Internationally, Ancient History at Basel is particularly visible through its work on the social, economic, and religious history of the Roman and Late Antique worlds. A major research focus lies on Roman and Late Antique Egypt, whose social and economic history can be reconstructed in exceptional detail thanks to the unique survival of papyrological sources. Projects such as the Roman Egypt Lab integrate historical, papyrological, and scientific approaches, thereby opening up new perspectives on environmental conditions, disease dynamics, and administrative structures within the Roman Empire.

A second focus concerns the study of Roman landscapes in central Italy. Within the framework of the interdisciplinary research project on the Villa dei Casoni, archaeological fieldwork, historical analysis, and scientific methods are combined in order to reconstruct rural settlement structures, economic practices, environmental conditions, and social organization in the Roman hinterland. The project brings together survey, excavation, bioarchaeological analyses, and environmental reconstruction into an integrated research approach to the history of Roman landscapes.

Through its international collaborations and multiple externally funded projects, Ancient History at Basel ranks among the leading European centers for innovative research on the social and environmental history of the ancient world. Students and doctoral candidates are involved in these projects at an early stage, thereby gaining insight into current methodological developments within Ancient Civilizations.