Professor Rubina Raja receives Queen Margrethe’s Roman Prize 2021
Professor and head of center Rubina Raja from the Center of Excellence Center for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet) at Aarhus University received the Queen Margrethe’s Roman Prize 2021 on Friday, October 29, 2021. The prize is awarded every year to further develop cultural ties between Denmark and Italy. Professor Raja received the prize for her work in connection with the excavations of Caesar’s Forum in Rome.
On Friday, October 29, 2021, the Annual Meeting was held at the Danish Institute in Rome where Professor Rubina Raja, from the Center of Excellence UrbNet, received the Queen Margrethe’s Roman Prize 2021. The prize is awarded every year to a researcher connected to the Danish Institute in Rome. The purpose of the prize is to strengthen cultural ties between Denmark and Italy. Professor Raja received the prize for her work on the Caesar’s Forum Project, whereby she participated in the excavation of Caesar’s Forum in Rome.
“It is an honor to receive this prize. The Caesar’s Forum Project consists of an amazing international team, and the research currently conducted within the project truly highlights the importance of high-definition archaeology in urban contexts. The opportunity to contribute new evidence about one of the most famous sites in classical archaeology is absolutely fantastic,” said Professor Raja.
New important knowledge about ancient Rome
The Queen Margrethe’s Roman Prize was created by the Carlsberg Foundation in 2015 and is awarded every year to a researcher who has contributed to a special cultural research effort. With her work on the Caesar’s Forum Project, Professor Raja has unearthed a number of archaeological findings, thereby contributing new and important knowledge about ancient Rome to the field of archaeology.
“Some of the biggest and wildest moments that I’ve experienced in my career were to be given the opportunity to participate in the excavations of Caesar’s Forum in Rome since 2018. This opportunity didn’t appear out of nowhere but came from the amazing collaboration that we have with Italian archeologists in Denmark,” said Professor Raja.
In addition to the Caesar’s Forum Project, Professor Raja is also behind the Palmyra Portrait Project and the project called Circular economy and urban sustainability in antiquity: Comparative perspectives from the ancient world with a point of departure in Roman Palmyra.
Read more about the Caesar’s Forum Project at Aarhus University here
You can read a portrait of Professor Raja at the Carlsberg Foundation here