Dr Carolyn T. La Rocco

I am a Classicist and early Medievalist, with a focus on material culture as a tool for understanding social changes in the late antique and early medieval west. I am a specialist on late Roman and Visigothic Iberia in particular.

Before joining St John’s College, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the RomanIslam Center for Comparative Empire and Transcultural Studies (Universität Hamburg). I completed my PhD in Ancient History at the University of St Andrews in 2023, as a Wolfson Postgraduate Scholar in the Humanities. My thesis analysed material (archaeological, epigraphic, architectural, etc.) and textual (legal, epistolary, hagiographic, conciliar, etc.) evidence for the decline of ‘paganism’ and the rise of Christianity in late Roman and Visigothic Iberia, considering associated social, religious, class-based, or other changes. In particular, I sought to re-evaluate and nuance our understanding of the role of early medieval bishops and other patrons in shaping the social, physical, and spiritual topography of Iberia. I am currently preparing my thesis for publication as a monograph.

My current research project looks at material and textual evidence for various forms of patronage by women in the late- and post-Roman west (roughly 3rd-9th centuries CE), encompassing Iberia, Gaul, Britain, North Africa, and Italy. I am seeking to highlight the sheer scale and variety of acts of patronage women undertook in the late antique and early medieval west, in order to facilitate more accurate understanding and study of the ancient and medieval world. Other topics on which I am currently working include various aspects of historical and archaeological study of Iberia in the Visigothic period (e.g., Iberian mosaics, female monasticism in late- and post-Roman Iberia, Visigothic canon law).

I am also interested in Reception of the ancient and early medieval world with respect to: silent films, video games, and the ways in which the past is mis-represented for political or other gain today.

Experimental archaeology is another of my interests, particularly regarding the research and recreation of ancient and medieval recipes.

Awards and Distinctions

• Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarship in the Humanities — Wolfson Foundation (2018-2022)
• University of St Andrews St Leonard’s College Research Mobility Grant — Banco Santander (2019)
• School of Classics MLitt Award — University of St Andrews (2017)
• David Beers Quinn Award for Outstanding Scholarship in History, St Mary’s College of Maryland (2015)
• Phi Beta Kappa (2015)
• Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Scholarship (2011-2015)
• Maryland Delegate Scholarship (2011-2015)
• Academic Achievement Scholarship – St Mary’s College of Maryland (2011-2015)

Selected Publications

-'Martyr cult and prestige in Visigothic Iberia – a consideration of Reccopolis (Recópolis)’ (Annual Volume of RomanIslam Center for Comparative Empire and Transcultural Studies) (forthcoming).

-“Baptisteries and Baptism on the Late Antique Iberian Peninsula: Architectural Innovation and a Methodological Reconsideration.” In Proceedings of the Oxford Ancient Architecture Discussion Group: Architecture and Innovation in the Graeco-Roman World: Ancient Practices and Modern Readings. Archaeopress. (Forthcoming).

-“Making Space in the Visigothic Kingdom: Epigraphic Evidence for Church Foundation in Sixth- and Seventh-Century Iberia.” In Lived Spaces in Late Antiquity, Machado, C. and Sweetman, R. (eds). Routledge: 118-147. (April 2024). https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429427152-9/making-space-visigothic-kingdom-carolyn-la-rocco

-Cortese, Arabelle and Giulia Fioratto. Urban space between the Roman age and Late Antiquity: continuity, discontinuity and changes. Acts of the international workshop, University of Regensburg, 13-14 February 2020. Regensburg: Schnell + Steiner, 2022. Pp. 176. ISBN 9783795436605. €40,00. La Rocco, Carolyn Tyler. Rhea Classical Reviews (December 2023). https://rheaclassicalreviews.com/2023/12/14/larocca-on-corteseandfioratta/

-Dell’ Elicine (E.), Martin (C.) (edd.) Framing Power in Visigothic Society. Discourses, Devices, and Artifacts. Pp. 223, figs, ills, maps. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2020. Cased, €99. ISBN: 978-94 6372-590-3. La Rocco, Carolyn Tyler. The Classical Review; Cambridge (April 2021). https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-review/article/abs/visigothic-discourses-of-power-e-dell-elicine-c-martin-edd-framing-power-in-visigothic-society-discourses-devices-and-artifacts-pp-223-figs-ills-maps-amsterdam-amsterdam-university-press-2020-cased-99-isbn-9789463725903/55C45A7BCE661396490679323E74B234