​Epigraphic Conversations

The Society is hosting a series of digital ‘Epigraphic Conversations’ in the first half of 2021, in place of our traditional Spring Meeting. These Conversations are thematic workshops, around 1.5 to 2 hours in length, featuring 3 to 4 short contributions, and delivered via zoom. The aim is to facilitate exchange and to spark debate on a number of epigraphic topics, Greek, Roman and beyond. Participation is free, but registration is required (see the details given with each Conversation).

BES CONVERSATION SCHEDULE SPRING 2021
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Conversation the First: 'An epigraphy of slavery?'
Date: 30 April 2021, 17.00-18.45 (UK summer time)
Hosts: Drs David Lewis and Ulrike Roth (Edinburgh)

Conversation partners & topics:
Prof. Peter Hunt (Boulder): 'Female slaves missing from the Attic Stelai?'
Dr Dominika Grzesik (Wrocław): 'Why so many? A new approach to interpreting the phenomenon of Delphic manumission records'
Dr Ulrike Roth (Edinburgh): 'Building an epigraphic family tree for Roman imperial slavery'

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A big THANK YOU  to all the speakers and discussants for a very enjoyable and thought-provoking epigraphic gathering!
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Conversation the Second: 'Regional epigraphic cultures across the ancient wider Mediterranean' (Part 1)
Date: 11 May 2021, 15.00-17.00 (UK summer time)
Hosts: Ilaria Bultrighini (UCL) and Irene Salvo (Exeter)

Conversation flow:
15.00  Ilaria Bultrighini (UCL): Introduction
15.10 Dan Socaciu (Liverpool): 'The roles and functions of text in the Urartian state'
15.50 Rostislav Oreshko (Leiden; Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies): 'Language, society and cultural contact in Lydia in the 5th-4th centuries BC: an epigraphic perspective'
16.20 Emanuela Borgia (Sapienza, Rome): 'Inscriptions from Hadrian’s Wall in Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery Trust (Carlisle): local identities and Roman influences'
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Another big THANK YOU to all speakers and participants for their various contributions to this Conversation.
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​Conversation the Third: 'Why were inscriptions reused or reinscribed?'
Date: 28 May 2021, 16.00-18.00 (UK summer time)
Hosts: Drs Muriel Moser-Gerber (Frankfurt) and Aaron Schmitt (Freiburg)

Conversation partners & topics:
Dr Aaron Schmitt (Freiburg): 'A contextual and praxeological approach to the study of reused and reinscribed monuments in ancient Mesopotamia'
Prof. Polly Low (Durham): ''Pragmatic' vs 'symbolic' erasures in the inscriptions of Classical Athens'
Dr Muriel Moser-Gerber (Frankfurt): 'The reuse of old statue monuments, and their inscriptions, in Roman Athens'
Dr Anna Sitz (Heidelberg): 'Politics and religion: erasing the pagan past on select inscriptions in Late Antiquity'

A third THANK YOU is in order - to all the participants, speakers and organisers, who made this a highly productive Conversation!

​Conversation the Fourth: 'Regional epigraphic cultures across the ancient wider Mediterranean' (Part 2)
Date: 15 June 2021, 14.00-16.00 (UK summer time)
Hosts: Ilaria Bultrighini (UCL) and Irene Salvo (Exeter)

Conversation flow:
14.00 Irene Salvo (Exeter): Introduction
14.10 Charlotte Spence (Exeter) 'A comparison of regional cultures of curse-tablet creation in the second century CE'
14.40 Víctor Sabaté Vidal (Barcelona): 'Approaching Iberian inscriptions on lead tablets: a case for ‘epigraphic bilingualism'
15.10 Katherine McDonald (Exeter): 'Epigraphic cultures in non-urban and 'federal' sanctuaries in central and southern Italy'

To REGISTER for this Conversation, please follow the instructions on the dedicated registration site.