by Jon Lackman | 5 February 2007 | Ancient, Conferences
From The Wall Street Journal: “[A] conference organized by the Institute of Archaeology and the Karman Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, in Bern, Switzerland, devoted itself to sorting out the Pantheon’s history. Breaking news, of a kind, caused an ‘absolute sensation’ (in a manner perhaps possible only at an academic conference). A revisionist case was made — on the basis of ancient brick stamps, and counter to conventional wisdom — that the Pantheon was erected under Trajan, and not the Emperor Hadrian, who some now believe may merely have completed the dome and portico. The new thesis, if it stands up to scrutiny, would lay waste to certain romantic ideas about the Pantheon as the legacy of a refined ruler, relatively nonviolent for his times.”
