Visiting Assistant Professor
Ph.D., The Florida State University
Fields: archaeology, art, and architecture of the ancient Mediterranean; ecology, hydraulic engineering, and water management
Email: aglennie@holycross.edu
Office: Fenwick 408 Phone: 508-793-3494
Biography
In 2009, I graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology and Classical Civilization from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and subsequently earned my M.A. in Classical Archaeology (2013) and Ph.D. in Classics (2022) from Florida State University. In 2018-2019, I served as the Resident Instructor at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome. Since 2007, I have excavated at the Etruscan site of Poggio Civitate, where I am the cataloger, and, since 2013, at the Roman site of Cosa, where I am co-assistant director.
Courses
Fall 2022
- Introduction to Classical Archaeology
- Mythology
- Roman Literature and Society
Spring 2023
TBA
Research
My research lies at the intersection of environmental history and technology, centering on ancient Mediterranean landscapes and water management systems. In my dissertation, I investigate the largescale, non-domestic instances of rainwater harvesting at Cosa, a Latin colony founded in 273 BCE, and address why a hilltop without a natural water source was a desirable settlement site during the mid-Republican period of Roman colonization. I propose that the non-domestic rainwater harvesting system of Cosa was monumental and offered an arena for intense competition among local grandees who sought to gain power and notoriety through building and administrating waterworks. I am looking to expand this study to the other waterless places not only of the ancient Mediterranean, but also of ancient Mesoamerica to see how these cultures likewise adjusted to their water management systems.
Other topics of my research spawn from my interest in waterworks. In one article project, I consider whether a cistern, singular at Cosa and elsewhere commonly found in Punic contexts, can be used to identify the deity to which the temple was dedicated as well as to shed light on the history of the colony. In a second project, I make the argument that despite their relative invisibility, non-domestic cisterns and reservoirs ought to be viewed not only as monumental architecture, but also as akin to grandiose engineering projects like aqueduct arcades or Imperial fountains which heightened the public profiles of local notables who constructed them. In a third article project, I explore the potential to utilize water as a metric for calculating population when the sole source of the water is rainfall, using Cosa as a case study.