On Tuesday 5th May, the Algarve Archaeological Association (AAA) will be presenting two lectures, in English, by Maria de Jesus Duran Kremer, PhD. The first lecture will be at 2.30pm at the Museu do Traje in São Bras de Alportel, the second lecture will be at 6pm at the Convento de São José in Lagoa.
In this lecture, Dr Maria will be talking about Roman mosaics which are among the remaining testimonies of Roman everyday life, providing an inexhaustible source of information on this aspect of Roman culture. Of Greco-Roman and Byzantine tradition, the mosaic is one of the architectural and artistic elements that, for centuries, were mostly used to decorate the room in which they were placed. The beauty of the composition, coupled with the durability and strength of the material, was a determining aspect of the use of the mosaic. At the same time, the iconographic program chosen for each room, according to their function in the representative universe of the landlord, the decorative style of each of them are just some of the aspects that allow us to define the socio-economic and cultural profile of a villa owner with some certainty. The presentation will explore aspects of everyday life as reflected at different times in various parts of the Roman Empire.
Maria de Jesus Duran Kremer, PhD was born in Lisbon. She moved with her family to the city of Trier (the Roman August Treverorum) where she took up a post as a lecturer at the University. Having completed her PhD in Classical Archaeology at the university in 1999 with a thesis on “The mosaics of Villa Cardilio (Torres Novas). Their place within the mosaic landscape of the Iberian Peninsula in general and Lusitania in particular”, she devoted herself primarily to the study of Roman mosaics. As a tenured researcher and collaborator at the Institute of Art History, FCSH, NOVA University Lisbon, she launched the RoGeMoPorTur project – Roman Geometric Mosaics in Portugal and Turkey – in 2014, together with Prof. Dr Mustafa Sahin (Bursa University, AIEMA Turkey). A Comparative Study, under which two international colloquia have already been held in Portugal in 2016 and 2025: the third will take place in June 2026 in Iznik, Turkey. Dr Maria is a member of the Executive Board of AIEMA (Association Internationale pour l’Etude de la Mosaique Ancienne) and of the Scientific Board of the Journal of Mosaic Research, she has served as a member of the Scientific Board in the organisation of, and has participated in, several international conferences on mosaics.
Non-members are welcome to attend AAA lectures for a 5-euro admission fee, with all money raised by the AAA being used for archaeological grants and speakers.
For more information contact info.algarvearqueo@gmail.com, visit arquealgarve.weebly.com or Facebook 'Algarve Archaeological Association'.
Please check the website or Facebook page for any last-minute changes.
