Mary Jane Cuyler

I am an archaeologist and Latinist with a particular interest in the archaeology and history of Ostia, which was Rome's closest harbor in antiquity. I have worked on the excavations of the ancient synagogue at Ostia since 2006, and I have served as Field Director for that project since 2011. My research and publications focus especially on the "archaeology of archaeology", that is, exploring the contexts and dates of materials and structures that were uncovered or excavated long ago, and which deserve reexamination.

My formal training in the field of Classics is wide-ranging and international. My B.A. is in Classical Philology (Bellingham, USA) where I trained intensively in Latin and Greek. At the University of Texas at Austin I studied archaeology in the Department of Classics. My M.A. focused on Linear B, ancient perfume, and Mycenaean Archaeology, and I worked for several seasons studying Mycenaean pottery at Iklaina. I then completed the Ph.D. coursework/exams in Classical Archaeology before accepting an international fellowship to write my Ph.D. thesis on landscapes of Republican Ostia at the University of Sydney (Australia) in the Department of Classics & Ancient History.