Top Scholars in Classical and Late Antiquity

Abstract

This article takes off from a recent attempt by Walter Scheidel to “collect and analyze bibliometric evidence for the impact of published research in the field of Ancient History”; this, criticized by Nathan Pilkington; and Scheidel, answer­ing with revisions. The contributions of the two are here accepted in their metrics and in their focus on “impact”; but criticisms are advanced against their choices of focus and method. The aim here is to suggest the qualities of work that have earned frequent citation across a wider selection of the exemplary — much wider than the two quoted scholars attempt.