Robert Frecer | Charles University, Prague (original) (raw)

Books by Robert Frecer

The international Contacts, Migrations and Climate Change Conference is a celebration of Professo... more The international Contacts, Migrations and Climate Change Conference is a celebration of Professor Jan Bouzek's illustrious 80th birthday. The meeting was held over 4 days from May 19th to 23rd, 2015 at the baroque Clam-Gallas Palace in the heart of Prague's Old Town and was attended by Prof. Bouzek's colleagues, friends, students and associates. Attendees saw and heard a total of 58 papers and poster presentations on diverse topics - reflecting the manifold areas of research that Prof. Bouzek has contributed to in the broad field of archaeology, in which he is an esteemed presence. This brochure brings together the abstracts from eight conference sessions: (i) the Black Sea Area, (ii) the Aegean and Anatolia, (iii) Central Europe, (iv) the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman, (v) Climate, (vi) Celts on the Move, (vii) Thrace and its Rulers, and (viii) the poster session. Taken as a whole they are a living testament to his all-encompassing life's work in the field of archaeology and its impact on the work of others who follow in his footsteps.

Organizers: Peter Pavúk (Charles University in Prague), Věra Klontza-Jaklová (Masaryk University in Brno), Anthony Harding (University of Exeter)

Scientific Committee: Prof. Dr. Fritz Blakolmer (Vienna), Prof. Dr. Petr Charvát (Prague), Prof. Dr. Lydia Domaradzka (Sofia), Prof. Dr. Luboš Jiráň (Prague), Prof. Dr. Venceslas Kruta (Paris), Prof. Dr. Zdeněk Měřínský (Brno), Prof. Dr. Jiří Musil (Prague), Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Nowicki (Warszawa), Dr. Thanasis Sideris (Athens), Prof. Dr. Gocha Tsetskhladze (Oxford/Nottingham)

What should a catalogue of archaeological material contain? This book is a comprehensive index of... more What should a catalogue of archaeological material contain? This book is a comprehensive index of 210 lamps from the Roman fort at Gerulata and its adjoining civilian settlement. The lighting devices were excavated during the last 50 years from the houses, cemeteries, barracks and fortifications of this Roman outpost on the Danube Limes and span almost three centuries from AD 80 to AD 350. For the first time, they are published in full and in color with detailed analysis of lamp types, workshop marks and discus scenes.

Roman lamps were a characteristic form of interior lighting that burned liquid fuel seeped through a wick to create a controlled flame. Relief decorations have made them appealing objects of minor art in modern collections, but lamps were far more than that – with a distribution network spanning three continents, made by a multitude of producers and brands, with their religious imagery used in worship and death, and as symbols of study and learning, Roman lamps are an effective tool that can be used to discover the ancient economy, culture, craft organization and Roman provincial life.

The first chapter describes the history of Roman Pannonia and the archaeological record of Gerulata. Three successive catalogues – of the lamps, of the stamps, and of the iconography – illustrate the material thoroughly. An inquiry into the lamps’ function as grave goods is presented, followed by four studies focused on the statistical analysis of types, the organization of the lamp industry, signs of personal ownership, and the cultural significance of lamplight in a provincial milieu, respectively. Together, they paint a picture of a community on the edge of the Empire and its use of artificial light in both life and death.

Papers by Robert Frecer

Univerzita Karlova, Filozofická fakulta, Sep 13, 2010

The second year of the Yurta-Stroyno Archaeological Project continued in the excavation of the ar... more The second year of the Yurta-Stroyno Archaeological Project continued in the excavation of the area selected the previous year. The stone foundations were further uncovered in their continuation both to the east and to the west of the investigated area. Disrupted soil from Rooms A and B, previously excavated by robbers, was cleaned to the sterile soil. The area of the settlement core was selectively walked while creating a geodetic site grid. During the random survey, several areas of outstanding surface concentrations were selected for future investigation. Further, documentation of the finds from the two years of the excavation progressed, with their selection given in this report. kEywordS Bulgaria; Thrace; Yurta; Stroyno; vicus; terracotta lamps; metals; glass; Thracian horse rider; votive terracotta plate. This volume of Studia Hercynia is very special to us, being dedicated to a great scholar and our men-tor, Prof. Jan Bouzek. He is the one who brought two of the authors-P. Tu...

