Conversations Across the Creek is an initiative by the Humanities Research Centre (HRC) and the Research School of Chemistry (RSC) to provide a space for continuing dialogue among scientists, social scientists, and humanities scholars. Meetings are held monthly, with the aim of stimulating and unearthing research and teaching collaborations across the university.

Join us as three diverse scholars 'cross' Sullivan's Creek, presenting on their latest research. The topic of this event is Rethinking Roman Cameo Glass: A Unique Multi-disciplinary Collaboration.

Researchers at the ANU, across diverse fields of Visual Art, Classics and Physics-Engineering, have established evidence for a little-known theory that suggests ancient Roman cameo glass was manufactured by a unknown glass forming process that has not been used for over 2,000 years. For centuries, it has been assumed that Roman craftspeople used glass blowing and a lengthy carving process to create these highly sophisticated cameo works. Using a state-of-the-art CT scanning machine, developed at the ANU, this team have made observations suggesting that this assumption is incorrect, and that the works were produced by a pressing pate de verre (paste glass) process that still needs to be fully redefined.

Speakers include:

Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Minchin
School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, College of Arts and Social Sciences

Dr Andrew Kingston
Research School of Physics and Engineering, College of Science

Richard Whiteley
School of Art and Design, College of Arts and Social Sciences
 

Please register - light lunch provided. Click here for more information about the CatC Series, or to access recordings of past events.