A book co-edited by Caitie Barrett, professor of classics in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), and Jennifer Carrington, Ph.D. '19, has been awarded the 2026 James R. Wiseman Book Award from the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA). The AIA announced its 2026 awards on Nov. 25 and they will be presented in January.
Based on a 2018 conference co-organized by Barrett and Carrington at Cornell, "Households in Context: Dwelling in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt" focuses on houses and households during a period when Egypt was ruled by Greeks and then by Romans. Chapters contributed by scholars from a broad range of disciplines (including archaeology, papyrology, history and art history) examine terracotta figurines, domestic architecture, private letters, legal petitions, amulets and more.
The book shifts the archaeological perspective from public and elite spaces such as temples, tombs and palaces to everyday dwellings and interactions of families, said Barrett, an archaeologist who investigates everyday life.
"As the first book on houses and households in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, 'Households in Context' helps us move beyond a historical focus on monumental temples, tombs and wealthy elites by instead centering the daily life of everyday Egyptians," Barrett said. "Ultimately, the book reveals the power of the everyday, as ancient households served as laboratories for social, political, economic and religious change."