The second year of the Yurta ‐Stroyno Archaeological Project continued in the excavation of the a... more The second year of the Yurta ‐Stroyno Archaeological Project continued in the excavation of the area selected the previous year. The stone foundations were further uncovered in their continuation both to the east and to the west of the investigated area. Disrupted soil from Rooms A and B, previously excavated by robbers, was cleaned to the sterile soil. The area of the settlement core was selectively walked while creating a geodetic site grid. During the random survey, several areas of outstanding surface concentrations were selected for future investigation. Further, documentation of the finds from the two years of the excavation progressed, with their selection given in this report. kEywordS Bulgaria; Thrace; Yurta; Stroyno; vicus; terracotta lamps; metals; glass; Thracian horse rider; votive terracotta plate. This volume of Studia Hercynia is very special to us, being dedicated to a great scholar and our mentor, Prof. Jan Bouzek. He is the one who brought two of the authors – P. ...

The Roman concept of citizenship was novel and influential. Instead of an exclusive citizen body,... more The Roman concept of citizenship was novel and influential. Instead of an exclusive citizen body, Rome reached out to neighboring tribes, allies, and former enemies to form an inclusive citizenship which molded Rome’s territory into a nation and thus created the modern concept of supra-ethnic citizenship of a state. This process is reflected in the policy of Stoic cosmopolitanism, as encapsulated in the writings of Cicero and other Roman Stoics.

The paper discusses the birth of cosmopolitanism and the Cynic school of philosophy. The role of Zeno and the early Hellenistic Stoics is highlighted and the ideology of Stoic cosmopolitanism is expounded. To ground the historical argument, a survey of the development of Roman citizenship from c. 400 BC to Augustus is put forth. Critical analysis of Cicero’s expression of Stoic cosmopolitanism forms the heart of the paper, where duties, virtues, the universal commonwealth, oikeiosis, and the ius gentium are all discussed. Lastly, the expression of this cosmopolitan policy is highlighted against the development of Roman citizenship after Cicero until the Edict of Caracalla in AD 212.

Zborník Slovenského národného múzea - Archeológia (ZbSNM-A), 2014

A unique ceramic upper lamp mold for a special variation of Loeschcke type XK lamps currently in ... more A unique ceramic upper lamp mold for a special variation of Loeschcke type XK lamps currently in the Archaeological Museum in Bratislava is presented. The artifact lacks a firm provenience, but from records and analogies it may confidently be attributed to Brigetio, a Roman legionary fortress near the confluence of the Danube and Váh Rivers. X-shaped marks on the sides of the mold acted as registration marks to attach the two halves. The motif on the resulting lamp is in the manner of Bildlampen and consists of two pine needle branches and three schematic pine cones. The lamp mold may certainly be dated after AD 118/119 and probably before the end of the 3rd century AD. It represents the unique workmanship of a creative craftsman who effectively fused the characteristics of two lamp types to make his product.

Zborník Slovenského národného múzea - Archeológia (ZbSNM-A), 2013

The auxiliary camp of Gerulata was founded in the late Flavian period, and housed a cavalry ala f... more The auxiliary camp of Gerulata was founded in the late Flavian period, and housed a cavalry ala for most of its existence. Its adjoining cemeteries contained Roman lamps as a major group of grave goods, in both cremation and inhumation graves until the early 3rd century AD, when lamps ceased to be deposited. Altogether 93 graves out of 336 contained a total of 106 lamps, a largely 2nd century assembly of both Firma- and Bildlampen. Lamps played a part in funeral rites, usually to be burned on the pyre; at Gerulata they were second only to pottery in abundance though they occur in varying proportion across different cemeteries and burial types. Their context in burial practice and relationship with other grave goods is analysed throughout; notably, adult inhumation graves seem to purposely lack lamps. The lamps bear signs of use, personal ownership, and several unique relief stamps and inscriptions, but the proportion of imports to locally made lamps remains uncertain. Roman lamps in Gerulata are seen as tokens of Roman culture, much used by the inhabitants of this borderland settlement in both life and death.

