Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology (Bryn Mawr)
Department Website:
https://www.brynmawr.edu/archaeology
The curriculum of the department focuses on the cultures of the Mediterranean regions and Western Asia in antiquity. Courses treat aspects of society and material culture of these civilizations as well as issues of theory, method, and interpretation.
Languages
Majors who contemplate graduate study in Classical fields should incorporate Greek and Latin into their programs. Those who plan graduate work in Near Eastern or Egyptian may take appropriate ancient languages at the University of Pennsylvania, such as Middle Egyptian, Akkadian, and Sumerian. Any student considering graduate study in Classical and Near Eastern archaeology should study French and German.
Independent Research
Majors who wish to undertake independent research, especially for researching and writing a lengthy paper, must arrange with a professor who is willing to advise them, and consult with the Major Advisor. Such research normally would be conducted by seniors as a unit of supervised work (403), which must be approved by the advising professor before registration. Students planning to do such research should consult with professors in the department in the spring semester of their junior year or no later than the beginning of the fall semester of the senior year.
Additional Major Experiences: Fieldwork and Museum Internships
The department strongly encourages students to gain fieldwork experience over the summer and assists them in getting positions on field projects in North America and overseas. The department is undertaking several field projects in the eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia. Dependig on the College's travel safety policy, advanced undergraduates may participate in these projects.
Museum internships, either during the summer or during the term, also constitute valid major experiences beyond the classroom. The department is awarded annually one fully paid summer internship by the Nicholas P. Goulandris Foundation for students to work for four to six weeks in the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, Greece. An announcement inviting applications is normally sent by the department chair in the spring.
Opportunities to work with the College’s archaeology collections are available throughout the academic year and during the summer. Students wishing to work with the collections should consult Marianne Weldon, Collections Manager for Art and Artifacts.
Funding for Summer Learning Opportunities
The department has two funds that support students for summer internships, summer fieldwork projects, and archaeological summer projects of their own design. One, the Elisabeth Packard Fund for internships in Art History and Archaeology is shared with the Department of the History of Art, while the other is the Anna Lerah Keys Memorial Prize. Any declared major may apply for these funds. An announcement calling for applications is normally sent to majors in the spring, and the awards are made public at the annual college awards ceremony in April. To help cover expenses related to archaeological learning opportunities, which can be expensive, the department encourages majors to consider applying for funding offered by Bryn Mawr College and external funding sources.
Sourced from the Bryn Mawr College catalog: https://catalog.brynmawr.edu/undergraduate-catalog/departments-and-programs/classical-near-eastern-archaeology/#text
Major Requirements
The major requires a minimum of 10 courses. Core requirements are two 100-level courses distributed between the ancient Near East and Egypt (ARCH B101 Introduction to Egyptian and Near Eastern Archaeology) and ancient Greece and Rome (ARCH B102 Introduction to Classical Archaeology), a course on Topics in Archaeological Principles and Methods (ARCH B233 Topics in Archaeological Principles and Methods), and two semesters of the senior conference (ARCH B398 Senior Seminar in Classical Archaeology and ARCH B399 Senior Seminar). At least two upper-level courses should be distributed between Classical and Near Eastern subjects. Additional requirements are determined in consultation with the Major Advisor. A Praxis Independent Study or additional coursework in allied subjects may be presented for major credit, but must be approved in writing by the major advisor; such courses are offered in the Departments of Anthropology, Geology, Greek, Latin and Classical Studies, Growth and Structure of Cities, and History of Art. In consultation with the Major Advisor, one course taken in study abroad may be accepted for credit in the major after review of the syllabus, work submitted for a grade, and a transcript. Credit will not be given for a course that is ordinarily offered by the department. Students can also take courses at the University of Pennsylvania in consultation with the Major Advisor.
The writing requirement for the major consists of two one-semester Writing Attentive courses offered within the department.
