Richard Kendall
Thesis title: Cultural Memory in Post-Getic Olbia
PhD supervisors:
Background
Originally from Basildon, Essex, I read my undergraduate in Classical Archaeology and Classical Civilisation (1:1) at University College London (UCL) and subsequently obtained an MPhil in Classical Archaeology with Distinction from Magdalen College, University of Oxford. I completed an MRes in Ancient History at the University of Birmingham prior to beginning my PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 2019. My research is fully-funded by the College Research Award.
During my undergraduate degree, I participated in archaeological excavations in Italy, Israel-Palestine and across the UK. I completed an intensive Russian Language course at Moscow State University in 2017, and, during my doctorate, undertook a funded research trip to Warsaw, Poland (Oct-Nov 2022).
Within the department, I served as a Classics Postgraduate Representative (2021-22) and have been the Classics Representative to the Postgraduate and Part-Time Tutor Liaison Committee since October 2021. I have tutored on a range of pre-honours courses and I also serve as a Classics tutor for the HCA Writing Centre. I was awarded Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in February 2022.
Qualifications
Sept 2018 – Sept 2019 University of Birmingham MRes Ancient History
Oct 2014 – Sept 2016 University of Oxford MPhil Classical Archaeology
Sept 2011 – Aug 2014 University College London BA (Hons.) Classical Archaeology and Classical Civilisation
Undergraduate teaching
Tutor for: Greek World 1A: Greece in the Making; Greek World 1B: Greece’s New Horizons; Roman World 1B: The Roman Empire; Ancient History 2B: Themes and Theories in Ancient History; Greek Art and Archaeology; Roman Art and Archaeology; Archaeology 1B; Classical Literature: Greek and Roman Epic.
I also serve as an HCA Writing Centre Tutor for Classics (and previously Archaeology).
Research summary
My thesis focuses on the site of Olbia (modern Parutyne, Ukraine) on the northern Black Sea coast, specifically the use of cultural memory in the 'Post-Getic' revival of the city in the early centuries AD.
Current research interests
Greek communities in the northern Black Sea littoral in antiquity; cultural memory; Sarmatians and nomadic communities in antiquity; tamgas; hybridity in visual culture; numismatics.Past research interests
Transtiberim in the urban landscape; homelessness in Early Imperial Rome; representations of disability in Hellenistic art.Knowledge exchange
I am a member of the Pandemic Perspectives group, based at various institutions in the UK and overseas, which examines the impact of the Pandemic on various disciplines. We organised a conference in April 2021, which was published, with funding from the University of Edinburgh Student-Led Initiative Fund and M4C AHRC, in December 2022: https://ubiquityproceedings.com/2/volume/2/issue/1.
Conference details
I have organised conferences on a range of topics from the Classical Period in the Caucasus region (with The Caucasus Through Time Network) to the effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic (with the Pandemic Perspectives group). I have presented my research at various national and international institutions, perhaps most memorably in a cave in Vardzia, Georgia in June 2022.
