The study of antiquity is characterised by an exceptional range of academic disciplines. Characterised by a very high degree of internationality, Ancient History, Classical and Christian Archaeology and Classical Philology focus on a large number of cultures in the Mediterranean region. Multidisciplinary alliances are also used to create long-term perspectives on ancient lifeworlds that contribute to current discourses.
At the centre of research and teaching are texts, images and artefacts, but also spaces, imaginative horizons and worlds of meaning. In text and material research as well as environmental history, various methodological bridges to computer science and the natural sciences are created. A series of editing projects and several active excavations – among others in Greece, Turkey, Armenia and Israel – offer students a wide range of opportunities for research-intensive learning.
Xenocracy at Local Level - Administration and Cultural Entanglement in the Pre-Modern Era
DFG Research Group
Ongoing research projects
- “Xenocracy at Local Level. Administration and cultural entanglement in the pre-modern era” (Research group, funded by the DFG since 2023)
- Xenocracy and cultural interdependence in Hellenistic Greece and Egypt (Subproject of FOR 5415 Xenocracy on Site, funded by the DFG since 2023)
- “Tell Iẓṭabba (Nysa-Skythopolis) — a Seleucid foundation in the Near East” (Research project, funded by the DFG since 2022)
- Comprehensive Papyrology and Digital Study of Ancient Manuscripts (Strategic project, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation since 2022)
- Ephesus and its cult spaces: projections of political and religious practice (Subproject B3-41 of EXC 20260 Religion and Politics, funded by the DFG since 2022)
- “Studies on the methodology and significance of diachronic settlement analyses in Prehistoric Archaeology: A meta-analysis based on datasets from the central uplands in Germany” (Research project, funded by the DFG since 2022).
- Tradition and innovation of Graeco-Phoenician myths and cults in Roman Provincial Coinage (Subproject A3-3 of the EXC 2060 Religion and Politics, funded by the DFG since 2019)
- “Euphrates, Protective Shield?” – Religious Diversity and Cultural Identity in the Roman Middle East Between Tradition and Construction (Subproject A3-13 of the EXC 2060 Religion and Politics, funded by the DFG since 2019)
Completed research projects
- A new early Christian cult building of ancient northern Syria and its mosaics – the basilica in Doliche (Lighthouse project funded in 2024 by the Universitätsgesellschaft Münster)
- “Geophysical prospection of the southern city fortification of the Hellenistic residential city of Artaxata in the Ararat plain (Armenia)” (Research project funded 2023–2024 by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung für Wissenschaftsförderung)
- “Doliche — Urban Development and Cultural Milieu in Ancient Northern Syria” (Research project, funded by the DFG in 2015–2023)
Involved researchers
- Prof. Dr. Alexander Arweiler
- Prof. Dr. Hans Beck
- apl. Prof. Dr. phil. Valeska Becker
- apl. Prof. Dr. Michael Blömer
- Prof. Dr. Ralf Gleser
- Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Johannes Hahn
- Prof. Dr. Achim Lichtenberger
- Dr. Bente Lucht
- Dr. Katharina Martin
- Prof. Dr. Walter Mesch
- Prof. Dr. Christian Pietsch
- Dr. Susanne Pinkernell-Kreidt
- Prof. Dr. Patrick Sänger
- Prof. Dr. Christine Schmitz
- Dr. Torben Schreiber
- Prof. Dr. Niko Strobach
- Dr. Claudia Tappert
- Prof. Dr. Engelbert Winter
- Prof. Dr. Klaus Zimmermann
Involved institutions
Department of Ancient History & Institute of Epigraphy
Research Centre for Ancient Numismatics
Centre for Eastern Mediterranean History and Culture (GKM)
Research Centre for Historical Regional Studies of Ancient Greece
Institute for Classical Archaeology and Christian Archaeology / Archaeological Museum