Each student’s course of study to meet major requirements will be determined in consultation with the undergraduate major advisor in the spring semester of the sophomore year, at which time a written plan will be designed. Students considering majoring in the department are encouraged to take the introductory courses (ARCH B101 Introduction to Egyptian and Near Eastern Archaeology and ARCH B102 Introduction to Classical Archaeology) early in their undergraduate career and should also seek advice from departmental faculty. Students who are interested in interdisciplinary concentrations or in study abroad during the junior year are strongly advised to seek assistance in planning their major early in their sophomore year.
Honors
Honors are granted on the basis of academic performance as demonstrated by a cumulative average of 3.50 or better in the major.
Minor Requirements
The minor requires six courses. Core requirements are two 100-level courses distributed between the ancient Near East and Egypt and ancient Greece and Rome, in addition to four other courses selected in consultation with the major advisor.
Concentration Requirements
Concentration in Geoarcheology
The geoarchaeology concentration allows students majoring in Anthropology, Archaeology, or Geology to explore the connections among these fields with respect to how our human ancestors interacted with past environments, and how traces of human behavior are preserved in the physical environment. In Geology, the geoarchaeology concentration consists of 13 courses: GEOL B101, GEOL B202, GEOL B203, GEOL B204, GEOL B205, GEOL B208, GEOL B270, and GEOL B399; two semesters of chemistry; two semesters of math, statistics, or computational methods; either ARCH B101 or ANTH B101; and one 200- or 300-level elective from among current offerings in Anthropology or Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology. Paperwork for the concentration should be filed at the same time as the major work plan. For course planning advice, consult with Don Barber (Geology), Casey Barrier (Anthropology) or Peter Magee (Archaeology).
Independent Research
Majors who wish to undertake independent research, especially for researching and writing a lengthy paper, must arrange with a professor who is willing to advise them, and consult with the major advisor. Such research normally would be conducted by seniors as a unit of supervised work (403), which must be approved by the advising professor before registration. Students planning to do such research should consult with professors in the department in the spring semester of their junior year or no later than the beginning of the fall semester of the senior year.
Annual Field Trip
Since 2015/16 the department has organized an annual field trip for registered majors in good standing in their Junior Year. This voluntary trip involves a city (e.g., Athens or Rome) which features in our teaching program, or a city which contains relevant museums (e.g., London, Paris, Berlin). The airfare and lodging expenses are covered by the Department. Details for the upcoming trip will be made available at the beginning of the Fall Semester.
Languages
Majors who contemplate graduate study in Classical fields should incorporate Greek and Latin into their programs. Those who plan graduate work in Near Eastern or Egyptian may take appropriate ancient languages at the University of Pennsylvania, such as Middle Egyptian, Akkadian and Sumerian. Any student considering graduate study in Classical and Near Eastern archaeology should study French and German.
Study Abroad
A semester of study abroad is encouraged if the program is approved by the department. Students are encouraged to consult with faculty, since some programs the department may approve may not yet be listed at the Office of International Programs. Students who seek major credit for courses taken abroad must consult with the major advisor before enrolling in a program. Major credit is given on a case-by-case basis after review of the syllabus, work submitted for a grade, and a transcript. Credit will not be given for more than one course and not for courses that are ordinarily offered by the department.
Fieldwork
The department strongly encourages students to gain fieldwork experience and assists them in getting positions on field projects in North America and overseas. The department is undertaking several field projects in which undergraduates may be invited to participate.
Professor Peter Magee conducts a for-credit field school at Muweilah, al-Hamriya and Tell Abraq in the United Arab Emirates. Undergraduate and graduate students participate in this project, which usually takes place during the winter break. He sends an announcement about how to apply for a position in the fall of each year. Students who participate for credit sign up for a 403 independent study with Professor Magee.
Professor Astrid Lindenlauf is also beginning a new excavation project at the ancient Greek trading post of Naukratis in Egypt, and the opportunities for work there will expand as the project gets under way.
Additional Major Experiences: Fieldwork and Museum Internships
The department strongly encourages students to gain fieldwork experience over the summer and assists them in getting positions on field projects in North America and overseas. The department is undertaking several field projects in Egypt, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. Further field projects in Greece or the Near East are foreseen for the future. There will be opportunities for advanced undergraduates to participate in these projects.
