Kredi Publishing, Istanbul.
- Slawisch, A. (2016). Reading the image? Ambiguities in the Interpretation of Banquet Scenes on Grave Stelai from Roman Thrace, in: C. Draycott – M. Stamatopoulou (eds.), Dining and Dead: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the ‘Funerary Banquet’ in ancient Art, Burial and Belief, Colloquia Antiqua 16, Leuven, 591–625.
- Slawisch, A. (2013). Didyma. Untersuchungen zur sakralen Topographie und baulichen Entwicklung des Kernheiligtums vom 8.–4. Jh. v. Chr., in: I. Gerlach – D. Raue (eds.), Heiligtümer und Rituale. Berichte aus den Forschungen 2006–2009, Publikation des Clusters 4 (2013).
- Slawisch, A. (2013). Absatzmarkt Ionien: Zur Rolle attischer Keramik als Indikator für die Unterbrechung oder Verschiebung von Handelsnetzwerken in der Ägäis im 5. Jh. v. Chr., in: A. Slawisch (ed.) Trade and Finance in the 5th century BC Aegean World, BYZAS 18, Istanbul: Ege Yayınları, 185–206.
- Slawisch, A. (2009). Eine runde Sache: Zu einem Fragment einer Bronzekeule aus Didyma, in: Zurück zum Gegenstand. Festschrift für A. E. Furtwängler, Schriften des Zentrums für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte des Schwarzmeerraumes, ZAKS 16. Langenweißbach: Beier & Beran, 195–203.
- Slawisch, A. (2009). Epigraphy versus archaeology: conflicting evidence for cult continuity in Ionia during the 5th century BC, in: Ch. Gates - J. Morin - Th. Zimmermann (eds.) Sacred Landscapes in Anatolia and its Neighboring Regions, BAR International Series 2034. Oxford: Archaeopress, 29–34.
- Slawisch, A. (2008). [Commentary on] Chapter VI. Carl Humann. Zu seinem hundertsten Geburtstage am 4. Januar 1939, in: O. Kern, Erinnerungen an meine Lehrer, M. Hillgruber (ed.). Weidmann, Halle/Saale.
- Slawisch, A. (2007). Die Grabsteine aus Philippopolis – Ausdrucksmittel einer multikulturellen Bevölkerung, in: E. Walde (ed.) Ikarus 2, Die Selbstdarstellung der römischen Gesellschaft in den Provinzen im Spiegel der Steindenkmäler, Akten des IX. Internationalen Kolloquiums über provinzialrömisches Kunstschaffen in Innsbruck, 25.–28. Mai 2005. Innsbruck: University Press, 89–82.
- Slawisch, A. (2006). Zu ‚Fluchhänden’ auf hellenistischen und kaiserzeitlichen Grabsteinen, in: S. Conrad, R. Einicke, A. E. Furtwängler, H. Löhr, A. Slawisch (eds.), Pontos Euxeinos. Beiträge zur Archäologie und Geschichte des antiken Schwarzmeer- und Balkanraumes, Schriften des Zentrums für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte des Schwarzmeerraumes, ZAKS 10. Langenweißbach: Beier & Beran, 189–198.
- Slawisch, A. (2006). Die Metallfunde, in: D. Berges (ed.), Knidos. Beiträge zur Geschichte einer archaischen Stadt. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 188–193.
- Slawisch, A. (2003). Zwischen Korinth und Athen. Eine schwarzfigurige Reiteramphora aus dem Archäologischen Museum Halle, in: B. Schmaltz – M. Söldner (eds.), Griechische Keramik im kulturellen Kontext, Akten des Internationalen Vasen-Symposions in Kiel vom 24.-28.9.2001. 127–129.
