MARIO AND ANTOINETTE ROMANO LECTURE

STATEMENTS IN STONE: REFINING THE HISTORICAL PAST THROUGH INTEGRATING BIG ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATASETS FROM ROMAN PALMYRA (SYRIA)

This lecture examines how archaeological evidence from Palmyra—an oasis city that flourished in the first three centuries CE—can reshape our understanding of the classical past. While studies of antiquity often center on Greece and Rome, these regions were deeply connected to societies beyond their cores through exchange, conflict, and adaptation. Drawing on recent research from the Palmyra Portrait Project and related initiatives, the presentation highlights how material culture, sculpture, landscape, and inscriptions from Palmyra offer new perspectives on the ancient world and its ongoing relevance today.
RUBINA RAJA is Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at Aarhus University, Denmark, and Director of the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence for Urban Network Evolutions.
A specialist in the Eastern Mediterranean, her research examines societal and urban development, visual culture, iconography, and architecture spanning the Hellenistic to early medieval periods. She has led collaborative projects including the Palmyra Portrait Project and studies of legacy urban excavation data. An experienced field archaeologist, Raja has directed large-scale excavations in Italy and the Middle East, applying high-definition analyses that integrate archaeology and natural sciences to illuminate historical contexts. Her publications focus on the Eastern Mediterranean, spanning Hellenistic to early Medieval periods.
Monographs include Pearl of the Desert: A History of Palmyra (OUP, 2022), Urban Development and Regional Identity in the Eastern Roman Provinces (2012), and the co-authored corpus of Palmyrene Limestone Sarcophagi (2023). She also leads initiatives on urban networks, societal change, and material culture.
NOVEMBER 6, 2025
Time: 5 p.m. | Location: Lecture Hall, 9
Host Department: History Department | Sponsors: Mario and Antoinette Romano Endowment, History Department and Harpur College of Arts and Sciences.
HARPUR COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Department of History | Website | View More Events

Contact the organizers