How many cities were there actually in the Roman Empire? And why did some regions only have a few cities, while others consisted of a tight urban network? Luuk de Ligt, Professor of Ancient History, wants to know the answer to all these questions. With the ERC Advanced Grant of 2.5 million awarded to…

The ancient Roman province of Lusitania, more or less contemporary Portugal, has been the focus of a joint research project by Leiden University, Évora University and the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome. The research project has now been provided with a new boost by a large Regato grant managed…

‘Visibility and secrecy are both valuable tactics and should not be antagonized in LGBT movements, ’ says Jingshu Zhu. Zhu defended her dissertation on Wednesday 21 February.

This volume offers an innovative analysis of Roman political culture in Italy from the first to the sixth century AD on the basis of seven case studies.

Within the bachelor's program of Education and Child Studies, we include the minor Kindermishandeling en Verwaarlozing: een levensloopperspectief and several other courses.

This volume presents fourteen papers by Roman archaeologists and historians discussing approaches to the economic history of Pompeii, and the role of the Pompeian evidence in debates about the Roman economy.

Several years ago, two amateur archaeologists from Brabant discovered over a hundred Roman coins near to Berlicum in the north of the province. After years of research, it now appears that the location, close to a ford in the river, was a site for offerings. Another interesting fact is that the coins…

For the past 2 years, Dr Letty ten Harkel has been jointly running an excavation project of a suspected Roman villa site on the Balearic island of Mallorca with colleagues Dr Antoni Puig Palerm and Ritchie Kolvers, MA. The project was recently awarded a LUF Chastelain-Nobach fund to explore the extend…

Through the Chastelain-Nobach LUF fund, Classical and Mediterranean archaeologist Tymon de Haas has received a grant for his research on the ecological impact of Roman expansion. He will use this grant to further expand on the case-study that was made possible by the Byvanck LUF fund earlier this ye…

The present study explores the role of water in the ancient Roman city of Ostia.In antiquity, Ostia was situated at the intersection of the Tiber River and the Mediterranean Sea, and acted as one of the harbour cities of Rome for several centuries.This study investigates how water was acquired, used,…

The main object of study in this thesis is an Arakelov inequalitywhich bounds the degree of an invertible subsheaf of the direct image ofthe pluricanonical relative sheaf of a semistable family of curves.

What was the function of the Dutch Protestant Church in Sri Lankan society? Why did people relate to the Church and how did conversion influence their life course?

This project focuses on urban commercial space in Roman Italy and deals with the impact of economic growth on urban communities in the late Republic and the Imperial period (200 BCE – 300 CE).

The Villa Son Sard archaeological project aims to determine the boundaries of the Roman and post-Roman villa at Son Sard on Mallorca. While the team was excavating in the summer of 2023, several news outlets covered the findings.

Staff and students from the Faculty of Archaeology are just back from a newly started Field School in the inland of Portugal.

As part of the VIDI 'Cultural innovation in a globalising society: Egypt in the Roman world', this research explores manifestations of Egypt in the material culture of Augustan Rome. This period was a crucial turning point for the urban landscape of Rome, which was characterised by cultural diversit…

Water, Urbanism, and Sustainability in Roman Ostia

Archaeologists and students from Leiden University and local volunteers have found a Roman camp in the woods near Ermelo. The camp is four kilometres away from another Roman fortification discovered some time ago. This confirms the idea that the Romans would also often explore beyond the boundaries…

Eine Analyse materieller Kultur römischer Kolonien in der Mikroregion von Suessa Aurunca, Minturnae und Sinuessa

This book argues that the combined literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence supports the theory that early-imperial Italy had about six million inhabitants.

This dissertation investigates the rural communities of the Cananefates in the period of 50 to 300 AD.

Alumni event, Lezing

Banquets for the rich, porridge for the poor and a standard diet of bread, olive oil and wine. Just a few assumptions about the Roman diet.

Expert in Classics Renske Janssen has been awarded a Rubicon grant. She will use the grant to conduct research at the University of Edinburgh into how Roman law was perceived by society at the time.

The Vallesian, 11.1-9 Ma, was a special time in the Vallès-Penedes basin near Barcelona, where a biodiversity hotspot existed. Europe had a subtropical climate, with rhinos, forest giraffes, lions, hyenas, flying squirrels and primates.

Local settlement system and social structure in the roman period at Oss (the Netherlands).

Can we make a better vancomycin?

Casper de Jonge, Professor of Greek Language and Literature, believes that Greek texts from the Roman Empire are more interesting than was first thought. They offer a fascinating glimpse of the polyphonic and multicultural world of the Roman Empire. Inaugural lecture on 7 October.

This research develops and applies a new approach to study Aegyptiaca Romana from a bottom-up, Roman perspective.

Globalisation means becoming globalised, a process in which material culture plays a crucial role. This is what Miguel John Versluys, the new Professor of Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology, teaches. He bases his teaching on research into the origin and growth of the Roman Empire from the 3rd…

From Roman ships to the ‘Gordon’ cavalry mask. Alumnus Tom Hazenberg was involved in spectacular finds that put the Dutch frontiers of the Roman Empire on the map. His mission is to give heritage back to the people.

In 2017, in an ordinary field, two brothers from Brabant discovered more than 100 ancient coins. The Leiden historian who examined the coins concluded that they constituted a genuine Roman treasure. Here follows a reconstruction in three acts.

Dementia is widely considered a progressive condition associated with changes in cognitive capacities, which promotes the idea that people with dementia need to anticipate end-of-life care preferences. There is a growing body of interventions meant to support advance care planning (ACP) for people with…

Brothers and sisters within a family, with the same parents, experience their upbringing differently. As well as the impact of their own negative experiences, the way siblings experience their upbringing also plays an important role in anxiety and depression. This is the conclusion reached by Marie-Louise…

The project aims to conserve and consolidate the entrance gate to the Roman Desert Frontier Fort Qasr Bshir.

Suddenly everyone is at home, but this is not a holiday – far from it. Because work and school are ‘simply’ carrying on remotely. How can parents and children keep a cool head? Lenneke Alink, Professor of Forensic Family Studies, gives her advice.

Suspending family reunification of refugee status holders is illegal. That was the ruling of a Dutch court in a case brought by a Syrian woman with asylum status. The (temporary) restriction on entry for family members was one of the pillars of the cabinet’s asylum deal in August.

In order to reduce the great flow of asylum seekers the Netherlands – and also other European countries – is faced with, the review of the entitlement to family reunification could be tightened. Under current legislation, refugees with a residence permit are – under certain conditions – eligible for…

This research aims to study the practice of cremation in Alexandria and Graeco-Roman Egypt, through the examination of its cinerary urns.

The world abounds with different footprints that calculate human impact on the environment. Environmental specialist Kai Fang is the first person to have developed a family of footprints that allow better measurement of environmental damage and the depletion of natural sources. PhD defence on 24 Nov…