IPCAA student Christina DiFabio is currently studying the Kelsey collection of lamps from Roman Sepphoris and has recently presented her work at the annual American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) conference in Atlanta, GA. Below is an abstract of her work, which she ultimately plans to integrate into the Kelsey museum through a digital project.

For more information, you can contact her at cdifabio@umich.edu

“This [project] presents new research on an assemblage of lamps from Roman Sepphoris in the collection of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan. In 1931, Professor Leroy Waterman conducted excavations at Sepphoris to study the city’s theater, the so-called “basilica,” and the water systems. My research focuses on two aspects of the lamps excavated during Waterman’s study: I attempt to place the assemblage within its greater archaeological context of Sepphoris and within the craft production network of Roman Judaea/Palaestina.

For archaeological context, I first reinterpret the data presented by Waterman and Yeivin in their 1937 archaeological report. The lamp assemblage in question was found in the “basilica,” which has now been reinterpreted as a Roman villa by the University of South Florida excavations from 1983-1989.  I then look to more recent excavations of Sepphoris to understand the local lamp distribution. For craft production, I analyze the style of the lamps in the assemblage to similar Roman discus lamp comparanda from the region. I also look to studies of ceramic craft production within the Roman Galilee in order to identify potential production centers for the assemblage and potential trade networks for Sepphoris. Through this study, I offer new insights on where and how the residents of Roman Sepphoris used these objects, how the residents participated within local trade in the Galilee, and how my reinterpretations can be utilized for further research and public education within the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology galleries.”

Fig 1: Comparison of a Roman discus lamp type typically dated to the 2nd to 3rd c. CE and a lamp from the Sepphoris collection in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology (accession number 0000.08.9905). Left image from pg. 377 of Sussman, Varda. 2012. Roman Period Oil Lamps in the Holy Land: Collection of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Oxford: Archeopress.

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