Richard Kendall

Thesis title: Cultural Memory in Post-Getic Olbia

Background

Originally from Basildon, Essex, I read my undergraduate in Classical Archaeology and Classical Civilisation (1:1) at University College London (UCL) and subsequently obtained an MPhil in Classical Archaeology with Distinction from Magdalen College, University of Oxford. I completed an MRes in Ancient History at the University of Birmingham prior to beginning my PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 2019. My research is fully-funded by the College Research Award.

During my undergraduate degree, I participated in archaeological excavations in Italy, Israel-Palestine and across the UK. I completed an intensive Russian Language course at Moscow State University in 2017, and, during my doctorate, undertook a funded research trip to Warsaw, Poland (Oct-Nov 2022).

Within the department, I served as a Classics Postgraduate Representative (2021-22) and have been the Classics Representative to the Postgraduate and Part-Time Tutor Liaison Committee since October 2021. I have tutored on a range of pre-honours courses and I also serve as a Classics tutor for the HCA Writing Centre. I was awarded Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in February 2022.

Qualifications

Sept 2018 – Sept 2019            University of Birmingham    MRes Ancient History

Oct 2014 – Sept 2016              University of Oxford                 MPhil Classical Archaeology

Sept 2011 – Aug 2014             University College London    BA (Hons.) Classical Archaeology and Classical Civilisation

Undergraduate teaching

Tutor for: Greek World 1A: Greece in the Making; Greek World 1B: Greece’s New Horizons; Roman World 1B: The Roman Empire; Ancient History 2B: Themes and Theories in Ancient History; Greek Art and Archaeology; Roman Art and Archaeology; Archaeology 1B; Classical Literature: Greek and Roman Epic.

I also serve as an HCA Writing Centre Tutor for Classics (and previously Archaeology).

Research summary

My thesis focuses on the site of Olbia (modern Parutyne, Ukraine) on the northern Black Sea coast, specifically the use of cultural memory in the 'Post-Getic' revival of the city in the early centuries AD.

Current research interests

Greek communities in the northern Black Sea littoral in antiquity; cultural memory; Sarmatians and nomadic communities in antiquity; tamgas; hybridity in visual culture; numismatics.

Past research interests

Transtiberim in the urban landscape; homelessness in Early Imperial Rome; representations of disability in Hellenistic art.

Knowledge exchange

I am a member of the Pandemic Perspectives group, based at various institutions in the UK and overseas, which examines the impact of the Pandemic on various disciplines. We organised a conference in April 2021, which was published, with funding from the University of Edinburgh Student-Led Initiative Fund and M4C AHRC, in December 2022: https://ubiquityproceedings.com/2/volume/2/issue/1.

Conference details

I have organised conferences on a range of topics from the Classical Period in the Caucasus region (with The Caucasus Through Time Network) to the effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic (with the Pandemic Perspectives group). I have presented my research at various national and international institutions, perhaps most memorably in a cave in Vardzia, Georgia in June 2022.

Invited speaker

Jun 2021          Building Back Better? Tamgas and a New Visual Language in 1st-2nd century AD Olbia Thesis Corner, Digital Museum

Oct 2020          Co-Panellist, Covid and Cities Birmingham Research Institution for History and Cultures (BRIHC) Humanities Lab series, University of Birmingham

Organiser

Dec 2022 Novel Research and Approaches to the Study of the Caucasus in the Classical Period (virtual) The Caucasus Through Time Network

Oct 2021 – Apr 2022 Postgraduate Research Seminar Series (in-person and virtual) School of History, Classics and Archaeology University of Edinburgh

Sept 2021 – July 2022 Pandemic Perspectives Research Seminar Series (virtual) Pandemic Perspectives Group

Apr 2021 Pandemic Perspectives: Reflections on the Post-Covid World (virtual) Pandemic Perspectives Group, AHRC-M4C and University of Edinburgh

Jun 2019 Masters Dissertation Conference College of Arts & Law University of Birmingham

