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Free online course on 'Archaeology of Portus'

The University of Southampton and FutureLearn are teaming up to offer a six-week online course on the ‘Archaeology of Portus: exploring the lost harbour of ancient Rome’. The massive open online course (MOOC), which is freely open to anyone interested in the topic, begins on May 19th.

The course will be taught by Professor Simon Keay, Dr. Graeme Earl and Dr. Dragana Mladenović, who lead the Portus Project, the archaeological research of a historic site located around 20 miles from Italy’s capital city.

Keay, the Director of the Portus Project, explains, “This course will focus on how we work at Portus and what it tells us about imperial Rome. The port was Rome’s gateway to the Mediterranean – playing a key role in trade across Europe and beyond. It was vital to keeping the population of the capital supplied with food and, thus, helped to ensure Rome’s dominance at the heart of the Empire.”

“I have had the privilege of working at Portus since the late 1990s and it is very exciting to think we can now help people from all walks of life to learn online by drawing from our team’s extensive knowledge of this highly significant archaeological site.”



free online course archaeology of portusPortus was the maritime port of ancient Rome and together with the neighbouring river port at Ostia, was the focus of a network of ports serving imperial Rome between the mid-1st century AD and the 6th century AD.

The MOOC will provide access to Portus Project research data and will also provides an insight into the wide range of digital technologies employed to record, analyse and present the site.

The course will last six weeks, each requiring two to three hours of study per week. There will be recorded lectures, carefully selected readings, planned learning activities and online formative multiple-choice tests. A discussion forum will promote lively debate around weekly topics and help build an online community centred on particular areas of interest.

Students can now register for the course, which will start on Monday 19 May 2014. It will formally finish on Sunday 29 June 2014.

FutureLearn began offering free online courses in 2013. Over 10,000 students enrolled in its six-week class on ‘England in the time of King Richard III’. It will again be offered in mid-2014.

Click here to register for the course Archaeology of Portus: exploring the lost harbour of ancient Rome

Click here to learn more about England in the time of King Richard III

 

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