At the Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), scholars have been studying the Indian subcontinent with attention and expertise for more than 100 years. This part of South Asia is an economic giant with a population of over two billion. Nira Wickramasinghe, Professor of Modern South Asian Studies,…

How did people move and form communities when human societies first shifted from hunting and gathering to farming? A new study of the Neolithic period in southwest Asia, the birthplace of agriculture, offers fresh insights.

The Middle East has a rich literary tradition, which is steadily gaining a foothold in the West. Modern literary works deal with contemporary issues, such as the legacy of colonialism, the struggles between traditionalism and modernity, the place of women in society and the war in Israel/Palestine.

In summer 2018 classical archaeologist Hanna Stöger passed away. At that moment she was in the midst of several cutting-edge research projects on the use of space in the Roman city of Ostia. To make sure that her groundbreaking work would not go unpublished, long-time colleagues Hans Kamermans and Bouke…

Organisation

Sufyan Al Karaimeh, a guest researcher at the Faculty of Archaeology, is currently involved in the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan (AAJ) Project. Over the past 25 years, the individuals involved in this project have not only compiled an expansive collection of photographs but have also helped discover…

The National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden features a small photo exhibition on Mark Driessen's fieldwork research project in Southern Jordan. In this small exhibition you will see a selection of nine photos, made in Udhruh. This ancient Jordanian settlement lies fifteen kilometres east of Petra,…

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…

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.’

From March 11th to 14th, the workshop "The Future of Ethics in Caribbean Archaeology," led by IN THE SAME SEA Postdoctoral Fellow Felicia Fricke and her colleagues Eduardo Herrera Malatesta (Århus University, Denmark) and Maaike de Waal (Leiden University, The Netherlands) took place at the Saxo Institute…

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…

Another year has reached its end. And what a year it has been! On December 17th staff and students of the Faculty of Archaeology came together to celebrate and reminisce. The event's central topic was the closure of the 50 year anniversary of the collaboration between the Faculty of Archaeology and…

It is the sixth year in a row that the Faculty of Archaeology is placed in the top ten of archaeological institutes worldwide. The QS World University Rankings by Subject looks at criteria like academic reputation and citation ratios.

Annually, the Dutch Palynologische Kring invites nominations for the Florschütz Award for best MSc thesis in Palynology and Palaeobotany. This year, the thesis of Archaeology alumna Oda Nuij was deemed to be the best one. Oda was surprised to hear she won, since she was not sure that the thesis would…

It is the seventh year in a row that the Faculty of Archaeology is placed in the top ten of archaeological institutes worldwide. The QS World University Rankings by Subject looks at criteria like academic reputation and citation ratios.

It is the ninth year in a row that the Faculty of Archaeology is placed in the top ten of archaeological institutes worldwide. The QS World University Rankings by Subject looks at criteria like academic reputation and citation ratios.

25 years ago the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University was founded. In the academic year of 2022-2023 several lustrum activities will be organised to celebrate this happy occasion. The year was kicked off with a vibrant party on September 8, inviting staff, students, and alumni.

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.

In May and June of 2021, Bachelor 1 and 2 students of the Faculty of Archaeology joined in the excavation at Oss. After the fieldwork itself, a second post-excavations week started in Leiden where each of them participated in small groups conducting archaeological find processing and working on creative…

In 2011, the Udhruh Archaeological Project was launched, bringing together teams of Jordanian and Dutch archaeologists to investigate the region and reconstruct ancient water harvesting techniques in the extremely arid landscape of Udhruh. Access to fresh water remains one of the most pressing global…

ICT, Organisation

Facility

With the help of the JEDI fund, Fatima al Moufridji and Thijs Porck went in search of cultural contacts between early medieval England, Northern Africa, and the Middle East. Together they made four knowledge clips that can now be seen on YouTube.

It is the eighth year in a row that the Faculty of Archaeology is placed in the top ten of archaeological institutes worldwide. The QS World University Rankings by Subject looks at criteria like academic reputation and citation ratios.

Archaeologist Tuna Kalayci investigates roads in a recent edited book. What happens if we think of roads not only as containers of action but also as dynamic and complex phenomena, as the action itself? This question inspired Dr Tuna Kalayci to bring together various studies across a wide range of epochs…

The Faculty of Archaeology is pleased to announce that Dr Sarah Schrader has been appointed as the new Head of the Department of Archaeological Sciences (DV). In April 2026 she succeeds Dr Jason Laffoon, who has led the department for the past six years.

Organisation

Human resources

Organisation

Luc Amkreutz, curator of prehistory at the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden and professor of Public Archaeology at Leiden University, has a mission: to make the past accessible and relevant to a broad audience. He is the new Eugène Dubois Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Science and Engineering…

The days of an archaeologist studying soil traces with a shovel in hand seem to be numbered. Digital archaeologists will soon launch the first version of software capable of carrying out a virtual excavation.

Egypt serves as a strategic gateway to Africa and the Middle East. For that reasons, Luc Sels, President of the Executive Board and a delegation visited the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC) at the end of April. This resulted in new agreements on research and student exchanges.

In an article for East Asia Forum, University Lecturer Vincent Chang sheds light on China’s ambition to globalise its pantheon of national heroes.

Another year's end draws near. And what a year it has been! On December 12th staff and students of the Faculty of Archaeology came together to celebrate and reminisce. Professor Joanita Vroom got us in a festive mood by telling tales of Byzantine banquets, while a chef served historical dishes to sa…

On Thursday 9 December, Dr Upik Djalins presented an online lecture, entitled 'The Colonial Bureaucratic Network versus the Metropole: The Origin Story of Land Alienation Prohibition in the 1870s East Indies'.

Education

Research, Social

Education

The Faculty of Archaeology's own home-grown journal Inter-Section has released a new volume. Inter-Section offers students and PhD candidates the unique chance to publish in a peer-reviewed journal. The new volume focuses on the materials that shape our world.