Esther Boise Van Deman
Encyclopedia
Esther Boise Van Deman was a leading archaeologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was born in South Salem, Ohio
to Joseph Van Deman and his second wife Martha Millspaugh. She was the youngest of six children including two boys by her father's first marriage.
in Ann Arbor
. After teaching Latin
at Wellesley College and the Bryn Mawr School
in Baltimore, Maryland, she received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago
in 1898. She then taught Latin
at Mount Holyoke College
(1898–1901) and Latin
and classical archaeology
at Goucher College
(1903–06). From 1906 to 1910 she lived in Rome
as a Carnegie Institution fellow, and from 1910 to 1925 she was an associate of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C.
Between 1925 and 1930 she taught Roman
archaeology
at the University of Michigan
.
Her life's work centered around the analysis of building materials to establish a chronology of construction on ancient sites.
In 1907, while attending a lecture in the Atrium Vestae
in Rome, Van Deman noticed that the bricks blocking up a doorway differed from those of the structure itself and showed that such differences in building materials provided a key to the chronology of ancient structures. The Carnegie Institution published her preliminary findings in The Atrium Vestae (1909). Van Deman extended her research to other kinds of concrete and brick construction and published "Methods of Determining the Date of Roman Concrete Monuments" in The American Journal of Archaeology in 1912. Her basic methodology, with few modifications, became standard procedure in Roman archaeology. Van Deman's major work, written after she retired and settled in Rome, was The Building of the Roman Aqueducts (1934). She died in Rome
, Italy
, on May 3, 1937. She is buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, near the Porta Ostiense. At the time of her death, Van Deman was at work on a monograph-length study of Roman construction. Her work was completed and published as Ancient Roman construction in Italy from the prehistoric period to Augustus. A chronological study based in part upon the material accumulated by Esther Boise Van Deman (1947) by Marion Elizabeth Blake
(1882–1961).
Van Deman's nephew, Ralph Van Deman Magoffin (1874–1942), published a study of the Italian city of Praeneste, A study of the topography and municipal history of Praeneste (Baltimore, 1908).
South Salem, Ohio
South Salem is a village in Ross County, Ohio, United States. The population was 213 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1842, local Presbyterian minister Hugh Stewart Fullerton orchestrated the establishment of a school in southwestern Ross County...
to Joseph Van Deman and his second wife Martha Millspaugh. She was the youngest of six children including two boys by her father's first marriage.
Education and career
She earned an A.B. (1891) and A.M. (1892) from the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. After teaching Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
at Wellesley College and the Bryn Mawr School
Bryn Mawr School
The Bryn Mawr School is an independent, nonsectarian, college-preparatory school for girls from preschool through grade twelve. Founded in 1885, BMS is located in the Roland Park community of Baltimore, Maryland, USA at 109 W. Melrose Avenue, Baltimore MD 21210.-The Bryn Mawr School Community:In...
in Baltimore, Maryland, she received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1898. She then taught Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
at Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
(1898–1901) and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and classical archaeology
Classical archaeology
Classical archaeology is the archaeological investigation of the great Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about in Latin and Greek texts...
at Goucher College
Goucher College
Goucher College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts college located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, on a 287 acre campus. The school has approximately 1,475 undergraduate students studying in 31 majors and six interdisciplinary...
(1903–06). From 1906 to 1910 she lived in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
as a Carnegie Institution fellow, and from 1910 to 1925 she was an associate of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Between 1925 and 1930 she taught Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
.
Her life's work centered around the analysis of building materials to establish a chronology of construction on ancient sites.
In 1907, while attending a lecture in the Atrium Vestae
House of the Vestals
The House of the Vestal Virgins was the place where Vestal Virgins lived. It was located just behind their circular Temple of Vesta at the eastern edge of the Roman Forum, between the Regia and the Palatine Hill, in Rome...
in Rome, Van Deman noticed that the bricks blocking up a doorway differed from those of the structure itself and showed that such differences in building materials provided a key to the chronology of ancient structures. The Carnegie Institution published her preliminary findings in The Atrium Vestae (1909). Van Deman extended her research to other kinds of concrete and brick construction and published "Methods of Determining the Date of Roman Concrete Monuments" in The American Journal of Archaeology in 1912. Her basic methodology, with few modifications, became standard procedure in Roman archaeology. Van Deman's major work, written after she retired and settled in Rome, was The Building of the Roman Aqueducts (1934). She died in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, on May 3, 1937. She is buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, near the Porta Ostiense. At the time of her death, Van Deman was at work on a monograph-length study of Roman construction. Her work was completed and published as Ancient Roman construction in Italy from the prehistoric period to Augustus. A chronological study based in part upon the material accumulated by Esther Boise Van Deman (1947) by Marion Elizabeth Blake
Marion Elizabeth Blake
Marion Elizabeth Blake was a classical languages professor who is known for her work in researching the technology of Roman construction. Dr. Blake died in Rome, Italy, in 1961.-Blake's Background:...
(1882–1961).
Van Deman's nephew, Ralph Van Deman Magoffin (1874–1942), published a study of the Italian city of Praeneste, A study of the topography and municipal history of Praeneste (Baltimore, 1908).
Works
- "The Value of Vestal Statues as Originals", American Journal of Archaeology 12.3 (July-Sept. 1908) 324-342
- The Atrium Vestae 1909
- The so-called Flavian rostra 1909
- "Methods of determining the date of Roman concrete monuments", American Journal of Archaeology. April–June 1912
- The porticus of Gaius and Lucius 1913
- "The Sullan Forum", Journal of Roman Studies 1922
- The Sacra via of Nero 1925
- The building of the Roman aqueducts 1934
External links
- Van Deman on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
- Van Deman Photograph Collection archived at the American Academy in RomeAmerican Academy in RomeThe American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...