Research projects

Rome in the North: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. Lat. 636 in Context

• Postdoctoral Fellow: Synnøve Midtø Myking
• Project period: 15.09.24–01.12.26

The project examines the reception of Rome in twelfth-century Scandinavia, using as its point of departure the manuscript Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. Lat. 636. This manuscript formerly belonged to the Danish monastery of Esrum, where it was also (at least partly) produced. 

The manuscript's contents, as well as their composition, reveal how ideas and perceptions of Rome found their way to Denmark and the North through European networks of learning.

The Image-Shaping Power of Liturgy: Constructing Ritual Spaces in Rome (ca. 400–1600)

• Postdoctoral Fellow: Martin Lešák
• Project period: 01.03.2025–31.08.2028

This project investigates the relationship between major liturgical rituals and their visual settings in Rome from a longue durée perspective. 

The project explores how liturgy may have shaped the design and remodeling of ritual spaces over the centuries. It focuses on three case studies: S. Maria Maggiore, S. Cecilia, and S. Susanna. 

Death and difference in Late Roman burial practices (c. 250–600 CE)

• Postdoctoral Fellow: Irene Selsvold
• Project period: 01.08.2024–31.03.2028

This project investigates social diversity and inequality in Late Roman society through the lens of burial practices. The 3rd–7th centuries were a period of frequent crises and social, religious, and political changes. 

The aim of the project is to further our understanding of how funerary culture responded to these changes. The project especially focus on how social differences were produced and reproduced.

• St Helena and the city of Rome: re-inventing the late antique Christian past in early modernity (ca. 1450-1650)
• The Dark Side of Monuments. The detrimental effects of, and opposition to, building activity and urban development in the ancient city of Rome between the 2nd century BC and 3rd century AD
• Heritage Experience Initiative: Cultural heritage and illegal trade in conflict settings