Museum internships, either during the summer or during the term, also constitute valid major experiences beyond the classroom. The department is awarded annually one fully paid summer internship by the Nicholas P. Goulandris Foundation for students to work for six weeks in the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, Greece. An announcement inviting applications is normally sent by the department Chair in the spring.
Opportunities to work with the College’s archaeology collections are available throughout the academic year and during the summer. Students wishing to work with the collections should consult Marianne Weldon, Collections Manager for Art and Artifacts.
Funding for Summer Learning Opportunities
The department has two funds that support students for summer internships, summer fieldwork projects, and archaeological summer projects of their own design. One, the Elisabeth Packard Fund for internships in Art History and Archaeology is shared with the Department of the History of Art, while the other is the Anna Lerah Keys Memorial Prize. Any declared major may apply for these funds. An announcement calling for applications is normally sent to majors in the spring, and the awards are made public at the annual college awards ceremony in April. To help cover expenses related to archaeological learning opportunities, which can be expensive, the department encourages majors to consider applying for funding offered by Bryn Mawr College and external funding sources.
Faculty at Bryn Mawr
Jennie BradburyAssociate Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology
Henry Colburn
Visiting Assistant Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology
Astrid Lindenlauf
Associate Professor and Chair of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, and Director of the Graduate Group in Archaeology, Classics and History of Art
Rocco Palermo
Assistant Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology
Xin Wu
Assistant Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology
Courses
ARCH B101 INTRODUCTION TO EGYPTIAN AND NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Henry Colburn
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
A historical survey of the archaeology and art of the ancient Near East and Egypt.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ARCH B102 INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Astrid Lindenlauf
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
A historical survey of the archaeology and art of Greece, Etruria, and Rome.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ARCH B203 BUILDING THE POLIS: ANCIENT GREEK CITIES AND SANCTUARIES (1.0 Credit)
Division: Humanities
A study of the co-development of the Greek city-states and their sanctuaries. Archaeological evidence is surveyed in its historic context. The political formation of the city-state and the role of religion is presented, and the political, economic, and religious institutions of the city-states are explored with a focus on regional variations in timelines of development, building styles, and connectivity. The logistics of building construction, religious travel, and interregional influences will also be addressed.
ARCH B210 DAILY LIFE IN ANCIENT EGYPT (1.0 Credit)
In this course, learn about life growing up and getting old in ancient Egypt through their everyday food and drink including ancient recipes and massive factory installations for brewing beer, their clothing and adornment, education, household religion and the real beliefs of your average Egyptian often quite different from the religion sponsored by the pharaoh and the state. Learn about their illnesses and their medical treatments, types of jobs and complaints about lazy coworkers, life in the workmen's village of the great pyramid and the valley of the Kings, curses against enemies, disowning misbehaving adult children and even their leisure and playtime through games, sports, toys, and pets. This course will assess the diverse lives of a laborer, slave, foreigner, high-ranking official, pharaoh and more throughout Egypt from 2600 BC- 1080 BC in the village Lahun, the Egyptian capital Tell el-Amarna, the temple town in South Abydos, and the workman’s village for the Giza pyramids and the Valley of the Kings. It will examine Egyptian life through artifacts including ivory wands and birthing bricks for childbirth, children's toys, weapons and tools, amulets, and more; tomb scenes of daily life; and societal values through fairy tales, love poetry, legal documents, letters, scribal training practice texts, work attendance rosters, and ostraca.
ARCH B212 VISUAL CULTURE OF THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Humanities
This course explores the visual culture of the ancient Mediterranean world from the second millennium BCE to early Roman times. Drawing from an extensive variety of extant evidence that includes monuments, sculpture, paintings, mosaics, and artifacts deriving from culturally and geographically distinct areas, such as the Minoan world, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia, Italy, Tunisia, and Spain, the course explores how such evidence may have been viewed and experienced and how it may have, in turn, shaped the visual culture of the well-interconnected ancient Mediterranean world. Focusing on selected examples of evidence, including its materials, style, and methods of production, the course will also consider how past and current scholarly attitudes, approaches, and terminology have affected the understanding and interpretation of this evidence.
