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A life on line |Changes [Mar 13, 2007]
Curriculum Vitae
This is my diary - an archaeologist in Rome
An introduction: I was born on Jersey, an island off NW France once known as Caesarea in a nod to its rumoured ancient visitor (tho' the notion has been scotched by more recent archaeological evidence), and then grew up where my dad was born, in a place where archaeologists could not wait to prove Caesar's feet had touched ground. It always beggars belief that Deal, a former fishing and coalmining town on the south-east edge of England, has not done more to mark its formidable ancient history http://www.aboutdeal.co.uk/gallery.php. Julius Caesar et al came ashore (less of the "conquered Britain" these days) somewhere along the shingle where I used to play and beachcomb; Deal's heavy and unpredictable seas - all the more deceptive for the brief 20 or so miles of the shortest crossing - are charted well enough in Caesar's "Gallic Wars". But the plaque to Caesar has long since disappeared, along with the Deal and Walmer History Society, a staggering thing in a town where Henry the Eighth built three castles, each in the shape of a Tudor Rose, and where the appendaged slogan for Dover District, "White Cliffs Country", is held to capture the imagination more than, say, "Caesar's Landing". Way too much history, perhaps.
Anyway. Thrilled by stories of Romans and Celts, I'd often visit the ancient Richborough Castle and port; it was supposed to be haunted by centurians, and no doubt ancient Britons trying exotic imports. Now it is dwarfed by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. But 30 or more years ago, in the woods and fields nearby, my dad and I used to go (whisper it) metal-detecting. We turned up little more than old-ish coins and bottle tops. But it gave me my first love of archaeology. Dad died last March, and I sense my move to Rome, in the closing days of last year, was made in his memory, a legacy to his name, and his love of past things. My father will be glimpsed in much of my writing here... I am not sure where he will lead me, but Rome is all about encounters with the past, and that constant and palpable oscillation between past and present that makes Rome, well, uniquely Rome.
So, where to begin? With a nod to using a tool called Forum, perhaps? I confess to be lacking in the techie department, tho' I do write about computer collectors, but that is mainly because of their passion. I am determined to post images as well as links, and maybe something moving (in an animated sense) will end up here, once I have got the hang of it. I am trying to give you my first image, of an unexpected Augustan statue from a lovely exhibition on colors in ancient sculpture - "I Colori del Biano" - which I grabbed on its last day at the Vatican Museums. It was a science and art collaboration between the Glyptotek in Munich, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen, and the Vatican Museums, and proved such a hit in Munich it was reprised.
As the blurb says: 'The reconstruction of original pieces revives the impact of coloured sculpture on viewers in the past with a liveliness that graphical or virtual reconstruction can not obtain...' . Interesting how many visitors wanted to be photographed with Augustus's gaudy garb ...
following days ...
the colosseum ... and guides to Rome
Reading Papal material culture
Vintage computers, a Munich detour
Jerusalem rediscovered in Rome
Fotografia - international photography in Rome
Deliberately Concealed Garments
Return to Home
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Posted at Feb 09/2005 10:42 AM:
Cara Christine, that's realy a beautiful job. Complimenti ....
See you soon
Vinciane
Posted at Jun 15/2005 01:54PM:
tim webmoor: Hello Christine, I'm ready to e-edit the chapters to form a hyper-text. However, I'll need to ask if I may re-arrange your frontpage so that it will be the introduction and table of contents, etc. and place your continuing diary entries as a linked sub-section of the wiki - it will be under "Key Pages" upper right corner. Would that be alright. Additionally, if you have any web-pages you know of which reference your topic - pages on Jacquetta, etc. - this would be nice to link-in as it capitalizes on the benefits of hyper-text publishing. Best,
-Tim
regrads michael bach
