Technological innovation and knowledge networks: a multidisciplinary approach to Greco-Roman stone vases

Project Information

TECHNET

Grant agreement ID: 895286

DOI

10.3030/895286

Project closed

EC signature date 6 April 2020

Start date 8 September 2020

End date 7 September 2022

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 172 932,48

EU contribution

€ 172 932,48

Coordinated by

Institut Català d'Arqueologia Clàssica
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TECHNET (Technological innovation and knowledge networks: a multidisciplinary approach to Greco-Roman stone vases)

Reporting period: 2020-09-08 to 2022-09-07

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

TECHNET consisted in applying a multidisciplinary approach to Greco-Roman stone vases to shed light on the development of technology in ancient crafts. TECHNET’s overall objectives were: to generate knowledge on technology applied to Greco-Roman stone working; to prove the existence of technical networks in the Greco-Roman period; to review the function and meaning of stone vases in reflecting gender and social identity of their users in Greco-Roman societies. It collected for the first-time data on Greek, Hellenistic and Roman white marble and coloured stone vases spread across international museums and private collections. This had negatively contributed to the previous state-of-the-art. TECHNET’s conclusions are: Greco-Roman stone vases involved important technological innovations, principally the lapidary lathe, resulting in great quality and variety of shapes; production entailed crafts-interaction and knowledge networks through human mobility and cultural contact, which aided the introduction of technology; both in the Greek and Roman societies socio-political and cultural changes made technological innovation possible; Greco-Roman stone vases were a deeply semiotic form of material culture for the expression of gender identity, particularly by women (e.g. white marble pyxides featuring as offerings in weddings, tombs, temples and sanctuaries of female deities) and of social status (e.g. by elite groups) because of the magical and aesthetic qualities of their lithic materials and their shape/design. Disclosing the processes and circumstances of transformative innovations in the ancient world helps modern society grasp the mechanisms of technology and its role in shaping contemporary and future culture.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Covid-19 restrictions of movement and closures between September 2020 and January 2022 hugely impacted the implementation of the TECHNET action at the ICAC in Tarragona. From the very beginning, adherence to the plan, which was reviewed and adapted, respect of deliverables/milestones, including training, dissemination, mobility, museum and library access, publication, were affected by the pandemic. Nonetheless, the action has been implemented according to its 6 WPs. Sept-Oct 2020: WP1 project set-up, Twitter account and website on WordPress. This is a completely free OpenAccess repository and a reference catalogue for institutions, scholars and the wider public. Nov 2020–Apr 2021: WP2 1st-phase (data collection) archival research from home using online sources; correspondence with the main museums; Tr1a-Photogrammetry; Tr2-Intensive Spanish course; online public engagement activities; conference panel organisation at EAA 2021. May-Aug 2021: Part of WP3 and WP5 (initial archival data digitization and qualitative analysis); Tr1b-3D modelling; Tr1-Training in new archaeological approaches online. Sept 2021–Dec 2021: WP2 2nd-phase first trips to museums in Greece, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France to study artefacts. Other surveys took place at intervals during 2022 (Apr-May-July-Aug). Survey entailed measuring, weighing, photographing the vases. Being photogrammetry limited by time, basic Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) proved to be more effective. Jan-Jun 2022: Completing WP3 (digitization), WP4 (Data elaboration and making of an experimental replica) and WP5 (Qualitative analysis). Jul-Aug-Sept 2022: WP6 (conclusions); preparation of the final workshop at the University Rovira I Virgili (URV) of Tarragona (Nov 2022); Tr1c-Archaeometry; Tr2-Transferable Skills (supervising, advanced project management, diversity and gender issues, funding application writing (ERC-Horizon Europe), leadership, DPM, FAIR and Open Access, advanced IT, administrative, finance) at regular intervals in both online and in-person workshops; teaching on Doctoral Research Course at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona (UAB) (Dec 2021) and on the Undergraduate Degree Course in Archaeology at the URV of Tarragona (February 2022); Examination Board for a PhD Thesis, UAB (June 2022). TECHNET’s results show strong similarities between the Classical Greek-Hellenistic and Roman vases: technical: separate carving of foot, lid, finial, body; technological: use of the lapidary lathe; socio-economic: a direct impact on the uptake of technology by increased social wealth, economic stability and status display, elite consumer-driven phenomenon; cultural: ritual and social practices pushing demand and use of stone vases by genders (women).
Written dissemination (currently in full phase of elaboration due to Covid-19 delaying project’s results): 4 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings in both Gold and Green Open Access; one on OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE platform; the full catalogue of vases and two essays in full Open Access on Technet’s official website; uploading Green Open Access pubblications onto the Universities de Catalunya RECERCAT free repository in compliance with OpenAIRE-EU.
Oral dissemination: 3 presentations at EAA 2021, TRAC 2022, ASMOSIA 2022 conferences; for the local scientific community: 2 seminars at ICAC (Oct 2020) and URV (Feb 2022); 1 lecture at Interdisciplinary Seminar Propter Marmora (Dec 2021); 1 lecture for the CERCA research network - Interdisciplinary MA course (Dec 2022); for the wider scientific community: 2 lectures at international workshops, one at URV (Jan 2022) and one at the University of Barcelona (Feb 2022), 1 at the international workshop at URV in Tarragona (Nov 2022). For the local/regional/international public outreach: talk at Tarragona Radio program Toquem Pedra (Oct 2020); talk at Women in Roman Society (Oct 2022) at the University of Girona; lecture at a secondary school and a podcast for the European Researchers Night (Nov 2020); lecture at Barcelona Fiesta de la Ciencia (28-29 May 2022); talk at the Soprintendenza di Roma in collaboration with Italian TV and press (Dec 2022). Data will be accessible according to FAIR policy via free repository CORA - Portal de la Recerca (PRC).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

TECHNET’S results go well beyond the state-of-the-art, particularly for what concerns the Classical Greek stone vases, which were also the most understudied: increased known examples; retrieved unknown pieces; corrected existing records; added data on metrology, physical characteristics, use contexts. Such results lead to 4 main areas to be further exploited as stand-alone future research avenues:
- gender and material culture production
- technology and craft-interaction
- landscape and artisans’ mobility
- Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) applied to stone artefacts.
TECHNET promotes awareness of these objects in both the academic community and the wider public. Generating interest in these objects fosters collaborative opportunities with institutions for a revision of their history and biographies, from their consumption in antiquity to their reception in modern societies to re-discover cultural identity and heritage. The project’s has potential socio-economic implications in creating links between researchers, the wider public and modern artisans, who can share their knowledge and skills as part of cultural and cognitive experiences in modern as in ancient stone working. Such an appeal helps traditional crafts like stone-working to survive in the modern world and to endure, while projecting their significance into the future.

BM_1906.0310.2.jpg

BM_1862.0530.7_02.jpg