Katie Manby | PhD student, REMADE
Role:
I am a second year PhD student (Collaborative Doctoral Partnership) between the University of Reading and the British Museum (Greece and Rome/Scientific Research). My project focuses on the British Museum’s collection of copper-alloy statuettes within the Greece and Rome Department, specifically deities from first century AD Roman domestic contexts which likely have an Italian provenance. The majority of these items have no confirmed archaeological provenance, but were collected by a series of major collectors in the 18th and 19th century known to have operated around Naples, and thus the statuettes likely link to the 79AD eruption. Associated with the REMADE project, I am developing an integrated methodological approach to these copper-alloy statuettes combining new chemical and metallurgical analysis (pXRF, MP-AES, LA-ICP-MS) with more traditional stylistic approaches and collections and archival research.
Background:
I hold a BA in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History (1st class) from the University of Oxford, and an MA in Archaeology (Distinction) from the University of Reading. My Undergraduate dissertation focused on inscriptions by the Holconii Family from the Large Theatre of Pompeii. My MA dissertation, conducted through a fully-funded Highways England studentship with MOLA/Headland Infrastructure, focused on the large structural iron nail assemblage from the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon excavations, developing an improved methodology and typology for recording this material type. I have a particular focus on Roman artefact studies, particularly metal items, and an interest in collection histories and object biographies.
Publications:
Manby K J B (forthcoming) ‘How do you solve a problem like nails? A new, multi-period methodology and typology for recording iron nails’ , Oxford Journal of Archaeology.