ARCH B222 ALEXANDER THE GREAT (1.0 Credit)
Henry Colburn
Division: Humanities
This course examines the life, personality, career, and military achievements of Alexander the Great, as well as the extraordinary reception of his legacy in antiquity and through modern times. It uses historical, archaeological and art-historical evidence to reconstruct a comprehensive picture of Alexander’s cultural background and examines the real and imaginary features of his life and afterlife as they developed in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds, Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and succeeding periods in both Europe and Asia. Special attention is also placed on the appeal that Alexander’s life and achievements have generated and continue to retain in modern popular visual culture as evidenced from documentary films and motion pictures.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ARCH B228 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF IRAN: FROM THE NEOLITHIC TO ALEXANDER THE GREAT (1.0 Credit)
Henry Colburn
This course examines the archaeology of Iran from circa 6000 BC to the coming of Alexander the Great at the end of the fourth century BC. Through the course we examine the beginnings of agriculture, pastoralism and sedentary settlement in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods; Bronze Age interaction between Iran, Mesopotamia, south Asia and the Arabian Gulf; developments within the Iron Age; and the emergence of the Achaemenid Empire (538-332BC).
ARCH B229 VISUAL CULTURE OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST (1.0 Credit)
Henry Colburn
This course examines the visual culture of the Ancient Near East based on an extensive body of architectural, sculptural, and pictorial evidence dating from prehistoric times through the fifth century BCE. We will explore how a variety of surviving art, artifacts, sculpture, monuments, and architecture deriving from geographically distinct areas of the ancient Near East, such as Mesopotamia, the Eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia, and Iran, may have been viewed and experienced in their historical contexts, including the contribution of ancient materials and technologies of production in shaping this viewing and experience. By focusing on selected examples of diverse evidence, we will also consider how past and current scholarly methods and approaches, many of them art-historical, archaeological, and architectural in aim, have affected the understanding and interpretation of this evidence. In doing so, we will pay special attention to critical terms such as aesthetics, style, narrative, representation, and agency.
ARCH B233 TOPICS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND METHODS (1.0 Credit)
Jennie Bradbury
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This topic course explores methods used in Archaeology. Course content varies.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ARCH B240 ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA (1.0 Credit)
Xin Wu
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
A survey of the material culture of ancient Mesopotamia, modern Iraq, from the earliest phases of state formation (circa 3500 B.C.E.) through the Achaemenid Persian occupation of the Near East (circa 331 B.C.E.). Emphasis will be on art, artifacts, monuments, religion, kingship, and the cuneiform tradition. The survival of the cultural legacy of Mesopotamia into later ancient and Islamic traditions will also be addressed.
ARCH B244 GREAT EMPIRES OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST (1.0 Credit)
Xin Wu
Division: Humanities
A survey of the history, material culture, political and religious ideologies of, and interactions among, the five great empires of the ancient Near East of the second and first millennia B.C.E.: New Kingdom Egypt, the Hittite Empire in Anatolia, the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires in Mesopotamia, and the Persian Empire in Iran.
ARCH B249 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF URBAN REVOLUTIONS IN WESTERN ASIA (1.0 Credit)
Jennie Bradbury
This course examines the archaeology of one of the most fundamental developments to have occurred in human society in the last 6,000 years, the origins of cities. Via assigned readings, class work and lectures we will consider the varied factors which led (or did not lead) to the emergence of cities, questioning what cities were (and are) and how they functioned in the ancient world. We will explore different trajectories towards urbanism that can be identified in the archaeological record and consider societies that did not experience these changes. By exploring processes and practices over the long-term, students will address issues of inequality in the earliest urban societies, developing an understanding of how axes of power and difference interacted to produce inequalities and hierarchies. We will also discuss the impacts these developments have had, and continue to have, on modern society and culture in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. Themes covered will include the ‘urban revolution’, rurality and urbanism, urban planning and growth, houses and households, communication and mobility, climate and environment, power and inequality.
