It is fun to to take a walk through all the offices just to get an update on what is going on in the group, and feel the vibrations from focused and concentrated work as well as from creative chaos. Depending on what office one visit and when. But these days it is kind of empty here. Much so because several of my co-workers are on vacation. But not only, Anna Kjellström is in Rome, working in a non-ATLAS project together with Arja Karivieri. The Ostia-project.
The Ostia-project, that Arja has support from Finland to execute, is about Rome’s harbour-town Ostia, and how the population developed there. There is aDNA in the project, but as there is a good aDNA facility in Rome, I do not yet know how much our facility in Stockholm will be involved, or if at all. But if Arja and Anna should decide that work should be done here, I will be happy to support it. Even if it proves that all aDNA work is more practically executed in Rome, I will follow the project with great interest. Ostia was likely a melting-pot of people from different backgrounds back in the days of the Roman empire. At least I would like to think of an antique version of the port areas of Amsterdam, London, Shanghai, or Hong Kong when I think about Ostia. Maybe an anachronistic view, but it is interesting to see the results of urban areas representing more than the local surroundings.
Anna, now in Rome
Ancient DNA Research 