Doctoral School

AquAntica, an Enlight workshop on Water Management in Antiquity (500 BC-700 AD)

Target audience

Master students, pre-doctoral candidates and PhD students of Ghent University, Uppsala University and the University of Bern working on any topic related to water in Antiquity (500 BC – 700 AD).

Organizing and scientific committee

Sadi Maréchal (Ghent University)

Patrik Klingborg (Uppsala University)

Andrea Schaer (University of Bern).

Aim and Scope

With this two-day interdisciplinary workshop, we aim to assemble young researchers to present (on-going/starting) work on the broad topic of water in Antiquity. As a primordial and timely concern for both urban centres and rural settlements alike, water management played a crucial role in shaping the ancient world, and subsequently also in shaping our modern-day cities and landscapes as heirs of this antique heritage. Understanding how ancient societies coped with for example water supply and waste water disposal, especially in times of adversity and changing climatic conditions, can help us think about similar issues in our contemporary world. We encourage a multidisciplinary interaction, accepting contributions from all disciplines within Classics (e.g. history, archaeology, art history, philology, philosophy, etc.) but also other relevant fields of research (e.g. geology, climatology, architecture, cartography, etc.). Key themes can include (but are not limited to) water management, water use, weather phenomena, including climate and environmental change, water infrastructure and display (e.g., fountains, baths), water technology (e.g., dams, water mills) and so on. Participants are invited to step out of their comfort zone and think about their research in a polyfocal way, considering how their specific topics interweave with larger historic processes (e.g., climate change, city formation, cultural change, etc.) and still have impact on modern-day society. Each day will start with a keynote lecture by a senior researcher (45 minutes), followed by presentations of the participants. The day ends with a general discussion (30–45 minutes) chaired by a committee of senior researchers from the participating universities. The workshop offers the opportunity for starting researchers to share their research or research project with peers and senior researchers, while working on their presentation and networking skills.

Dates and venue

10 - 11 September 2025

Location: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Ghent University (Belgium).

Programme

Confirmed keynote speakers: Dr. Martin Finné (University of Uppsala) and Dr. Sebastian Gairhos (town archaeologist, City of Augsburg)

Registration

  • Please send a 300-woord abstract in English to sadi.marechal@ugent.be, also indicating the stage of your career and your affiliation. We expect speakers to be present in person. Contributions should be in English and last ca. 15 minutes (plus 5 minutes for discussion).

  • The no show policy applies.

Registration fee

Free of charge for Doctoral School members.

Language

English

Maximum Participants

Maximum 4 participants from UGent

Evaluation method

After successful participation, the Doctoral School Office will add this course to your curriculum of the Doctoral Training Programme in Oasis. Please note that this can take up to one to two months after completion of the course.