Dr Ruth Westgate
Senior Lecturer in Ancient History and Archaeology, Co-Head of Ancient History and Religion
Ysgol Hanes, Archaeoleg a Chrefydd
- Ar gael fel goruchwyliwr ôl-raddedig
Trosolwyg
Research and teaching interests
- Greek archaeology and social history
- Greek and Roman art and architecture
- Domestic space in classical antiquity
- Ancient mosaics and painting, especially in the Classical and Hellenistic periods
Cyhoeddiad
2021
- Westgate, R. 2021. Housing and inequality in ancient Greece. In: Cerasuolo, O. ed. Inequality in Antiquity. The Institute for European and Mediterranean Archaeology Distinguished Monograph Series Vol. 7. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press
2019
- Westgate, R. 2019. Household organization. In: Pache, C. ed. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Homer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2015
- Westgate, R. 2015. Space and social complexity in Greece from the early Iron Age to the Classical period. Hesperia 84(1), pp. 47-95. (10.2972/hesperia.84.1.0047)
2014
- Westgate, R. C. 2014. Greek and Roman mosaics. Oxford Bibliographies: Classics, article number: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780195389661-0104. (10.1093/obo/9780195389661-0104)
2013
- Westgate, R. C. 2013. Making yourself at home in the Hellenistic world. In: Ager, S. L. and Faber, R. A. eds. Belonging and Isolation in the Hellenistic World. Phoenix. Supplementary volume Vol. 51. Toronto: University of Toronto Press
2012
- Westgate, R. 2012. A landmark in mosaic studies. Review article on D.S. Neal and S.R. Cosh, The Roman Mosaics of Britain, volumes III and IV (Society of Antiquaries, London, 2009, 2010). Britannia 43, pp. 423-425. (10.1017/S0068113X12000414)
- Westgate, R. C. 2012. Mosaics. In: Smith, T. J. and Plantzos, D. eds. A Companion to Greek Art. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 186-199.
- Westgate, R. C. 2012. Mosaics, Roman Empire. In: Bagnall, R. S. et al. eds. The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 4598-4602.
2011
- Westgate, R. C. 2011. Party animals: the imagery of status, power and masculinity in Greek mosaics. In: Lambert, S. D. ed. Sociable Man: Essays on Ancient Greek Social Behaviour in Honour of Nick Fisher. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales, pp. 291-322.
2010
- Westgate, R. C. 2010. Interior decoration in Hellenistic houses: context, function and meaning. In: Ladstätter, S. and Scheibelreiter, V. eds. Städtisches Wohnen im östlichen Mittelmeerraum, 4. Jh. v. Chr. – 1. Jh. n. Chr.: Akten des Internationalen Kolloquiums vom 24.–27. Oktober 2007 an der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Archäologische Forschungen Vol. 18. Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences, pp. 497-528.
2007
- Westgate, R. C. 2007. House and society in Classical and Hellenistic Crete: a case study in regional variation. American Journal of Archaeology 111, pp. 423-457.
- Westgate, R. C. 2007. The Greek house and the ideology of citizenship. World Archaeology 39(2), pp. 229-245. (10.1080/00438240701257671)
- Westgate, R. C. 2007. Life's rich pattern: decoration as evidence for room function in Hellenistic houses. In: Westgate, R. C., Fisher, N. R. E. and Whitley, A. J. M. eds. Building Communities: House, Settlement and Society in the Aegean and Beyond. Proceedings of a Conference held at Cardiff University 17-21 April 2001. British School at Athens Studies Vol. 15. London: British School at Athens, pp. 313-321.
- Westgate, R. C., Fisher, N. R. E. and Whitley, A. J. M. eds. 2007. Building communities: house, settlement and society in the Aegean and beyond. Proceedings of a conference held at Cardiff University, 17–21 April 2001. British School at Athens Studies Vol. 15. London: British School at Athens.
2002
- Westgate, R. C. 2002. Hellenistic mosaics. In: Ogden, D. ed. The Hellenistic World: New Perspectives. Swansea/ London: Classical Press of Wales and Duckworth, pp. 221-251.
2000
- Westgate, R. C. 2000. Space and decoration in Hellenistic houses. The Annual of the British School at Athens 95, pp. 391-426.
- Westgate, R. C. 2000. Pavimenta atque emblemata vermiculata: regional styles in Hellenistic mosaic and the first mosaics at Pompeii. American Journal of Archaeology 104(2), pp. 255-275.
1999
- Westgate, R. C. 1999. Genre and originality in Hellenistic mosaics. Mosaic 26, pp. 16-25.
