Linda R. Gosner (Texas Tech University)
Linda is a Mediterranean archaeologist whose work focuses on the impacts of Roman imperialism in rural and industrial landscapes, particularly surrounding mines and quarries. She is interested in the impact of empire on technology, production, labor practices, economies, and everyday life in provincial communities. Her current book project examines the transformation of mining communities and landscapes in the Iberian Peninsula following Roman conquest.
The Tracing Purple Porphyry Project grew out of Linda’s longstanding interest in the material networks that connect mining and quarrying communities with the wider social and economic spheres Mediterranean world. She is also interested in tracing and theorizing object life histories and regimes of value across time and space, especially in the contexts of heirlooms and souvenirs.
Linda is an Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures at Texas Tech University. She recently completed a 3-year appointment as a postdoctoral fellow with the Society of Fellows and Department of Classical Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Linda’s fieldwork has taken her to Spain, Portugal, Egypt, Italy, Jordan, and Turkey. She currently co-directs the Sinis Archaeological Project in west-central Sardinia.