Volume 14, Issue 2, 2023
Chris M. Hansen
Pages 246-266
https://doi.org/10.5840/asrr202465114
Popular History and Roman Provenance
A Discussion of the Works of Atwill, Piso, Gallus, and Davis
In this article, the recent development of a popular and lay audience oriented ¡°Roman Provenance¡± school of thought is examined both for its historical merits, and also as a part of a wider ¡°outsider¡± historical and religious ¡°research¡± phenomenon. These lay authors often pose as experts or historians (or otherwise attempt to gain some kind of academic acceptance) from the outside, while proposing their own, often radical, ideas about the past. Being both potentially harmful for misleading the public, and also an excellent case study for how academics can better interact and correct public misunderstandings, this article attempts to demonstrate both the need and how to address these various arguments from outsider religious studies persons, principally Joseph Atwill, Roman Piso and Jay Gallus, and Henry Davis.