Dr R. Willet (Rinse)
Postdoc - Archaeology
Postdoc - Radboud Institute for Culture and History
Erasmusplein 1
6525 HT NIJMEGEN
Postbus 9103
6500 HD NIJMEGEN
My specialism is Roman and Mediterranean Archaeology. Initially I focused on survey archaeology (=detection and study of surface remains without excavating), and society and economy of the Ancient World. In those broad fields, I specifically research population sizes and urbanisation, particularly in Greece and Turkey during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods.
This research demonstrated that the development and characteristics of cities are strongly tied to the natural setting, connectivity, and the history of cities (or regions - this is known as 'historical path-dependency'). On the other hand it demonstrated that the study to the role of ancient villages has been underwhelming, despite the fact that villages formed the 'demographic and economic backbone' for cities.
In addition, during my PhD research, I have intensily studied the usage and development of Roman tableware and dining in daily live from the 2nd century BCE to the 7th century CE in the Eastern Mediterranean. On the one hand this involved a great deal of studying pottery (...a great deal...see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px15AvDhRlk), but I studied other material categories as well, as tableware was produced in pottery, metal, crystal, glass, wood, etc.
During the last 10 years I carried out fieldwork in Greece, Turkey, and Belgium. This work consisted of carrying out and directing excavations, archaeological prospections, and campaigns material studies.
Apart from doing research, I'm passionate about teaching and since 2008, I taught classes in archaeological methodology, the Roman East, Hellenistic and Roman Greece and Asia Minor and seminars in Ancient History.
I find technology fascinating and I enjoy learning new skills. Therefore I am also busying myself as a programmer and junior IT teacher since 2020 (HTML, CSS, JS, Java, QGIS, etc.).