Dr. Ray Laurence

Biography

Ray Laurence is a Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University, having joined the institution in 2017. Before this, he was a Professor of Roman History and Archaeology at the University of Kent in the UK. An enthusiastic communicator, Ray founded the start-up 'Ancient Rome in Motion' to engage the wider public with research, focusing on the capabilities of presenting Roman history in innovative ways. He is recognized for his transformative research in understanding the lives of women, men, and children in cities under Roman rule during the period 200 BCE to 300 CE. His research program seeks to interpret surviving fragments of evidence from millennia ago and contextualize them within the broader framework of mobility and transport in early empires, contributing to a deeper understanding of contemporary concepts of age and aging as they relate back to 2000 years ago. Ray has made animated films of the Roman world, which has garnered more than 20 million views on YouTube, being used as educational resources in primary and high schools across the globe. He actively trains and mentors researchers in the higher education sector and supervises graduate research students, ensuring collaboration between research findings and curricula in high schools and universities.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards