Classics

Faculty Spotlight: Professor Renaud

Classicist digs into lifestyles of the (ancient) rich and famous

Every summer, Classics department chair Christine Renaud participates in a widely publicized archeological dig outside of Rome. "Everyone thinks everything has been excavated in Rome," Prof. Renaud says. "This area was never excavated properly."

Archaeologists uncovered this heated hallway at Villa delle Vignacce. The hallway had marble flooring suspended on terra cotta and brick supports. It led to different areas of the luxury bath. Photo by Professor Renaud

The site of Villa delle Vignacce is believed to have been the estate of Quintus Servilius Pudens, who was a friend of Emperor Hadrian. It was first explored in 1780, by archeologists who found statues that are now in the Vatican Museum.

There could be more notable statues awaiting discovery, said archeologist Darius Arya, the co-director of the excavation, during a visit to Carthage in 2007. "There's a good opportunity we might find something important," Mr. Arya said. "The amount of marble that is intact is extraordinary."

Excavations at the villa since 2005 have uncovered a lavish bath complex that included hot, cold and lukewarm baths; a sauna-like room; a communal latrine; and slave quarters.

"It would be the equivalent of a billionaire's estate," Prof. Renaud says of the five-acre property. "These were not just luxury houses; there were gardens and orchards. The fruit and flowers were often taken into Rome and sold."

Servilus is believed to have made his fortune making bricks, a main material for Roman buildings.

A Marble Corinthian capital from the area of the baths. Photo by Professor Renaud

"I doubt Donald Trump or Bill Gates has a complex like this," Prof. Renaud says.

During his visit to Carthage in 2007, Mr. Arya pointed out that a Roman aqueduct alongside the ruins "was paid for with money from the destruction of ancient Carthage."

Students involved in the excavation

Prof. Renaud regularly invites Carthage students to the villa excavation. The site has also yielded columns, sculpture and colored marble from throughout the Roman Empire. Prof. Renaud warns that it is not easy.

"It's physically demanding, and you have to have a very good eye," she points out.

Students from at least 18 schools have participated in the excavation, Mr. Arya said. He praised Prof. Renaud as "a very important sustainer of our organization."

Most years, Carthage students have two opportunities to go abroad with Prof. Renaud. She often leads trips during J-Term, including a study tour on Greek religion and mythology, in addition to excavation work in Rome in summer. Students earn four credits by participating.

"Rome is a very vibrant, sophisticated city," she says. "I want to show them not just ancient Rome, but modern Rome as well."

A lifelong love of antiquity

Prof. Renaud grew up in the Detroit area, and is the first member of her family to attend college. She credits a sixth-grade teacher at a Catholic school in Taylor, Mich., and Lowell Thomas' television documentaries with firing her imagination about antiquity.

"Nobody in my house read much," she recalls. "I would go to the library and take out a stack of books every week. They wondered where I came from."

Ironically, her first love was ancient Egypt, but she has become a scholar of Greece and Rome. "I learned there were very few jobs for Egyptologists," she explains.

The Aqua Claudia aqueduct. Photo by Professor Renaud

Prof. Renaud earned two degrees in Latin from Wayne State University, although she had never studied the language in high school. "As an archeologist you really need to know ancient languages," she says.

But Prof. Renaud considered a legal career, and worked two years at a Detroit-area law firm. The experience convinced her to spurn law school.

"They were wonderful people," she says of her colleagues, "but my mind was turning to mush. I decided I wanted to work hard at something I loved."

Prof. Renaud earned a Ph.D. in classics and classical archeology from the University of Texas at Austin's highly respected program in 1990. She taught at Duquesne and Bucknell Universities before coming to Carthage in 1995.

— Bill Kurtz, Carthage College

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