Conference Presentations by Robert Frecer

ImageSizeNormalizer is a freeware program used to resize photos to fit a unified scale factor. It... more ImageSizeNormalizer is a freeware program used to resize photos to fit a unified scale factor. It is meant for academic works that reqiure photos of archaeological material to be formatted in scale. By selecting a known distance on each photo (e.g. a ruler), and inputting the desired length this selected distance should have on paper, authors may create virtually any scale for their photos. This program was first presented as a poster at the conference Počítačová podpora v archeológii, Kočovce, Slovakia, 22.-25.5.2013.

Thesis Works by Robert Frecer

"This catalogue documents Roman lamps from the cemeteries of Gerulata (modern-day Rusovce). It co... more "This catalogue documents Roman lamps from the cemeteries of Gerulata (modern-day Rusovce). It consists of 16 Bildlapmen, 89 Firmalampen, and one special shape. These lamps were found mainly in two large cemeteries, in both cremation and inhumation graves, dated from the last decades of the 1st century AD to the dawn of the 3rd century. Of the Bildlampen, several lamps with angular voluted nozzles (Loeschcke type I) and one fragment of a circular lamp with a rounded nozzle (Loeschcke type VIII) are represented. Of the Firmalampen, both Loeschcke types IX and X are found, type X and its variations being the most numerous (67 lamps). The iconography of relief decorations shows a range of mythological and profane images. Twenty different makers’ stamps in relief are found, two without parallels, with Fortis as most common. The production, transport and copying of Firmalampen is described; resulting endeavors to locate their point of origin are determined to be often unreliable without chemical analysis. Both the relationship of lamps to other grave goods as well as their purpose in graves are assessed; lamps are found to have been an available luxury, as appropriate in a Romanized society. Most lamps had worn bases, and some had blackened wickholes; most are burned by their inclusion in the funeral pyre. The personal character of some lamps is emphasized by various geometric incisions, an incised name, and a unique relief decoration."

The thesis deliberates the existence of civilian structures built with Roman construction techniq... more The thesis deliberates the existence of civilian structures built with Roman construction techniques in that part of the Danube Lowland outside the Empire which had unique contacts with the Roman provincial milieu of the first four centuries A.D. A geographical description of this area north of the Limes Romanus is followed by a detailed historical overview to serve as a framework for the interpretation of such buildings. The presented material includes all instances of Roman architecture from the time period in question, both in situ and inferred from secondary finds of construction material. The analysis sorts this material into two types of civilian buildings – villa-like structures, and smaller buildings. The former category designates those buildings that draw from provincial house architecture, and comprises structures built for civilian use during military campaigns (Mušov-Neurissen), facilities similar in function to the provincial economic system of the villa rustica (Stupava, Bratislava-Dúbravka), as well as probable residences for important figures of the Marcomanni and Quadi (Oberleiserberg, Cífer-Pác). The second, smaller type consists of so-called “buildings II” that were part of the abovementioned Germanic residence developments, buildings with composite roman-barbarian construction techniques (Bratislava-Devín), as well as buildings of a religious nature (Bratislava-Devín, Niederleis). A technical survey of Roman construction details in the architecture north of the Danube sheds light on their contrast to La Tène and Germanic housing elements. The conclusion describes the buildings’ destruction horizons and the re-use of their ruins as spolia in the Great Moravian period for Romanesque sacral buildings.

Organizers: Peter Pavúk (Charles University in Prague), Věra Klontza-Jaklová (Masaryk University in Brno), Anthony Harding (University of Exeter)

Univerzita Karlova, Filozofická fakulta, Sep 13, 2010

Zborník Slovenského národného múzea - Archeológia (ZbSNM-A), 2014

Zborník Slovenského národného múzea - Archeológia (ZbSNM-A), 2013