Free (DRM-free PDF) Depicting the Dead [Academic Roman Archaeology & Culture Studies]

[ATDrake]

Depicting the Dead: Self-Representation and Commemoration on Roman Sarcophagi with Portraits by Stine Birk is her lavishly photo-illustrated and annotated explanatory monograph, #11 in the Aarhus Studies in Mediterranean Antiquity, on Exactly What It Says In The Title, giving the context on how to "read" portraits and sarcophagi and what the designs/symbolism/etc. mean, as well as what they say about Ancient Roman culture and societal/gender values, free courtesy of the Aarhus University Press in Denmark.

This is their English-language featured Free Book of the Month for November. It's really much more substantial than it sounds at first glance, packed with over 200 pages worth of photos and text and footnotes, and then another hundred or so of How To Use and Understand This Catalogue instruction + references and illustration sources etc., and really looks very nifty.

Currently free, just through the end of November directly @ the university press' special promo page (DRM-free PDF available worldwide).

And this has been the (late!) selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

It was rather difficult to choose between this one and the archaeology/geology/history of the island which spawned the Atlantis myths, since that one is actually a little more Relevant To My Interests™ on a personal level (I prefer going over pictures and explanations of natural processes more than seeing artistic images of dead people), but this is also obviously awesometastic and it's actually in a language that I and much more of MR can read and enjoy, so it narrowly edges the other one out for a well-deserved edutaining top spot.

Enjoy!

Description
The present monograph takes its place in a now well-established tradition of seeing sarcophagi as visual statements of deceased individuals that used allegories to plot lives and personal memories against mythological and other idealised narratives. It focuses on Roman sarcophagi, often referred to as stadtrömisch, which reflects the fact that the field has traditionally been dominated by German scholars.

The aim of the book is twofold: Firstly, it is an exploration of how to read Roman sarcophagi, which starts from those with portraits, but which can contribute more broadly to the study of sarcophagi in general. Secondly, this book investigates gender values as represented through images and how to locate the individual in standardised iconography.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Depicting the Dead: Self-Representation and Commemoration on Roman Sarcophagi with Portraits by Stine Birk
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