Field Reports/Open Data Publications
- Wilkinson, T. C. and A. Slawisch and N. Strupler (2020) Project Panormos Archaeological Survey: Photograph Archive (survey-photo-archive) (Version 0.2.0). Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3941899
- Wilkinson, T. C. and N. Strupler and A. Slawisch (2020) Project Panormos Archaeological Survey Data (survey-data) (Version 0.2.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3941561
- Wilkinson, T. C. and A. Slawisch (2019). Survey, sense and sensibilities: Reflections on old and new spatial archaeologies on the Project Panormos Survey. Heritage Turkey 9: 36–37. doi: 10.18866/biaa2019.19
- Wilkinson, T. C. and A. Slawisch (2018). Panormos 2017: Intensive Survey on the Milesian Peninsula. Heritage Turkey 7, 32–33.
- Wilkinson, T. C. and A. Slawisch (2016). Intensive Survey on the Milesian Peninsula. Research Highlights. Archaeology at Cambridge 2016–7, 46.
- Wilkinson, T. C. and N. Strupler and A. Slawisch (2015), The Project Panormos Survey: Open Data Release v1. Zenodo Open Data Repository (http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1039980).
- Slawisch, A. and T.C. Wilkinson (2016). e-Projektbericht: Panormos, Türkei. Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2014 und 2015. eDAI-F 2016-2, 114–118.
- Slawisch, A. and H. Akat (2015). Gaben für die Jüngsten. Zwei Kinderbestattungen aus der Nekropole von Panormos bei Didyma, DAI Istanbul, Jahresheft 13/2015, 28–29.
- Slawisch, A. (2014). e-Projektbericht: Die archaische Nekropole von Panormos, 2012 und 2013, eDAI-F 2014-3, 114–119.
- Slawisch, A. (2014). Die archaische Nekropole von Panormos, DAI Istanbul, Jahresheft 12/2014, 22–23.
- Slawisch, A. (2013) and M. Bilici. Grabungen in der Nekropole von Panormos, DAI Istanbul Jahresheft 11/2013, 15.
- Slawisch, A. and A.E. Furtwängler. (2008). Branchidai/Didyma Araştırmaları, Türk Eskiçağ Bilimleri Enstitüsü Haberler Dergisi (TEBE) 30, 11–12
Reviews
- [Review of] Curti, Francesca, Alessandra Parrini (eds.): Iasos. Ceramica attica a figure rosse. Prefazione di Ian McPhee. Con contributi di Fede Berti, Roberta Fabiani, Bernhard Schmalz. Roma: Giorgio Bretschneider 2020. XV, 179 S. 4 Abb. 85 z.T. farb. Taf. (Archaeologica. 182. Missione Archeologica Italiana di Iasos. 7.). Gnomon 94, 2022, 353-357.
- [Review of] S. Krag, Funerary Representations of Palmyrene Women: From the First Century BC to the Third Century AD. Studies in classical archaeology, 3. Turnhout: (Brepols, 2018), BMCR 2019.08.52
- [Review of] Y. Er Scarborough, The Funerary Monuments of Rough Cilicia and Isauria, BAR International Series 2846 (Oxford 2017), BMCR 2018.02.36.
- [Review of] S. Montel (Hrsg.), La sculpture gréco-romaine en Asie Mineur. Synthèse et recherches récentes, Franche-Comté 2015, BMCR 2016.09.31.
- [Review of] L.-M. Günther, mit einem Beitrag von L. S. Köcke, Bürgerinnen und ihre Familien im hellenistischen Milet: Untersuchungen zur Rolle von Frauen und Mädchen in der Polis-Öffentlichkeit, Wiesbaden 2014, Ancient West & East 15, 2016, 400–401.
- [Review of] M. Mohr, Die Heilige Straße – Ein ›Weg der Mitte‹? Soziale Gruppenbildung im Spannungsfeld der archaischen Polis, Züricher Archäologische Forschungen 1, Rahden/Westf. 2013, Gnonom 88, 2016, 2, 187–189.
- [Review of] J. Burnett Grossman, Funerary sculpture, The Athenian Agora, 35, Princeton, NJ: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 2013, BMCR 2014.07.28.
- [Review of] U. Muss (ed.), Die Archäologie der ephesischen Artemis. Gestalt und Ritual eines Heiligtums (Wien 2008), in: Bonner Jahrbuch 207, 2007, 387–390.