Welcome!

I am an archaeologist and academic focusing on the Roman Imperial period. My main interests include glass, perfumes/medicines/cosmetics, and sensory archaeology/approaches - but I have a wider interest in the lives of everyday people in the Roman period and concepts of luxury.

On this site, you will find details of my publications, research (and excavation) projects, work in publishing, teaching and other dissemination activities. My full resume is also available.

On this page (below) is a brief biography although more in-depth information can be found on individual pages.

Academic Roles

  • July 2023 - Present

    Gale Research Fellow in Ancient Glass and Material Culture - Macquarie University/Macquarie University History Museum, Sydney, Australia.

  • October 2022 - June 2023

    Distance Learning Associate Tutor -
    School of Archaeology and Ancient History,
    University of Leicester, UK.

  • August 2022 - Present

    Glass Specialist and Project Member - European Archaeological Mission in Kosovo: from Ulpiana to Iustiniana Secunda

  • 2021 - 2022

    Honorary Visiting Fellow -
    School of Archaeology and Ancient History,
    University of Leicester, UK.

  • Apr. 2016 - Apr. 2019 (Nov. 2019)

    Secretary - Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC) and Editor at the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal (TRAJ)

  • Jan. 2015 - Jan. 2017

    Glass Specialist and Laboratory Instructor -
    Alberese Archaeological Project
    (Tuscany, Italy and Sheffield, UK)

Education

  • PhD Archaeology

    University of Leicester,
    School of Archaeology and Ancient History, 2021

  • MPhil Classics & Ancient History

    University of Bristol
    Department of Classics & Ancient History, 2013

  • BA (Hons) Ancient History

    University of Wales, Trinity St David, 2012

  • Erasmus Exchange Participant

    University of Bologna, 2011
    Courses:
    Roman Economy, Ancient Numismatics, Late Antiquity, and Italiano per stranieri

Biography

My research interests all intersect, the summaries on the right should give you an idea of my active areas of research and of potential future points of collaboration.

 

Roman glass

I specialise in the identification, recording, analysis, and publication of Roman glass assemblages of all dates. I have worked directly on several Roman assemblages from Italy, Kosovo, and Britain, but have a strong working knowledge of the history of glass production in the late-Republican and Imperial periods and the distribution of Roman material throughout the Empire.


Perfumes, cosmetics, and medicine

The Roman harvesting and transformation of natural resources has long been an interest of mine. The synthesis of botanical resources into compound substances, and the surrounding knowledge, infrastructure, and associated material culture is a key theme of my research.


Sensory and quotidian archaeologies

Rather than uncover ‘treasures’ or items of material culture related to famous or notable people, my work focuses on ‘everyday’ items that may often be overlooked in the archaeological record. Sensory archaeology is a loosely-linked set of multi-disciplinary methodologies that aims to reconstruct the lived experience of individuals in the past. The aim is to not solely focus on what individuals did, but rather how they lived.

Recent Published Papers

  • Derrick 2021 - (PhD Thesis) - Glass containers and fluid identities: Unguentaria and social practice in Roman Britain

    Available to download from the British Library.

    Blurb: For the first time, this thesis presents a detailed study of Roman glass unguentaria from non-funerary contexts in Britain. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate Roman glass unguentaria systematically, to see what we might understand about their role in the construction of identities and the formation of social practices in Roman Britain.

  • Sebastiani and Derrick 2020 - A Regional Economy of Recycling over Four Centuries at Spolverino (Tuscany) and Environs

    in eds Duckworth, C.N. & Wilson, A. Recycling and Reuse in the Roman Economy, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2020.

    The aim of this chapter is to introduce the Roman settlement at Spolverino (Grosseto, Italy) as a centre of recycling and reuse, situated on the Tyrrhenian coast of southern Tuscany.

  • Derrick 2018 - Little Bottles of Power: Roman glass unguentaria in poisoning, magic, and ritual

    in eds Parker, A. & McKie, S. Material Approaches to Roman Magic: Occult Objects and Supernatural Substances, Oxford: Oxbow. 2018.

    Now Open Access

    This chapter […] explores the role of the glass unguentarium in Roman society in an altogether more holistic way, with a special and pointed focus on ‘atypical’ contexts and sources that might point towards more nuanced understandings of their use.

  • Derrick 2017 - Sensory Archaeologies: a Vindolanda Smellscape

    in ed. Betts, E. Senses of Empire: Multisensory Approaches to Roman Culture, London: Routledge. 2017.

    This chapter explores the case study of the Roman fort and vicus at Vindolanda in order to demonstrate that it is possible to better understand the way in which individuals experienced the smellscape afforded by this Roman fort.

    This study will demonstrate that a sensory approach can further nuance our understanding of life at Roman military sites in the northern frontier region.

Funding, Scholarships, and Awards

  • (as contributor) Rakow Grant for Glass Research – Corning Museum of Glass

    2014-17 - Held primarily by A. Sebastiani to investigate the glass workshops at Spolverino through the analysis of the material culture, the money was to fund the work of a glass specialist.

  • AHRC Doctoral Award

    Block Grant Partnership (2013-2016), fully-funded PhD scholarship.

  • Association for the History of Glass – Small Grant

    Awarded to carry out bibliographical research on the Roman glass material from Spolverino at the British School at Rome.

  • The Ellen-Thomas Stanford Bequest Scholarship

    Awarded to a University of Wales graduate going on to further study in Classics or Greek and Latin, to be used for academic travel. Used to work in the library at the British School at Rome to prepare my master’s thesis and access material crucial for my later doctoral work.

  • University of Wales, Trinity St David Classics Departmental Scholarship 2010/11 & 2011/12

    Award was based on ‘all round’ performance in: effort/attendance/contribution/standard of work/extra-curricular activities/ enthusiasm. Held by one/two students per department, per academic year.

  • Roman Society Museum Internship Bursary

    Held in 2012 working on Roman pottery at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.

  • The John Ward Prize for Ancient History (2012 Graduation Bursary)

    Award was bestowed upon the highest achieving student in BA Ancient History. University of Wales, Trinity St David.