Prof Rebecca Sweetman
Professor
Research areas
Rebecca joined the School of Classics in 2003. She is an archaeologist who specialises in Mediterranean archaeology in particular in Roman and Late Antique Crete, the Cyclades and the Peloponnese (especially Sparta). Her original research focus started with Roman and Late Antique art and architecture (in particular mosaics and religious buildings). Her work on Knossos and Crete led to application of ideas of Globalization and network theory (published in her book on Roman and Late Antique Crete and in an article in AJA). Thanks to funding from the AHRC she undertook a survey of the Late Antique churches of the Peloponnese in order to discuss (strategic) processes of Christianization and use of memory, space, place and displacement. The resulting work was published in the AJA and ABSA. In 2018 she was awarded a major Leverhulme prize which she used to complete the first monograph on the Cyclades in the Roman and Late Antique periods (forthcoming with CUP in 2024). In this research Rebecca explored the economy and society of the islands using network theory and ideas of insularity and resilience.
Areas of Rebecca's research also include archaeology and well-being. With Alison Hadfield she undertook a project on the value of haptic experiences with archaeology for well-being and esteem. This work has been the focus of publications (along with Akira O'Connor) and an impact case study.
Rebecca is currently seconded as Director of the British School at Athens. She keeps a close connection with St Andrews and continues to supervise St Andrews PhD students. She has started a new project on female social and geographic mobility of the 3rd and 4th century in the Eastern Mediterranean and also continues the work on haptic experiences with archaeology at the BSA.
PhD supervision
- Rowan Munnery
- Zofia Guertin
- Alison Hadfield
- Deanna Cunningham
- Arend Bronkhorst
Selected publications
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Pilgrims, piety and pragmatism: Roman sanctuaries and late antique churches in the Cyclades
Sweetman, R. J., 2 Feb 2024, Pilgrims in place, pilgrims in motion: sacred travel in the ancient Mediterranean. Collar, A. & Kristensen, T. M. (eds.). Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, p. 179-197 19 p. (Aarhus studies in Mediterranean antiquity; vol. 15).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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Networking Christians? the spread of Christianity in the Eastern Mediterranean
Sweetman, R., 31 May 2022, Networks and the spread of ideas in the past: strong ties, innovation and knowledge exchange. Collar, A. (ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 229-249 21 p. (Digital research in the arts and humanities).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Material culture, museums, and memory: experiments in visitor recall and memory
Sweetman, R., Hadfield, A. & O'Connor, A., 17 Mar 2020, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Visitor Studies. p. 1-28 28 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Community, church, and conversion in the prefecture of Illyricum and the Cyclades
Sweetman, R. J., 21 Feb 2019, The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology. Caraher, W. R., Davis, T. W. & Pettegrew, D. K. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Open access
Islands and resilience: Christianization processes in the Cyclades
Sweetman, R. J., 2019, Change and Resilience: The Occupation of Mediterranean Islands in Late Antiquity. Ontiveros, M. Á. C. & Florit, C. M. (eds.). Philadelphia: Oxbow, p. 193-216 (Joukowsky Institute Publication; vol. 9).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Open access
Artefact or art? Perceiving objects via object-viewing, object-handling, and virtual reality
Sweetman, R. J. & Hadfield, A. L., 17 Dec 2018, (E-pub ahead of print) In: University Museums and Collections Journal. 10, p. 46-66Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
The Cyclades in the late antique period: churches, networks and Christianization
Sweetman, R. J., Devlin, A. & Iliou, N. P., 1 May 2018, Cycladic Archaeology and Research: New Approaches and Discoveries. Morais Angliker, E. & Tully, J. (eds.). Oxford: Archeopress, p. 215-238Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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A survey of the Aegean Islands in Late Antiquity: review of Deligiannakis, The Dodecanese and the Eastern Aegean Islands in Late Antiquity, AD 300 – 700. Pp. xxii+ 232, ills, maps.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Sweetman, R., Apr 2017, In: Classical Review. 67, 1, p. 1710–1711Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review
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Open access
Networks and church building in the Aegean: Crete, Cyprus, Lycia and the Peloponnese
Sweetman, R., Nov 2017, In: Annual of the British School at Athens. 112, p. 207-266Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Review of Roman Crete: new perspectives
Sweetman, R. J., Jul 2017, In: American Journal of Archaeology. 121, 3Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review