Invited speaker
Jun 2021 Building Back Better? Tamgas and a New Visual Language in 1st-2nd century AD Olbia Thesis Corner, Digital Museum
Oct 2020 Co-Panellist, Covid and Cities Birmingham Research Institution for History and Cultures (BRIHC) Humanities Lab series, University of Birmingham
Organiser
Dec 2022 Novel Research and Approaches to the Study of the Caucasus in the Classical Period (virtual) The Caucasus Through Time Network
Oct 2021 – Apr 2022 Postgraduate Research Seminar Series (in-person and virtual) School of History, Classics and Archaeology University of Edinburgh
Sept 2021 – July 2022 Pandemic Perspectives Research Seminar Series (virtual) Pandemic Perspectives Group
Apr 2021 Pandemic Perspectives: Reflections on the Post-Covid World (virtual) Pandemic Perspectives Group, AHRC-M4C and University of Edinburgh
Jun 2019 Masters Dissertation Conference College of Arts & Law University of Birmingham
Dec 2018 – Sept 2019 Rosetta Forum University of Birmingham
May 2017 Ancient Rome in Silent Cinema Magdalen College, University of Oxford
Papers delivered
Sept 2022 Meaningful Misremembrance: The Post-Getic role of Achilles and Apollo in Olbia Seventh International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities, The International Hellenic University, Thessaloniki, Greece
Sept 2022 τὴν τῶγ Γαλατῶν ὠμότητα: The ‘Celts’ in the Northwest Black Sea Definition and Redefinition of Celtic Identities in the Ancient World: An Interdisciplinary Approach, University of Florence, Italy, and University of Edinburgh
June 2022 Homelessness in Ancient Rome: Texts vs Images The 13th International Young Archaeologists’ Conference dedicated to Meskhetian Educationalists, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Vardzia, Georgia
May 2022 Aristocratic Families in Roman Olbia: A Question of Tradition IV International Symposium for Young Scholars in the Humanities, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Feb 2022 Vaporwave Responses to Classical Art: The Art of the Deal? Postgraduate Research Seminar, University of Edinburgh
Dec 2021 A King Under Your Control: βασιλεῖς Pharzoios and Inismeos at Olbia Novel Research and Approaches to the Study of the Caucasus in the Classical Period, The Caucasus Through Time Network
May 2021 Lion’s Share: Emerging Hybridity in Roman Olbia Pontica Those, Othering, Alterity, Appropriation in Ancient Art, University of Hamburg, Germany
Feb 2021 Commemoration and Conservatism in Olbia Pontica: In Victory and Crisis Annual Meeting for Postgraduates in Ancient History (AMPAH) Conference 2021, University of Exeter
Dec 2020 How to be an Optimist about this: Religious Authority in Hellenistic Olbia Postgraduate Research Seminar, University of Edinburgh
Dec 2019 Scholars can’t be Choosers: Homelessness in Pre-Christian Rome Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) Conference, University College London
Nov 2019 Pomerium or Pedestrian: The Evolving Definition of Rome’s Western Boundary Meaning, Memory and Movement Conference, University of Birmingham
Jun 2019 Rome Away from Home: Changing Views of the Tiber’s Opposite Bank Research Poster Conference, University of Birmingham
Jun 2019 Religion in the Transtiberim: What price polytheism? Masters Dissertation Conference, University of Birmingham
Feb 2019 The Art of the Deal: Donald Trump, Vaporwave and Classical Art Rosetta Forum, University of Birmingham
Oct 2018 Mythological Flatness: The Myth of Icarus Mythological Panoramas Conference, Senate House, London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP)
Feb 2022 University of Edinburgh Associate Fellowship, Higher Education Academy
June 2019 University of Birmingham Best Poster, College of Arts and Law
Mar 2019 University of Birmingham Horizon Award
Sept 2016 Magdalen College, Oxford Herbert Warren Memorial Benefaction
Sept 2014 University College London Dean’s List (Top 5% results across the university)
July 2013 University College London Sessional Prize for Academic Achievement
June 2022 The Politics of Archaism Conference Bursary, University of Bristol
May 2022 School of History, Classics and Archaeology Conference Support Fund
May 2022 Graduate Student Training Fund, University of Edinburgh
Mar 2022 Baldwin Brown Traveling Scholarship, University of Edinburgh
Feb 2022 School of History, Classics and Archaeology Conference Support Fund
Apr 2021 AHRC M4C Cohort Development Fund
Mar 2021 School of History, Classics and Archaeology Student-Led Initiative Fund
Nov 2019 Thomas Wiedemann Memorial Fund
Sept 2019 University of Edinburgh College Research Award
Feb 2019 AHRC M4C Doctoral Full-Funding (Declined)
May 2018 College of Arts and Law (Full-Fees) Scholarship