ARCH B250 DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Rocco Palermo
This course covers the innovative changes that have been brought about in Archaeology and Heritage Studies by new technologies and methodological approaches. Remote sensing data analysis, augmented reality, machine learning software, online collaborative platforms, and 3D tools are revolutionizing the way in which data is collected, managed, conserved, and disseminated. A combination of a survey of cutting-edge digital methods and applications, select case studies from Eurasia, and hands-on sessions enables students to gain a good understanding of the potential of digital tools. Prerequisite: ARCH B233.
ARCH B252 POMPEII (1.0 Credit)
Division: Humanities
Introduces students to a nearly intact archaeological site whose destruction by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 C.E. was recorded by contemporaries. The discovery of Pompeii in the mid-1700s had an enormous impact on 18th- and 19th-century views of the Roman past as well as styles and preferences of the modern era. Informs students in classical antiquity, urban life, city structure, residential architecture, home decoration and furnishing, wall painting, minor arts and craft and mercantile activities within a Roman city.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ARCH B253 GENDER ARCHAEOLOGY IN PRE-ISLAMIC WESTERN ASIA (1.0 Credit)
Xin Wu
This course explores the intersections of gender and archaeology in Western Asia during the pre-Islamic periods. It examines how diverse social groups use multiple means to construct, perform, and negotiate gender, sex, identities. The course discusses gender's intricate relationship with class, sexuality, and religion through analysis of texts, visual representations, spatial organization, and other material traces of the past. Grounded in the tradition of gender archaeology, this course draws on various discourses and interpretive frameworks to offer new archaeological approaches for understanding and discussing gender dynamics in both past and present societies.
ARCH B256 CLASSICAL MYTHS IN ART AND IN THE SKY (1.0 Credit)
Astrid Lindenlauf
Division: Humanities
This course explores Greek and Roman mythology using an archaeological and art historical approach, focusing on the ways in which the traditional tales of the gods and heroes were depicted, developed and transmitted in the visual arts such as vase painting and architectural sculpture, as well as projected into the natural environment.
ARCH B257 AROMAS OF ANTIQUITY: THE POLITICS OF SMELL, PAST AND PRESENT (1.0 Credit)
Have you ever wondered how something as unassuming as scent can shape entire civilizations? This course explores the silent power of smell and its influence on how societies interpret concepts like power and being. We’ll begin by examining how scent affects daily life in the US. With activities like scent walks and experiments, you’ll discover how smell shapes our ideas about medicine, relationships, and wealth. Meanwhile, we’ll dive into the fragrant world of the ancient Mediterranean, exploring how the ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Greeks, Romans, and the early Abrahamic religions perceived scent and its entanglement with their belief systems, social lives, and power negotiations.
ARCH B258 MAGIC, MEDICINE, AND SCIENCE: HEALTH IN THE ANCIENT MEDITERR (1.0 Credit)
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Modern medicine is built on more than 5,000 years of history—an intricate and entangled story of how humans have tried to understand, heal, and transform the world around them. Along the way, the boundaries between medicine, magic, science, religion, and philosophy have constantly shifted. What does it mean to know something? Where does religion end and science begin?
