Lucy Makinson

Research project

Diversity in food culture in Roman Britain. 

Supervisors: Dr Eva Mol, Professor Oliver Craig, Professor Emerita Maureen Carroll

Research Interests

• food cultures, migration and identity; 
• Roman Britain; 
• economy of the classical Mediterranean; 
• archaeological ceramics; 
• organic residue analysis of pottery.

Research Project

My main research is on diversity in food culture in Roman Britain, which I am exploring through primary analysis of food preparation, cooking vessels and tablewares from assemblages from several civilian settlements in northern Britannia.  A critical element of my research is organic residue analysis of potsherds to identify the foods in pottery vessels, which I am undertaking at BioArCh in York under the direction of Professor Oliver Craig.  I was awarded a National Environmental Isotope Facility grant-in-kind for the GC-c-IRMS element of the project.. 

My prime interests are in the relationship between food cultures, migration and identity, the economy of the classical Mediterranean, ceramics, and the organic residue analysis of pottery.  
I have been a member of archaeological fieldwork and post-excavation project teams at sites in Italy (Ocriculum, KNIR study in Molise), Turkey (Hellenistic Sagalassos), and in Britain.

Profile

Profile

Sheffield University: Master’s Degree, Classical Mediterranean Archaeology
My MA dissertation, Terra Sigillata made in Britain: Imitation and innovation - context for pottery from Roman Navio, examined British-made terra sigillata, both in imitation of and innovation from continental prototypes, as context for the site of Navio, a Roman auxiliary fort in North Derbyshire.

Oxford University: BA in Classics (Literae Humaniores)

I attended the 4-week 2023 Summer School in Roman Pottery at Lugnano in Teverina, directed by Dr Archer Martin and Prof. Andrew Donnelly, working on a complete Roman pottery assemblage, to be trained in Roman era fabrics and forms, drawing pottery profiles, measurement, recording and writing up the assemblage.

Publications & Awards

Publications and Awards

2025 - Martin, A., Donnelly, A., Bowers, J., Firth, K., Kesklinke, B., Makinson, L. Otricoli – Crepafico. An Overview of the Roman Pottery. In Acta Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautorum 49 (in press)

July 2024 - Makinson, L., Cataractonium cuisine: Early findings from organic residues at Roman Catterick. Roman Melting Pots workshop, Tracing food residues and cultural diversity in a
frontier zone. Exeter July 2024. Oral presentation.

January 2024 - Awarded NERC Grant-in-kind funding for lipid residue analysis of Romano-British pottery at the National Environmental Isotope Facility, Bristol.

January 2024 - Finalist in University of York PhD Spotlight competition. January 2024. Oral presentation.

April 2023 - Poster at the Conference for British Archaeology, Yorkshire Spring Symposium. 29 April 2023. Oral presentation.