Multiple ceramic vessels and shards lie in front of Haley Bertram in the lab

Haley Bertram, a Ph.D. Candidate in the UC Department of Classics, has been granted a Fulbright Award to pursue her dissertation research in France for the 2021-22 AY. Her accomplishment comes in a notably competitive year with a record number of applicants. Bertram’s dissertation “Producing for a Colonial World: Corinthian Pottery Abroad, 750-450 BCE,” takes a comparative approach to Corinthian ceramics in their colonial contexts, in order to consider the role ancient Corinth played in the rapidly changing cultures of the Archaic Western Mediterranean. Her Fulbright project will focus on pottery excavated from the colonial zone of Marseille (ancient Massalia) in the south of France, one of her three case studies. 
 
During her time in France, Haley will be based at the research unit Ausonius (UMR 5607) at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne, where she will work with colleagues to better understand the indigenous Iron Age cultures in the region. She also plans to travel to the sites and museums of Marseille to examine the range of ceramics present at the ancient colony, Massalia, and the nearby indigenous settlement, Saint Blaise, both of which imported significant amounts of Greek wares. By reading the ceramic evidence in its specific contexts, colonial Greek and indigenous, the project seeks to interpret the Corinthian material in a framework of changing regional dynamics, and create a more balanced and inclusive narrative of how exchange contributes to change and development on both sides.