Julian Richard

Julian Richard is a Professor at KU Leuven's Institute of Life-Earth-Environment Heritages, Transmissions, Inheritances, specializing in Roman archaeology with an h-index of 35 and 44 research outputs spanning 2007-2024. His work focuses on urban studies of ancient sites including Ostia and Sagalassos, examining water systems, material culture, and urban development in the Roman Empire.

He earned his Doctor of Letters from KU Leuven in 2008 with a thesis analyzing nymphaea in the Greek East as evidence of religious practices and urban profiling in eastern Roman provinces.

Richard's research centers on urban infrastructure, hydraulic engineering, and material culture analysis, employing interdisciplinary methods combining excavation, experimental archaeology, and textual studies. His projects investigate Roman domestic architecture, food distribution systems, and glass production technologies across Mediterranean sites.

His recent publications (2020-2022) reveal consistent thematic trends examining spatial organization in Ostia, late antique material reuse, and Roman water management systems. These works demonstrate how technological innovation intersected with social practices in urban contexts, particularly through studies of pavements, vessels, and nymphaea.

Richard has supervised 4 research projects and currently leads active grants including Ostia ReLOADed (2024-2025) reconstructing life along Ostia's Decumanus, and Shaping the Ancient City (2023-2025) analyzing ancient food markets. His funding includes KU Leuven doctoral school grants and international research councils supporting fieldwork in Italy and Turkey.

He collaborates with international teams from institutions like the University of Namur on excavations at Ostia and Sagalassos, and directs experimental archaeology projects such as Specularia investigating ancient glass production techniques from raw materials to finished products.