The American Academy in Rome’s Photographic Archive has created two significant digital collections now accessible through the Digital Humanities Center (DHC). These additions—the Conlin Collection and the Fasti Archaeologici Photo Collection—enrich the Academy’s archival offerings and provide scholars, students, and the public with unprecedented digital access to materials that illuminate the ancient world.
Ara Pacis Augustae by Diane Atnally Conlin
In 1990–91, as a Rome Prize Fellow in classical studies and archaeology, Diane Atnally Conlin undertook a focused and ambitious research project on the Ara Pacis Augustae. Her efforts resulted in a trove of visual documentation of the altar’s sculptural program—specifically the north and south friezes. Now, this work has been preserved and made digitally accessible as the Conlin Collection, part of the DHC.
The collection comprises 818 carefully selected negatives out of a total of 919. Included are 505 of the south frieze, 86 of the north frieze, 165 detailed views, 25 drawings, and 37 images related to the Vestal Altar Frieze. These images represent both a scholarly resource and a visual archive of one of Rome’s most iconic Augustan monuments.
Conlin, currently associate professor of art history and classics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, has received numerous awards for her teaching and research, including the Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence in Teaching Award. The Academy is grateful for her generous donation of this important photographic resource and is proud to make it available to the public.
Fasti Archaeologici Photo Collection
Equally significant is the digital release of the Fasti Archaeologici Photo Collection, a visual record that complements the long-running publication Fasti Archaeologici, the Annual Bulletin of Classical Archaeology, issued between 1946 and 1997 by the International Association of Classical Archaeology (AIAC). The publication offered comprehensive accounts of archaeological excavations across the former Roman Empire, and its accompanying photographic documentation has long been an undervalued resource.
In 2007, the Academy and AIAC partnered to ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of this material. Under this agreement, AIAC retains the original photographic prints while the Academy preserves the negatives and digitizes the images for public access. The newly digitized photographs now offer an unparalleled visual companion to one of the twentieth century’s most important archaeological bulletins.