C9565 - PAPIROLOGIA ED ECOSISTEMI NELL'EGITTO GRECO-ROMANO

Learning outcomes

This course studies the relationship between human beings and the environment in Egypt during the Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine periods (ca. 323 BCE – 640 CE), with a focus on papyrus sources, integrated, where appropriate, with literary, archaeological and ethnographic sources, read in the light of modern scholarship. At the end of the course, students will have knowledge of the main papyrological methodologies applied to the study of antiquity and ancient ecosystems; will be aware of the interplay between human beings and the environment, and its role in historical processes; will be able to select data through bibliographical research, including the use of databanks; will be able to critically evaluate information and data presented in class and collected autonomously; will master the historical period addressed by the course; will be able to address and explain themes and topics related with the discipline in a professional manner.

Course contents

Starting with a brief introduction to the history of Egypt (ca. 323 BCE - 641 CE), the course unit focuses on the Nilotic hydrosocial system and the multiple entanglements of fluvial water with human and non-human beings. Lectures are organized according to three main themes:

1. Egypt, gift of the Nile? The Egyptian hydrosocial system in papyri and literary sources.

2. Technologies and water administration.

3. Religious and cultural uses and meanings of water.

Readings/Bibliography

Students who are attending lectures must prepare on lecture notes and materials, including sources, maps, images, and weekly readings. Everything is uploaded on the course unit's virtual space.

Further instructions on mandatory bibliography, readings, sources and how to prepare for the exam are provided in lectures.

Students who are not attending lectures must contact the lecturer in advance to agree on an alternative programme, which can consist in personal research assignments or a series of mandatory readings.

Select bibliography

Amenta, A., Luiselli, M. M., & Sordi, M. N. (2005). L’acqua nell’antico Egitto: vita, rigenerazione, incantesimo, medicamento : proceedings of the first International conference for young egyptologists : Italy, Chianciano Terme, October 15-18 2003. L’Erma di Bretschneider.

Blouin, K. (2014). Triangular landscapes: environment, society, and the state in the Nile Delta under Roman rule. Oxford University press.

Bonneau, D. (1993). Le régime administratif de l'eau du Nil dans l'Egypte grecque, romaine et byzantine. Leiden: Brill.

Hassan F. (1997) “The Dynamics of a Riverine Civilization: a Geoarchaeological Perspective on the Nile Valley, Egypt,” World Archaeology 29: 51–74

Haug, B. (2024). Garden of Egypt: Irrigation, Society, and the State in the Premodern Fayyum. Ann Arbor: Michigan University Press.

Huebner, S. R. (2020). "Climate Change in the Breadbasket of the Roman Empire—Explaining the Decline of the Fayum Villages in the Third Century CE". Studies in Late Antiquity : A Journal, 4(4), 486–518. https://doi.org/10.1525/sla.2020.4.4.486

Huebner, Sabine R. (2025). "Reconstructing the Nile: climate, agriculture, and socio-economic change in Roman Egypt" Journal of Ancient History, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 307-362.

Manning, J.G., Ludlow, F., Stine, A.R. et al. (2017) "Volcanic suppression of Nile summer flooding triggers revolt and constrains interstate conflict in ancient Egypt." Nat Commun 8, 900. https://doi-org.ezproxy.unibo.it/10.1038/s41467-017-00957-y

Teaching methods

Lectures and seminars in class with the use of Powerpoint presentations and other materials, which are uploaded weekly on the course unit virtual platform. Active participation to discussions in class is required: extensive time is dedicated to group analysis and discussion of ancient sources, key-issues and topics to facilitate the learning process.

Assessment methods

Oral examination, to evaluate the following:

• knowledge of ancient sources and bibliography studied for the course;
• understanding of the issues and problems analyzed in lectures and/or indipendently;
• ability to critically address topics, themes and issues considered in lectures and readings;
• ability to present an argument using appropriate terminology, including technical words.

The following criteria are applied:

• insufficient: very limited to no knowledge of the topics and sources studied in the course unit;
• sufficient (18-24): basic knowledge of topics, materials and sources of the course unit; notional and superficial understanding of the course contents and materials, with very limited ability to critical, independent analysis;
• good (25-27): good knowledge of the course contents and methods; correct interpretations and analyses, although not always fully developed and/or appropriately expressed;
• very good to excellent (28-30 cum laude): full command of the subject; interpretations of sources and issues according to correct methodology with high degree of critical, personal analysis. Excellent ability to develop arguments in oral form with use of technical, appropriate vocabulary.

Use of AI is forbidden and will be considered as violation of academic integrity.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint, PDF, images, maps and videos.

Everything will be uploaded on Unibo virtual platform (https://virtuale.unibo.it/ ).

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the university office in charge of these issues (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. Agreed adjustments and adaptations must then be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam) to the lecturer, who checks that they are in line with the learning objectives of the course unit.

Office hours

See the website of Roberta Mazza