1998
- Westgate, R. C. 1998. Greek mosaics in their architectural and social context. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 42(1), pp. 93-115. (10.1111/j.2041-5370.1998.tb00725.x)
Articles
- Westgate, R. 2015. Space and social complexity in Greece from the early Iron Age to the Classical period. Hesperia 84(1), pp. 47-95. (10.2972/hesperia.84.1.0047)
- Westgate, R. C. 2014. Greek and Roman mosaics. Oxford Bibliographies: Classics, article number: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780195389661-0104. (10.1093/obo/9780195389661-0104)
- Westgate, R. 2012. A landmark in mosaic studies. Review article on D.S. Neal and S.R. Cosh, The Roman Mosaics of Britain, volumes III and IV (Society of Antiquaries, London, 2009, 2010). Britannia 43, pp. 423-425. (10.1017/S0068113X12000414)
- Westgate, R. C. 2007. House and society in Classical and Hellenistic Crete: a case study in regional variation. American Journal of Archaeology 111, pp. 423-457.
- Westgate, R. C. 2007. The Greek house and the ideology of citizenship. World Archaeology 39(2), pp. 229-245. (10.1080/00438240701257671)
- Westgate, R. C. 2000. Space and decoration in Hellenistic houses. The Annual of the British School at Athens 95, pp. 391-426.
- Westgate, R. C. 2000. Pavimenta atque emblemata vermiculata: regional styles in Hellenistic mosaic and the first mosaics at Pompeii. American Journal of Archaeology 104(2), pp. 255-275.
- Westgate, R. C. 1999. Genre and originality in Hellenistic mosaics. Mosaic 26, pp. 16-25.
- Westgate, R. C. 1998. Greek mosaics in their architectural and social context. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 42(1), pp. 93-115. (10.1111/j.2041-5370.1998.tb00725.x)
Book sections
- Westgate, R. 2021. Housing and inequality in ancient Greece. In: Cerasuolo, O. ed. Inequality in Antiquity. The Institute for European and Mediterranean Archaeology Distinguished Monograph Series Vol. 7. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press
- Westgate, R. 2019. Household organization. In: Pache, C. ed. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Homer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- Westgate, R. C. 2013. Making yourself at home in the Hellenistic world. In: Ager, S. L. and Faber, R. A. eds. Belonging and Isolation in the Hellenistic World. Phoenix. Supplementary volume Vol. 51. Toronto: University of Toronto Press
- Westgate, R. C. 2012. Mosaics. In: Smith, T. J. and Plantzos, D. eds. A Companion to Greek Art. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 186-199.
- Westgate, R. C. 2012. Mosaics, Roman Empire. In: Bagnall, R. S. et al. eds. The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 4598-4602.
- Westgate, R. C. 2011. Party animals: the imagery of status, power and masculinity in Greek mosaics. In: Lambert, S. D. ed. Sociable Man: Essays on Ancient Greek Social Behaviour in Honour of Nick Fisher. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales, pp. 291-322.
- Westgate, R. C. 2010. Interior decoration in Hellenistic houses: context, function and meaning. In: Ladstätter, S. and Scheibelreiter, V. eds. Städtisches Wohnen im östlichen Mittelmeerraum, 4. Jh. v. Chr. – 1. Jh. n. Chr.: Akten des Internationalen Kolloquiums vom 24.–27. Oktober 2007 an der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Archäologische Forschungen Vol. 18. Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences, pp. 497-528.
- Westgate, R. C. 2007. Life's rich pattern: decoration as evidence for room function in Hellenistic houses. In: Westgate, R. C., Fisher, N. R. E. and Whitley, A. J. M. eds. Building Communities: House, Settlement and Society in the Aegean and Beyond. Proceedings of a Conference held at Cardiff University 17-21 April 2001. British School at Athens Studies Vol. 15. London: British School at Athens, pp. 313-321.
- Westgate, R. C. 2002. Hellenistic mosaics. In: Ogden, D. ed. The Hellenistic World: New Perspectives. Swansea/ London: Classical Press of Wales and Duckworth, pp. 221-251.
Books
- Westgate, R. C., Fisher, N. R. E. and Whitley, A. J. M. eds. 2007. Building communities: house, settlement and society in the Aegean and beyond. Proceedings of a conference held at Cardiff University, 17–21 April 2001. British School at Athens Studies Vol. 15. London: British School at Athens.
- Westgate, R. C. 2011. Party animals: the imagery of status, power and masculinity in Greek mosaics. In: Lambert, S. D. ed. Sociable Man: Essays on Ancient Greek Social Behaviour in Honour of Nick Fisher. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales, pp. 291-322.
- Westgate, R. C. 2010. Interior decoration in Hellenistic houses: context, function and meaning. In: Ladstätter, S. and Scheibelreiter, V. eds. Städtisches Wohnen im östlichen Mittelmeerraum, 4. Jh. v. Chr. – 1. Jh. n. Chr.: Akten des Internationalen Kolloquiums vom 24.–27. Oktober 2007 an der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Archäologische Forschungen Vol. 18. Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences, pp. 497-528.
- Westgate, R. C. 2007. House and society in Classical and Hellenistic Crete: a case study in regional variation. American Journal of Archaeology 111, pp. 423-457.
- Westgate, R. C., Fisher, N. R. E. and Whitley, A. J. M. eds. 2007. Building communities: house, settlement and society in the Aegean and beyond. Proceedings of a conference held at Cardiff University, 17–21 April 2001. British School at Athens Studies Vol. 15. London: British School at Athens.