ARCH B264 FROM PHARAOH TO HOLLYWOOD: EGYPTOMANIA THEN & NOW (1.0 Credit)
Staff
The pyramids, tombs, and mummies uncovered in Egypt’s earliest excavations conjured a dazzling—if romanticized—vision of the “Land of the Pharaohs.” Today, archaeology continues to peel back the layers of myth, revealing not only pharaohs and temples but also the daily lives of workers and Egypt’s far-reaching Mediterranean connections. This course explores how both early and modern excavations have shaped our understanding of the “Gift of the Nile,” while reminding us that many mysteries remain. To situate these discoveries, we will trace the reception of ancient Egypt across time: in its original setting, through the eyes of early explorers and antiquarians, and as imagined by modern audiences. Along the way, we’ll test how Egypt has been re-packaged in film clips, video games, and even VR experiences—asking why Egypt continues to capture the global imagination, and what that fascination reveals about us today.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ARCH B265 LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Rocco Palermo
This course explores the principles and methodologies of landscape archaeology, examining how past communities have consciously and unconsciously shaped their environments and physical space. Through a combination of archaeological and historical evidence, students will investigate the cultural, economic, religious, and social practices that influenced landscape organization and the construction and maintenance of space in the ancient world. The course will also examine how natural surroundings have, in turn, shaped and modified socio-economic structures, and symbolic expressions. Focusing on the Mediterranean and South-West Asia, primarily, the course also aims to equipping students with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills essential for understanding the long-terms dynamics and the complex relationship between people and their environments across time and space.
ARCH B301 GREEK VASE-PAINTING (1.0 Credit)
Astrid Lindenlauf
Division: Humanities
This course is an introduction to the world of painted pottery of the Greek world, from the 10th to the 4th centuries B.C.E. We will interpret these images from an art-historical and socio-economic viewpoint. We will also explore how these images relate to other forms of representation. Prerequisite: one course in classical archaeology or permission of instructor.
ARCH B312 BRONZE AGE INTERNATIONALISM (1.0 Credit)
Jennie Bradbury
Division: Humanities
This course explores the rise and fall of the first international age in the eastern mediterranean. We will focus on the cultural and diplomatic connections between Egypt, Syria, Anatolia and the Aegean during the Bronze Age, c. 2000-1200BCE.. Prerequisites: ARCH B101 and 102; ARCH B101 and a 200-level ARCH course; or ARCH B102 and a 200-level ARCH course; or two 200-level ARCH courses; or permission by instructor.
ARCH B313 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF EMPIRES IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST (1.0 Credit)
Henry Colburn
Imperialism has long been a central topic in archaeological research, with the Roman Empire in particular occupying an especially prominent place. Yet the earliest empires in recorded history emerged in the ancient Near East (including Egypt), and the region was very often either an imperial core or subject to foreign rule. It is thus an especially fascinating place to consider how archaeologists study empires. Earlier generations of scholars tended to see ancient imperialism as either a civilizing force or as Oriental despotism, depending on who was dominating whom. Since the era of modern decolonization, however, scholars have employed a range of new approaches, drawing, for example, on landscape archaeology, world-system analysis, entanglement and globalization, that go beyond the simple dichotomy of ruler and ruled. Instead, they focus on how imperialism transformed social, economic and political structures and how various imperial subjects experienced and reacted to empire in diverse ways. In this course we will examine Egyptian, Hittite, Assyrian, Achaemenid, Greek, Parthian and Sasanian imperialism in light of these new approaches, with a view towards understanding what archaeology can teach us about ancient empires.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ARCH B316 TRADE AND TRANSPORT IN THE ANCIENT WORLD (1.0 Credit)
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Issues of trade, commerce and production of export goods are addressed with regard to the Bronze Age and Iron Age cultures of Mesopotamia, Arabia, Iran and south Asia. Crucial to these systems is the development of means of transport via maritime routes and on land. Archaeological evidence for traded goods and shipwrecks is used to map the emergence of sea-faring across the Indian Ocean and Gulf.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ARCH B328 THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN SOUTH WEST ASIA (1.0 Credit)
Rocco Palermo
