RECLEAN · Exploring the Relationship between Climate, Environment, and Health in Antiquity through the Papyri from Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Egypt

RECLEAN aims to study the impact of human activities on the environment of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Egypt (ca. III c. BCE - VII c. CE), the effects of climate variability and pollution on the health of the inhabitants of Egypt, and the people’s degree of awareness of environmental issues and their consequences on health. Research will focus on a body of sources that have not yet been comprehensively analysed, the papyri from Egypt written in Greek and Latin, which will be integrated with literary and historical sources, archaeological finds and inscriptions, and with the results of studies based on palaeoclimate proxies and palaeopathological samples. The outgoing phase of RECLEAN (years 1 and 2) will take place at the Departement Altertumswissenschaften of the University of Basel, which hosts the Basel Climate Change and Ancient History Lab, an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to the study of ancient environmental issues: here the fellow will receive specific training in Environmental History of Antiquity, essential for the pursuit of the project’s objectives, in a vibrant and multidisciplinary environment that brings together specialists in the Humanities and in the Environmental Sciences. The return phase (year 3) will take place at the Dipartimento di studi umanistici e del patrimonio culturale of the University of Udine, where the fellow will consolidate her preparation in Papyrology and further delve into the subject of “environmental awareness” in Antiquity. The results of RECLEAN will be made available to the scientific community through open access publications and presentations at conferences, while the communication activities will reach a wider audience with the aim of stimulating a reflection and debate on environmental issues in a historical perspective, thus contributing to raising awareness of the magnitude that environmental problems have reached today when compared to the past and the need for urgent intervention.