Bulletin de l'École française de Rome

Bulletin de l'École française de Rome
Title	Bulletin de l'École française de Rome
Discipline	Archaeology; Classical studies; Medieval studies; Modern history
Language	French; Italian; English
Publisher	École française de Rome
Country	Italy; France
History	1881–present
Frequency	Annual; Irregular supplements

Bulletin de l'École française de Rome is a scholarly journal published by the École française de Rome dedicated to research on archaeology, classical antiquity, medieval studies, and early modern history. Founded in the late 19th century, it has served as a venue for excavation reports, archival studies, epigraphy, numismatics, and historiographical essays by scholars associated with European and Mediterranean institutions. The journal frequently features contributions that intersect with the cultures and institutions of Rome, Italy, and France.

History

The journal was established under the auspices of the École française de Rome during the Third Republic, reflecting contemporaneous interests of the Société des Antiquaires de France and the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Early editors and contributors included members of the École like Jules Quicherat, Ernest Babelon, Charles Diehl, and Paul Perdrizet, who connected work at the journal to excavations at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and surveys in Latium. In the interwar period contributors such as Henri Pirenne and Gabriel Millet integrated comparative studies linking the journal to scholarship from University of Paris, Collège de France, and the British School at Rome. During the postwar era, figures associated with André Piganiol, Paul Veyne, and Maurice Holleaux broadened the journal’s reach to include historiographical debates surrounding the Roman Republic, the Byzantine Empire, and the Holy Roman Empire. Recent decades have seen cross-collaboration with institutions like Università di Roma "La Sapienza", École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, University of Cambridge, Università degli Studi di Firenze, and the Max Planck Institute.

Scope and Content

The journal covers archaeology of the Mediterranean Sea basin, epigraphy related to Latin language and Greek language inscriptions, numismatics involving coins from Alexandria, Carthage, and Constantinople, as well as palaeography of manuscripts from monastic centers like Monte Cassino and Cluny Abbey. It publishes excavation reports from sites including Ostia Antica, Tarquinia, and Paestum, alongside archival editions drawn from holdings of the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Archivio di Stato di Roma, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The journal also engages with studies on institutions such as the Roman Senate, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, and treaties like the Treaty of Tordesillas when relevant to Mediterranean networks. Interdisciplinary contributions tie into material culture from contexts including Etruria, Sicily, and North Africa.

Publication and Editorial Structure

Published by the École française de Rome, the editorial board traditionally comprises members of the École, visiting scholars affiliated with the French National Centre for Scientific Research, and international correspondents from universities such as Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of Bologna, and Università Ca' Foscari Venezia. Issues are organized into sections for excavation reports, documentary editions, thematic dossiers, and reviews of monographs from presses like the Presses Universitaires de France, Cambridge University Press, and Editrice Morlacchi. The journal’s peer review process involves external referees from specialized fields—epigraphy, numismatics, medieval diplomacy—often drawn from institutes including the Institut de France, the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, and the Istituto Italiano per la Storia Antica. Publication formats have included long-form monographic supplements and shorter articles; special volumes have been co-edited with the Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques and the European Research Council–funded projects.

Notable Articles and Contributions

Seminal contributions published in the journal have included epigraphic editions that advanced readings of inscriptions from Forum Romanum and Palatine Hill, numismatic catalogues clarifying issues for coin hoards from Ravenna and Caralis, and archival studies that illuminated medieval charters from Ravenna and Amiens. Influential authors appearing in its pages have included Franz Cumont, Hans-Georg Beck, Jean-Pierre Adam, Hélène Ahrweiler, Alain Schnapp, Denys Pringle, and Georges Duby. Noteworthy dossiers examined the role of the Lombards in Italy, the archaeology of Christianization at Late Antique sites, and the administration of the Kingdom of Naples. The journal has also published critical analyses of primary texts such as editions of documents related to Pope Gregory I, studies on Byzantine administrative manuals like the Book of the Eparch (via comparative material), and reassessments of evidence for figures including Theoderic the Great and Charlemagne.

Indexing and Academic Impact

The journal is indexed in major bibliographic resources used by classicists and medievalists, and its articles are routinely cited in monographs and reference works from publishers like Oxford University Press and Brill. Citation networks show cross-references between the journal and periodicals such as Journal of Roman Studies, Gesta, Speculum, Rivista Storica Italiana, and Revue des Études Grecques. Its excavation reports have informed conservation policies by organizations like ICOMOS and shaped grant proposals to bodies such as the European Union research programs and national funding agencies including ANR and Austrian Science Fund. The journal’s long archive provides primary-source material frequently mined in doctoral dissertations supervised at institutions like École normale supérieure (Paris), Sorbonne University, and Universität Heidelberg.

Related Series and Supplements

The École française de Rome publishes several related series and supplements that interface with the journal, including the Necia series of excavation monographs, the Editions de l'École française de Rome which issue critical editions of medieval documents, and archaeological corpus projects tied to the Centre Jean Bérard. Collaborative supplements have been produced with the Bibliothèque des Écoles Françaises d'Athènes et de Rome and with collaborative projects affiliated with the École pratique des hautes études. These series often parallel publications by the Italian Archaeological School and intersect with catalogues from museums such as the Museo Nazionale Romano, the Capitoline Museums, and the British Museum.

Category:Academic journals