Two years after the success of the inaugural summer program in Byzantine numismatics and sigillography (see INL 40/2, 2002, p. 8), the Dumbarton Oaks Centre for Byzantine Studies in Washington DC this July again played host to a group of five students for a month-long course on coins and seals.
The core of the program was, as before, a series of seminars given by Cécile Morrisson on coins and John Nesbitt on seals, drawing on Dumbarton Oaks' extensive collections for illustrative material. The program also benefited from the presence of summer fellows Michael Grünbart (Vienna), Claudia Sode and Stefan Heidemann (Jena) who presented their own research on Byzantine stamps and non-Greek seals respectively. On a practical front, Joe Mills gave an introduction to techniques in digital photography and Karen Rasmussen’s sessions on map-making and computer software provided invaluable guidance on the publication process.
In the final week, and with the benefit of many afternoons free to mine the wealth of the Dumbarton Oaks library and collections and consult with the resident experts, the participants had the opportunity to present their own research. Zhenya Zhekova (Shumen) gave a detailed account of the coin circulation in medieval Shumen; Ioannes Leontiades (Thessalonica) discussed his work on dating Palaeologan seals; Vangelis Maladakis (Thessalonica) presented the coin finds from the ongoing excavations at Varvara in Chalkidiki in which he is involved; Andrej Novak (Ptuj) threw fresh light on the output of the sixth century Salonian mint; and William Danny (Oxford) explored the use of sigillographic evidence for our understanding of the role of judges (kritai) in the eleventh century.
It is hoped that the program will continue to run be held every two years, although due to the extensive building works currently being undertaken at Dumbarton Oaks no session is planned in 2006.
Class List
William Danny, Vangelis Maladakis, Andrej Novak, Ioannes Leontiades, Zhenya Zhekova.