58³Ô¹Ï

Prof Rebecca Sweetman

Professor

Phone

+44 (0)1334 46 2606

Email

rs43@st-andrews.ac.uk

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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 58³Ô¹Ï and continues to supervise 58³Ô¹Ï 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.Ìý

PhD supervision

• DeannaÌýCunningham

Selected publications

• Sweetman, R., 6 Nov 2025, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 266 p.

  Research output: Book/Report › Book

• Open access
  Sweetman, R. J., 23 Dec 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Archaeological Reports. 71, p. 9-28

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

• Ribeiro Machado, C. A. & Sweetman, R. J., 30 Apr 2024, Lived spaces in late antiquity. Machado, C., Munnery, R. & Sweetman, R. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 1-11 11 p.

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• Ribeiro Machado, C. A. (Editor), Munnery, R. T. (Editor) & Sweetman, R. J. (Editor), 30 Apr 2024, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 342 p.

  Research output: Book/Report › Book

• 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

• Sweetman, R. J., 30 Apr 2024, Lived spaces in late antiquity. Machado, C., Munnery, R. & Sweetman, R. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 169-184 16 p.

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• Open access
  Sweetman, R. J., 30 Dec 2024, In: Archaeological Reports. 70, p. 11-42 32 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

• 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

• 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

• Open access
  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 Press

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

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