This course examines the impact – or lack thereof – the Roman Empire had on the visual and material culture in the Eastern Mediterranean and South-West Asia from the 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE. To understand the local response to Rome’s expansion, we study the complex political and social structures that were in place in these regions long before the arrival of Rome as well as the agents that continuously negotiated between Rome, local polities, and external factors (i.e., nomadic tribes). We will explore the multi-faceted world of the easternmost provinces of the Roman Empire with reference to archaeological, visual, and textual sources and adopt counter-narrative approaches to critically discuss the nature of colonial and imperial encounters. The completion of ARCH B101 (Egyptian and Near Eastern Archaeology) or 102 (Classical Archaeology) is a prerequisite for this course.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ARCH B335 SENSORY WORLDS, MATERIAL LIVES: ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE SENSES (1.0 Credit)
Staff
How did the past feel, smell, sound, taste, and move? This graduate seminar explores the role of the senses in archaeological thought and practice. We examine how sensory experiences shaped ancient lifeways and how archaeologists today reconstruct—or invent—those experiences through theory, method, and imagination. Readings draw from archaeology, anthropology, history, and sensory studies, with special attention to embodiment, perception, colonial legacies, and the politics of interpretation. Students will engage critically with key debates while experimenting with creative, multisensory approaches to primary sources. Weekly reading journals, seminar discussions, and a hands-on midterm project will build toward a final project that explores how the sensory might shift archaeological storytelling, pedagogy, or public engagement. Throughout, we ask: Whose senses are centered? What senses are valued, and why? And what is at stake when trying to sense the past? Prerequisite: ARCH B101 and ARCH B102 or ARCH B101 and a 200-level ARCH course, or ARCH B102 and a 200-level ARCH course, or two 200-level ARCH courses, or permission by instructor.
ARCH B336 MORTUARY ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: ETHICAL ENGAGEMENT (1.0 Credit)
Jennie Bradbury
Death is a shared human experience; however, it provokes a huge variety of responses; from the ad hoc and hasty burial of the deceased through to elaborate and lengthy funerary rituals. One of the most direct forms of evidence we have for the people who lived thousands of years ago are burials; vestiges of once living people. The burial record, however, raises as many questions as it does answers. Moreover, significant debate exists around what constitutes respectful treatment of the dead. Primarily focusing on case studies from Western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, this upper-level undergraduate/graduate seminar will draw upon archaeological and anthropological literature to explore the different ways in which mortuary archaeology can inform us on wider socio-cultural phenomenon. We will also explore the complex and multifaceted ethical issues around studying the dead. What role do (or can) the ancient dead play in contemporary society?
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ARCH B345 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF INEQUALITY (1.0 Credit)
Rocco Palermo
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Archaeology offers a unique perspective to study and analyze how past inequalities developed over time, how they were maintained, negated, or transformed, and how societies responded to them or rejected them. Drawing upon different sets of data- including visual and material culture as well as bio-archaeological remains – and employing anthropological, social, and critical theory approaches, this course explores inequalities with reference to society, ethnicity, gender, and economy. We will use a wide range of case studies across the ancient Mediterranean, from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, to explore different trajectories of inequality and their manifestations in large-scale and long-term phenomena of war, economic crises, environmental transformation, and colonialism. Prerequisite(s): ARCH B101 and 102; or ARCH B101 and a 200-level ARCH course; or ARCH B102 and a 200-level ARCH course; or two 200-level ARCH courses
ARCH B347 ANCIENT ARTIFACTS IN THE BRYN MAWR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (1.0 Credit)
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Centered on the question, how we can learn from and through objects, this course explores a selected corpus of artifacts from the ancient Mediterranean in the Bryn Mawr Special Collections with the aim to uncover how these objects were made and used and what they might have meant to their ancient users. Students will handle, study, and interpret a variety of artifacts made of clay, metal, stone, and glass, ranging from vessels, mirrors, and statuettes to mosaics and frescoes used originally in a variety of contexts of ancient Mediterranean daily life and spanning now their second-life as constituents of the Bryn Mawr Special Collections. Through close observation and analysis of the procurement and trade of the raw materials of these objects and their manufacturing techniques and decoration, including its themes, which extend from daily scenes and mythological tales to colorful abstract motifs and intriguing inscriptions, students will examine the use and function of these artifacts as evidence of meaningful ancient Mediterranean cultural thought, behavior, and experience. Interpretation will be based on close observation and active and experiential learning, through tactile engagement with these objects, comparing and contrasting them, studying their conservation, and inquiring, through deep critical thinking, archival work, and reflexivity, about their provenience, collecting, and digital itineraries. Prerequisites: ARCH B101 and B102.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ARCH B354 MONEY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD (1.0 Credit)
