The Department of Classics at Cornell is one of the oldest and largest in the country. It offers training at all levels in the languages, literature, philosophy, culture, art, archaeology and history of ancient Greece and Rome.

The department promotes first-hand involvement in the ancient world, ranging from productions of ancient plays through participation in Cornell-sponsored archaeological projects. Courses involve direct engagement with material culture using Cornell's collections of ancient coins and of reproductions of sculptures, inscriptions and other ancient objects. Many students participate directly in the discovery and study of ancient material cultures by working in the dendrochronology laboratory on campus, or on material from Cornell-sponsored excavations in the Mediterranean region.

Department website

Joshua Oliver

Research Associate and Lab Manager, Cornell Tree-Ring Laboratory

Publications

Oliver, J. S., Harley, G. L., & Maxwell, J. T. (2019). 2,500 years of hydroclimate variability in New Mexico, USA. Geophysical Research Letters, 46(8), 4432-4440.

Harley, G. L., Maxwell, J. T., Oliver, J. S., Holt, D. H., Bowman, J., & Sokolosky-Wixon, M. (2018). Precision dating and cultural history of the la pointe-krebs house (22ja526), pascagoula, mississippi, usa. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 20, 87-96.

Matheus, T. J., Maxwell, J. T., Oliver, J., Thornton, M., Hess, M., & Harley, G. L. (2017). A dendrochronological evaluation of three historic pioneer cabins at Spring Mill Village, Indiana. Dendrochronologia, 43, 12-19.

Klarman Hall
120 Goldwin Smith Hall
jo448@cornell.edu

Education

Ph.D. Plant Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 2023

Departments and programs

Carson Riggs

Ph.D. Student in Classics

Klarman Hall
cr627@cornell.edu

Education

A.B. Classical Archaeology, Dartmouth College '23 

Departments and programs

Jordan Murphy

Ph.D. Student in Classics

Klarman Hall
jlm594@cornell.edu

Education

B.A. Classical Civilizations and Political Science, U.C. Berkeley '23

Departments and programs

Jacob Damm

Hirsch Potsdoctoral Fellow

Publications

Select Publications

  • Joshua Driscoll and Jacob C. Damm. 2023. “A First Draught: Pitfalls and Potentials in the Archaeological Chemistry of Beer,” pp. 11-63 in Chemistry in the Service of Archaeology, edited by Ruth Ann Armitage and Daniel Fraser. American Chemical Society: Washington, DC.
  • Freikman, Michael, David Ben-Shlomo, Jacob Damm, and Oren Gutfeld. 2023. “V-Shaped Bowls and Feasting Ceremonies in the Late Chalcolithic Period in the Southern Levant: A Case Study of Neve Ur,” pp. 343-358 in “And in Length of Days Understanding” (Job 12:12): Essays on Archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond in Honor of Thomas E. Levy, edited by Erez Ben-Yosef and Ian W.N. Jones. Cham: Springer.
  • Damm, Jacob C. 2022. “Identity at the Twilight of Empire: Domestic Foodways and Cultural Practice at 12th Century BC Beth-Shean,” pp. 92-110 in No Place Like Home: Ancient Near Eastern Houses and Households, edited by Laura Battini, Aaron Brody, and Sharon R. Steadman. Oxford: Archaeopress.
  • Burke, Aaron A., Martin Peilstöcker, Amy Karoll, George A. Pierce, Krister Kowalski, Nadia Ben-Marzouk, Jacob C. Damm, Andrew J. Danielson, Heidi Fessler, Brett Kaufman, and Krystal Pierce. 2017. “Excavations of the New Kingdom Fortress in Jaffa, 2011–2014: Traces of Resistance to Egyptian Rule in Canaan”. American Journal of Archaeology 121(1): 85-133.
Klarman Hall
123 McGraw Hall
jcd283@cornell.edu

Education

PhD in Archaeology, UCLA, 2021

Departments and programs

Clara McCafferty Wright

Doctoral Student in Classical Archaeology and Art

Klarman Hall
cmw272@cornell.edu

Departments and programs

Clara McCafferty Wright

Ph.D. Student in Classics

Klarman Hall
cmw272@cornell.edu

Departments and programs

Belisarius Welgan

Klarman Hall
bnw32@cornell.edu

Departments and programs

Sophia Taborski

Klarman Hall
skt47@cornell.edu

Departments and programs

Emily Shanahan

Klarman Hall
egs77@cornell.edu

Departments and programs

Matthieu Réal

Visiting Lecturer

Publications

“Andronikos of Rhodes” in (ed. by. S. Schorn-L. Bossina) Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker continued, IV, Leiden-Boston: Brill (forthcoming)

“Adrastos of Aphrodisias” in (ed. by. S. Schorn-L. Bossina) Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker continued, IV, Leiden-Boston: Brill (forthcoming)

“Enigma ed esegesi nel papiro di Derveni” in (ed. A. De Blasi et Al.) Dall’Ombre al chiaro lume: L’enigma e le sue declinazioni nella letteratura, Padova: Padova University Press (forthcoming)

“Noisy Omens and Enslaved Gods: Interpreting Zoilus’ Criticisms of Homer,” Mnemosyne, advance publications, 1-24, 2023.

“Ex commentario sapere: Andronico di Rodi, Tolomeo e l’esegesi aristotelica” in (ed. by R. Tondini-M. Bergamo) Filosofia, filologia e scienza in età ellenistica, 83-103. Milano: Ledizioni, 2022.

 

 

Klarman Hall
120 Goldwin Smith Hall
mr2222@cornell.edu

Education

  • Ph.D., Classics, Cornell University (2023)
  • M.A., Classics, Padua University (2016)

Departments and programs

Subscribe to Classics