Dec 2018 – Sept 2019  Rosetta Forum University of Birmingham

May 2017 Ancient Rome in Silent Cinema Magdalen College, University of Oxford

Papers delivered

Sept 2022         Meaningful Misremembrance: The Post-Getic role of Achilles and Apollo in Olbia Seventh International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities, The International Hellenic University, Thessaloniki, Greece

Sept 2022         τὴν τῶγ Γαλατῶν ὠμότητα: The ‘Celts’ in the Northwest Black Sea Definition and Redefinition of Celtic Identities in the Ancient World: An Interdisciplinary Approach, University of Florence, Italy, and University of Edinburgh

June 2022         Homelessness in Ancient Rome: Texts vs Images The 13th International Young Archaeologists’ Conference dedicated to Meskhetian Educationalists, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Vardzia, Georgia

May 2022         Aristocratic Families in Roman Olbia: A Question of Tradition IV International Symposium for Young Scholars in the Humanities, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia

Feb 2022          Vaporwave Responses to Classical Art: The Art of the Deal? Postgraduate Research Seminar, University of Edinburgh

Dec 2021         A King Under Your Control: βασιλες Pharzoios and Inismeos at Olbia Novel Research and Approaches to the Study of the Caucasus in the Classical Period, The Caucasus Through Time Network

May 2021         Lion’s Share: Emerging Hybridity in Roman Olbia Pontica Those, Othering, Alterity, Appropriation in Ancient Art, University of Hamburg, Germany

Feb 2021          Commemoration and Conservatism in Olbia Pontica: In Victory and Crisis Annual Meeting for Postgraduates in Ancient History (AMPAH) Conference 2021, University of Exeter

Dec 2020         How to be an Optimist about this: Religious Authority in Hellenistic Olbia Postgraduate Research Seminar, University of Edinburgh

Dec 2019         Scholars can’t be Choosers: Homelessness in Pre-Christian Rome Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) Conference, University College London

Nov 2019         Pomerium or Pedestrian: The Evolving Definition of Rome’s Western Boundary Meaning, Memory and Movement Conference, University of Birmingham

Jun 2019          Rome Away from Home: Changing Views of the Tiber’s Opposite Bank Research Poster Conference, University of Birmingham

Jun 2019          Religion in the Transtiberim: What price polytheism? Masters Dissertation Conference, University of Birmingham

Feb 2019          The Art of the Deal: Donald Trump, Vaporwave and Classical Art Rosetta Forum, University of Birmingham

Oct 2018          Mythological Flatness: The Myth of Icarus Mythological Panoramas Conference, Senate House, London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP)

Feb 2022                                  University of Edinburgh       Associate Fellowship, Higher Education Academy

June 2019                               University of Birmingham    Best Poster, College of Arts and Law

Mar 2019                                  University of Birmingham    Horizon Award

Sept 2016                                Magdalen College, Oxford   Herbert Warren Memorial Benefaction

Sept 2014                                University College London  Dean’s List (Top 5% results across the university)

July 2013                                 University College London  Sessional Prize for Academic Achievement

June 2022                               The Politics of Archaism Conference Bursary, University of Bristol

May 2022                                 School of History, Classics and Archaeology Conference Support Fund

May 2022                                 Graduate Student Training Fund, University of Edinburgh

Mar 2022                                  Baldwin Brown Traveling Scholarship, University of Edinburgh

Feb 2022                                  School of History, Classics and Archaeology Conference Support Fund

Apr 2021                                  AHRC M4C Cohort Development Fund

Mar 2021                                 School of History, Classics and Archaeology Student-Led Initiative Fund

Nov 2019                                 Thomas Wiedemann Memorial Fund

Sept 2019                                University of Edinburgh College Research Award

Feb 2019                                  AHRC M4C Doctoral Full-Funding (Declined)

May 2018                                 College of Arts and Law (Full-Fees) Scholarship