Ymchwil
My research is primarily concerned with the architecture and decoration of Greek and Roman houses, and the relationship between houses and the society, politics and economy of the ancient world.
Greek mosaics of the Classical and Hellenistic periods
I am working on a monograph about decorated mosaics in the Greek world from the fifth century to the early first century BC, covering pavements of pebbles, tesserae, stone chips and various combinations of materials. This will be the first comprehensive study of Greek mosaics since the 1930s, ranging from the pebble mosaics of the Classical period to the late Hellenistic pavements of Delos and Pompeii, and including a corpus of decorated mosaics which will enable scholars to get a reliable overview of this material for the first time. The book will survey the techniques, materials and design of the mosaics, and will re-evaluate the prevailing models of their stylistic and technical development, considering each pavement in its architectural and regional context. But it also goes beyond conventional art-historical concerns to explore the changing ways in which mosaics and other decoration were used to structure the space in houses, and thus to gain insights into social and economic trends in the Classical and Hellenistic periods.
Domestic space in Archaic–Hellenistic Greece
Another strand of my work examines the relationship between domestic space and socio-political organisation in the Greek world. At present I am exploring the ways in which the development of social and political complexity in the Aegean was played out in the architecture of houses from the Early Iron Age to the Classical period, looking at how social roles and status distinctions within and between households shaped the architecture and decoration of houses.
I am particularly interested in Classical and Hellenistic houses in Crete, which are strikingly different in their form and appearance from the courtyard houses found elsewhere in the period. The differences may be related to a different form of social organisation on Crete, which is attested by the literary sources; the austere, backward-looking appearance and furnishings of Cretan houses in this period suggest a desire to suppress or deny social change.
Addysgu
Undergraduate
- The Archaeology of Mediterranean Societies: Egypt, Greece and Rome - 20 credits (HS2123)
- Introduction to Ancient Greek History - 20 credits (HS3101)
- Investigating the Ancient World: Skills and Evidence - 20 credits (HS3103)
- Art and Archaeology of Archaic Greece - 20 credits (HS2386)
- Art and Archaeology of Classical Greece - 20 credits (HS2389)
- Pots, Poems and Pictures: Using Evidence for Ancient History - 20 credits (HS4336)
- Hellenistic Art and Architecture - 10 credits (HS4356)
- Houses in Roman Italy - 10 credits (HS4363)
- Art and Power in Rome, 211 BC–AD 138 - 10 credits (HS4368)
Postgraduate
- Themes and Approaches in Ancient History - 20 credits (HST002)
- Themes in Classical Archaeology - 20 credits (HST203)
- Special Topic: Domestic Space in Classical Antiquity - 20 credits (HST204)
- Approaches to Ancient Art - 20 credits (HST205)
Research supervision
I have supervised PhDs on domestic cult in Classical Greece, the status of Greek traders, and military imagery in Roman interior decoration. I would be happy to supervise topics on Greek archaeology, Greek and Roman art and architecture, or Greek social history.
Bywgraffiad
Education and qualifications
- 1995 PhD, History of Art, Manchester University (Greek Mosaics of the Classical and Hellenistic Periods)
- 1988 BA Classics, Clare College, Cambridge
Career overview
- 2013– Senior Lecturer in Archaeology and Ancient History, Cardiff University
- 2004–2013 Lecturer in Archaeology and Ancient History, Cardiff University
- 1998–2004 Research Fellow/Lecturer in Archaeology and Ancient History, Cardiff University
- 1996 Associate Lecturer, Classics Department, King's College London
- 1993–1995 Macmillan-Rodewald Student, British School at Athens
- 1992–1993 School Student, British School at Athens
Notable achievements
- 2008 Awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for work on a monograph on Greek mosaics.
- 2001 Lead organiser of the conference 'Building Communities: House, Settlement and Society in the Aegean and Beyond'.
Aelodaethau proffesiynol
- Publicity Officer and Committee member, Association for the Study and Preservation of Roman Mosaics
- Member of Standing Commitee, Council of University Classical Departments
- Member of Council, Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, 2007–2010
- Secretary, Cardiff and District Classical Association, 2001–2010
- Member, Association International pour l'Étude de la Mosaïque Antique
- Member of Council, British School at Athens, 1996–1998
Meysydd goruchwyliaeth
Areas supervised
I would be interested in supervising PhD projects on:
- Greek and Roman houses and households
- Ancient mosaics and painting
- Greek and Roman art and architecture, especially from the Classical, Hellenistic and early Imperial periods
- Greek archaeology and social history
Current PhD students
- Karen Gregory, Mapping Mosaics in Fourth-Century Roman Britain: Regional Patterns and Elite Networks; co-supervisor with Martin Pitts (Exeter University)
- Alexia Miltiadous-Johansson, Houses and Households in Hellenistic–Roman Crete and Cyprus; co-supervisor with James Whitley
- Vasiliki Kontogianni, Hydrophobic Coatings and Organic Additives in Hellenistic–Roman Mortars: The Case Study of Crete; third supervisor with David Watkinson and Nicola Emmerson