Fantastic news: GS member Annette Haug has received an ERC Consolidator Grant for research into Decorative Systems in Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Annette Haug has been a professor of Classical Archaeology at Kiel University’s Institute of Classics and a member of the GSHDL since 2012.
Photo/Copyright: Raissa Nickel/Kiel University

Buildings will be reconstructed in their entirety, as far as possible, to provide examples of different types of functional spaces. On this basis, deductions can be made about the relationship between interior decoration and room functionality. The picture shows a room of the Casa degli Amorini Dorati, Pompeii.
Photo/Copyright: Prof. Dr. Annette Haug
“The city ruins in the Gulf of Naples provide tourists with a first impression of urban Roman life and living conditions at that time. Compared with today, many things have changed, of course, but nevertheless it is understandable that the décor in a church will be different to that in our bedrooms,” said Haug. Even then, tastes and preferences changed over time. “It becomes more complicated to question the reasons for the selection of décors, or to investigate the combined effect of the furniture and artworks chosen to decorate a living room.” This is the project’s methodological challenge. Where possible, buildings will be reconstructed in their entirety, to provide examples of different types of functional spaces. On this basis, deductions can be made about the relationship between interior decoration and room functionality.

Exterior view of the Temple of Isis in Pompeii, with remnants of the original stucco décor. The main focus of the DECOR project is on houses, sanctuaries and main streets.
Photo/Copyright: Prof. Dr. Annette Haug
In connection with the start of the project in October 2016, Haug is especially looking forward to exchanges with many other researchers, and the opportunity “to devote more time and attention to my research.” With the ERC Consolidator Grant, Kiel University is strengthened in one of its main research focus areas – social, environmental and cultural change (SECC). The externally-funded academic positions provide a boost to research in this area, and enable networking with other big projects. Haug said: “This topic could become a new area of focus for the arts and humanities in Germany. And I am particularly delighted that the focal point can be established in Kiel.”
About the ERC grant:
ERC grants are one of the most prestigious individual scientific awards and subsidy formats in Europe, with enormous benefits not only for the researcher, but also for their host university. Only 15 percent of all applicants pass the multi-level international selection process. There are massive differences between the various disciplines: while German institutions receive 18 percent on average of all ERC grants in life sciences, engineering and natural sciences, the figure for humanities and social sciences has only been 3 percent to date.
About the person:
Annette Haug has been a professor of Classical Archaeology at Kiel University’s Institute of Classics since 2012 and the deputy coordinator of the Graduate School “Human Development in Landscapes” since 2015. She obtained her doctorate with a thesis on urban life in northern Italy during late antiquity, followed by habilitation (postdoctoral qualification) investigating body images and role models on Attican vases of the 8th and 7th centuries BC. In 2010 she started her second habilitation in Munich, where from 2010 to 2012 she obtained a Heisenberg Fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG). Her research interests lie in the areas of investigating antique urban cultures, on the one hand, and the analysis of antique images, on the other. Her latest project, DECOR, sponsored by the European Union, combines these two aspects, and investigates decorative principles that were present in urban life in Italy.
More information about the DECOR project (grant agreement number 681269) can be found here: www.klassarch.uni-kiel.de/de/erc-consolidator-grant-1