Henry Colburn
In this course we shall investigate the ancient world through one of its most fundamental institutions: money. We will learn about different types of ancient money, including coinage, bullion, grain and credit, the various coins used by the Greeks and Romans (as well as other groups, such as ancient Mesopotamians, Persians, Indians and Jews), and about the different methods used to study them. The seminar takes an interdisciplinary approach to major topics in the history of money, including the origins of coinage, monetization, imitations and forgeries, debasement, trade, and the politics of issuing coins. We shall think about economics and social history, as well as the role played by coins in archaeology, and the complex ethical (and legal) issues surrounding the modern practice of coin collecting.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ARCH B357 THE HELLENISTIC AGE: ART IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD (1.0 Credit)
Henry Colburn
Following the campaigns of Alexander, the Greeks spread across the Middle East as far as Egypt, Central Asia and India, where they encountered many cultures vastly different from their own. The result was the creation of a diverse, multicultural world, connected by shared elements such as the use of the Greek language, but in which every individual region and society was unique. This diversity is especially evident in the art produced in this period, where we see the Greek obsession with human form, preferably nude, mixing with older artistic traditions in Egypt and Mesopotamia that relied on hierarchy and repetition to perform their functions. In Italy the Romans adopted aspects of Greek art as a means of disrupting their rather stodgy political ideology, with mixed results, whereas in India Greek motifs, popular for reasons as yet unknown, were pressed into the service of Buddhism. In this course we shall examine the art of this dynamic period from ca. 300 to 30 BCE. It is organized geographically, beginning in the Greek mainland and moving across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe to Iran, Central Asia and India. We will focus especially on themes of interaction – how do old and new artistic traditions combine? – and identity – what did these combinations mean to the people who made and used them? – as well as on the roles of power and resistance. Prerequisites: ARCH B101 and 102; or ARCH B101 and a 200-level ARCH course; or ARCH B102 and a 200-level ARCH course; or two 200-level ARCH courses; or permission by instructor.
ARCH B398 SENIOR SEMINAR IN CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Humanities
A weekly seminar on topics to be determined with assigned readings and oral and written reports.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ARCH B399 SENIOR SEMINAR (1.0 Credit)
Rocco Palermo
Division: Humanities
A weekly seminar on common topics with assigned readings and oral and written reports.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ARCH B403 SUPERVISED WORK (1.0 Credit)
Astrid Lindenlauf, Rocco Palermo
Division: Humanities
Supervised Work
(Offered: Fall 2026, Spring 2027)
ARCH B425 PRAXIS III: INDEPENDENT STUDY (1.0 Credit)
Rocco Palermo
Note: Students are eligible to take up to two Praxis Fieldwork Seminars or Praxis Independent Studies during their time at Bryn Mawr.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ARCH B558 AMARNA IN CONTEXT: CITY, LANDSCAPE, IDEOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Staff
This seminar explores the ancient Egyptian city of Amarna as a case study in how we construct, contest, and sometimes overstate claims about the ancient past. Often hailed as a city of radical reform— both a religious and social 'revolution', Amarna offers a rich but problematic archive. Through close engagement with archaeological evidence, texts, spatial analysis, and broader comparative material, students will assess whether the city truly marked a break from ancient Egyptian tradition or simply reshaped old ideas in new clothes. Topics include urbanism, ideology, monumentality, daily ritual, economy, identity, and landscape. Additionally, we will investigate how modern narratives, from popular media to scholarly literature, have sustained the myth of Amarna’s uniqueness, while reflecting on the consequences of historical myth-making. Open to students across ancient studies, the course invites critical reflection on how knowledge is produced, and how cities, ideologies, and people get flattened into historical “firsts”.
(Offered: Spring 2027)