- RomanArmy was born in 2016 as a collective of researchers interested in Conflict Archaeology and the study of the conquest of NW Iberia by Rome. In this way, it seeks to add competences, knowledge and synergies to explore new channels of research based on experimentation and innovation, but also on the scientific rigour and the quality of research.
- Regardless of the fact that some its members may develop their professional activity in these spheres, RomanArmy does not constitute a formal research group within the university structure or a particular research institution. Thus, the collective does not intend to apply to the conventional sources of funding for that kind of research groups (such as regional, national or European R&D plans). Therefore, it is autonomous, self-sustaining and self-funded thanks to the effort and dedication of its members. The collective can agree on specific alliances and collaborations with those research institutions for concrete actions, but always horizontally and paying respect to the principles that characterise RomanArmy.
- RomanArmy works in a decentralized way: the members propose concrete actions which must be always approved by consensus. As individuals, the researchers of the collective can voluntarily participate in these activities if they judge them appropriate.
- RomanArmy focuses not only on the production of knowledge, but also on the socialisation of the archaeological research. In this way, it opens channels of direct communication with other colleagues in the scientific and academic field. Moreover, it seeks to incorporate the final public into the very process of knowledge generation. For this reason, RomanArmy explores new procedures for the dissemination of its results beyond the standard formats of academic publication.
- RomanArmy shares the vision of a democratic, dynamic, open, feminist science, as well as the idea that it must contribute to improve our societies by creating a more critical and informed citizenship. In this sense, RomanArmy constitutes a platform of scientific action, despite of its limited scope and possibilities as a collective. However, this attitude overflows many of the bureaucratic, administrative and management problems which drown the majority of the Academic and scientific institutions at this very moment.
- RomanArmy’s daily activity is based on an open debate asked in terms of freedom, equality, horizontality and democracy among its members, as well as between them and the whole society. This debate lay its foundations on the exchange of ideas, the search for consensus, and the collective learning. This reinforces the commitment of honesty and transparency of the group. It allows us to listen, to doubt, to give an opinion, to raise awareness, and to learn in freedom and multivocality.
- RomanArmy stands up for the respect to the diversity of thought. This position is supported by the interdisciplinary, heterogeneous and even often heterodox character of the collective, made up of researchers from different disciplines, research traditions, geographic areas and interests. That vital baggage does not imply the establishment of ranks or hierarchies, but it is at the service of the common good and plural thought.
- RomanArmy is a digital native collective; it takes advantage of the immediacy and interactive character that this concept emanates. This allows us to create honest dialogues with the public, following the principles of public and open science. We are committed to a more open vision of the intellectual property as a public good, and we adopt a hacker ethic in our relationship with technology: our goal is to reinterpret it, reinvent it, and to explore new uses for both research and communication of the scientific procedure.
- RomanArmy is a transdisciplinary collective, in permanent construction, and therefore characterised by a changing nature, but always based on the ethical principles and social commitment defined in this Decalogue.
- RomanArmy was born on the margins of the Academy, as an anomaly in the system. With utopian irreverence, it constitutes a meta-academic model. It drinks from a latent, fluent activism. RomanArmy defines itself as a research collective with WhatsApp architecture.