The way in which inscriptions, especially verse inscriptions, are commonly presented and utilised in many museums and collections, but also e. g. in school and university curricula, leaves a lot of their potential unexplored.
Interaction and engagement with such texts, both in the ancient world and at present, were at the heart of a Visiting Fellowship held by Dr María Limón (Sevilla), funded by the British Academy and held at the University of Reading.
In collaboration with Prof.s Peter Kruschwitz (Vienna, then Reading) and Xavier Espluga (Barcelona), with the generous support of the British Academy as well as the British Museum and drawing on the creative genius of film maker James Rattee, Dr Limón has now produced a delightful short video clip (approx. 10 min.) on this topic.
Drawing on the funerary inscription for the dog Margarita, kept in the British Museum, the film explores and explains, in an accessible and relatable way, how inscribed objects and the inhabitants of the lettered world that was ancient Rome interacted (and what we ourselves could learn from that).
The film – with subtitles currently available in English, German, Italian, Spanish, and Romanian – was recently released via the YouTube channel of Reading’s Department of Classics. It is hoped that it will be of use to a wide range of audiences, from schools and universities to stakeholders in museum, collections, and archives.
For an interview on occasion of the release of the clip follow this link.
