Friday 27 March, PhD student Julia Steding defended her thesis "Carvers & Customers – The Production Economy of Limestone Loculus Reliefs in Roman Palmyra, 1st to 3rd Century AD". The PhD project is part of the Palmyra Portrait Project funded by the Carlsberg Foundation since 2012. 

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, Julia's defence was one of the first conducted virtually at Aarhus University. The viva allowed a virtual audience, and many joined to support Julia, who has remained positive and constructive about a virtual solution throughout the past weeks. 

After the defence, the committee unanimously recommended that Julia be awarded the degree of PhD by the Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University. Congratulations, Julia!