Leiden’s expertise on the Middle East spans from ancient history to contemporary tensions in the region. By studying languages, cultures, religions, literature, art, and philosophy in in conjunction, we create an indispensable, in-depth understanding.

The Faculty of Archaeology has a new Centre of Archaeological Studies in Italy.

With his master's thesis 'The patriot behind the pot' Wytze Stellingwerf reached second place, among 38 contestants, in the IISG Thesis Award 2017.

The faculty ranks as the best in The Netherlands for the subject Archaeology. Among European institutions we rank 5th.

Joanita Vroom's term as Head of the Department for World Archaeology runs out on March 1, 2023. Quentin Bourgeois will succeed her. In this interview, we look both back on the turbulent last three years and ahead at what the future has in store for the department. ‘I am very proud of the World Archaeology…

From March 11th to 14th, the workshop

It is the second year in a row that the Faculty of Archaeology is ranked the highest in continental Europe. Aside from this the faculty features, as it did last year, in the top ten worldwide.

The research article ‘Selection and Use of Manganese Dioxide by Neanderthals’ received 12421 article views in 2016, placing it as one of the top 100 read Scientific Reports articles in 2016.

The Faculty of Archaeology is proud to present the special edition in honor of our 25th anniversary. In 15 pages, the Dutch-language special gives an overview of the wide variety of research, fieldwork projects, and laboratories the Faculty hosts. Aimed at the general public, the special will be handed…

In the course of 2020 the Faculty of Archaeology was bolstered by some new staff members. Due to the coronavirus situation, sadly, this went for a large part unnoticed. In a series of interviews we are catching up, giving the floor to our new colleagues. We kick off with Dr Tuna Kalayci, who joined…

University Lecturer Bert van Den Berg shares about the recent research by The Greek Philosophical Schools project in Italy. The research sheds new light on the life and death of Plato.

Connecting Agriculture, Crafts, Construction, Transport, and Resilience Strategies

Time, Religion and Sacred Discourses of the Ayuuk People

Considering Mesoamerican Precolonial books as material objects

This fall, LUCIS will have the pleasure of welcoming Professor Hugh Kennedy from SOAS University of London to Leiden. He is the fourth Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Cultural Foundation Visiting Professor in Arabic Culture at Leiden University.

As part of the celebrations around the 25th birthday of the Faculty of Archaeology, a panel discussion on the future of archaeology was organised on December 13th. For this discussion an international panel of scholars was invited to give their perspective and enter into conversation with our Faculty…

In the summer of 2010, a special archaeological find resurfaced when plans to redevelop the Paardenmarkt, a parking lot in the historic city center of Alkmaar, began.

Since 2013, the National Natural History Museum of the Netherlands, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, is unearthing the largest bonebed of the horned dinosaur Triceratops discovered so far. In order to answer questions about sedimentology, taphonomy and palaeobiology, palaeontologists and geologists collaborated…

During the Dies Natalis for alumni, February 11 2017, the annual university thesis awards ceremony was held. The winner of 2017 is Erik Kroon, of the Faculty of Archaeology. His thesis featured innovative research on changes in the technology of Neolithic ceramics.

Voor zowel archeologen, paleontologen en geologen als vrijwilligers in de archeologie en paleontologie is het geen verrassing meer dat op de stranden van de Nederlandse kust fraaie vondsten gedaan kunnen worden. Vele artikelen, boeken, tentoonstellingen, congressen, lezingen, ‘zoekdagen’, krantenberichten,…

Marijke Brouwer started as an archaeologist, excavating Iron Age settlements in the Dutch polder regions. Today she is the director of medieval Huis Bergh, one of the largest castles in the Netherlands. How did this unusual career development come about?

This dissertation presents a legal geographical analysis of the heritage laws of the independent English-speaking islands of the Lesser Antilles.

A study into the investment and impact of construction projects on Mycenaean communities in Late Bronze Age Greece

Representing Japanese Colonial 'Heritage' in Taiwan

The neolithization of the southern Netherlands in an antropological and geographical perspective

Human impact and plant subsistence in Dutch wetlands during the Late Mesolithic and Early and Middle Neolithic (5500-3400 cal BC)

The meaning of the Swifterbant Culture for the process of neolithisation in the western part of the North European Plain (4900-3400 BC)

Nederland ligt in de periferie van het verhaal van menswording. De evolutie van onze familie vindt lang exclusief in Afrika plaats. En, als Europa eenmaal bewoond wordt door mensachtigen, ligt het zwaartepunt ten zuiden van onze streken. Toch heeft ons land een aantal interessante vindplaatsen en vondsten…

This catalogue is the result of the EU_CUL project (2018-2021), which explores the use of cultural heritage in Europe for fostering academic teaching and social responsibility in higher education.

Comparing Mycenaean tomb building with labour and memory

Archaic and Classical architectural terracottas constituted an integral part of the architecture of monumental buildings at Akragas. These objects therefore provide unique insights into the built environment of sanctuaries at this important Greek colony in Sicily. This research's multi-disciplinary…

Originally from Romania, Catalin Popa has been working at our Faculty as a Postdoc for two years now. He is a landscape archaeologist with a deep interest in the role of archaeology in society. “We should also produce a message for non-academics. One that is shaped for people that don’t have the time…

The Faculties of Archaeology and Humanities at Leiden University invite applications for a part time Full Professorship in Classical Archaeology. Appointment as soon as possible but not later than 1 September 2016.

Mazatec chants and ancient Mesoamerican pictography

To be eligible for Egyptology at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

During pre-Columbian times, the Central American isthmus was marked by dynamic exchange and human mobility. Despite this, indigenous communities were archaeologically stable between AD 300 and the 16th-century Spanish colonisation, contrasting with the cycles of florescence and decline of neighbouring…

In Leiden University's video series on Leiden and The Hague as student cities, students interview each other at their favorite spots. In the third video of this series, archaeology student Meike spoke with Physics student David in the Leiden Plantsoen.

Our student Ivo Verheijen won an award with his excellent report on his internship studying mammoths in Northern Siberia. This Thursday he will give a lecture on this topic at the Cleveringa-meeting in Paris!

Dr. Ahmad Al-Jallad and Prof.dr. Peter Akkermans have been awarded with the NWO Free Competition Grant for their research project 'Landscapes of Survival: Pastoralist Societies, Rock Art and Literacy in Jordan's Black Desert, c. 1000 BC to 500 AD'. Together, they study settlements, burials and inscr…

A couple of years ago, Dr Amanda Henry noted that she was unable to determine all microremains in her archaeological samples. Herself an expert on starches, she had trouble recognising other microparticles. Seeing the importance of interdisciplinarity, she organised a conference on microremains. This…

Archaeology is also digging with computers. This digital quest to find out how we humans lived in the past is what Karsten Lambers likes doing most. He is the first Professor of Digital and Computational Archaeology in the country. ‘A dream come true.’

The Faculty of Archaeology, in the persons of Marlena Antczak and Lennart Kruijer, had three pictures included in the exhibition 'Heritage on the Move'. The whole collection of 18 pictures can be seen from 3 December 2018 until 7 January 2019 at the Oude UB Building, Rapenburg 70, Leiden.

Ahab Bdaiwi, University Lecturer of Islamic history, religion and philosophy, was received the first Faculty Impact Award. His interest lies in ‘everything that has to do with antiquity’, especially the religious and philosophical ideas that arose at that time. ‘They can move people. And many of those…

The Heritage Quest project is a citizen science project in which volunteers participate in archaeological research.