The aim of the project is two-fold: first, to further scholarly understanding of the human dynamics that shaped the growth of Dorestad in a broader, international context; and second, to test the potential of multi-isotopic analyses on an early medieval Dutch assemblage.

The programme focuses on the medieval dynamics of intellectual life in the Rhineland and the Low countries, nowadays divided over five countries (Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands) but one cultural region in the later Middle Ages.

The German Archaeological Institute is a world leading research institute, which conducts and facilitates research in the archaeological sciences and classical studies. Professor David Fontijn was appointed for his work on the European Bronze Age.

The project’s main aim was to build a reconstruction of a prehistoric house plan, without using any metal tools. How effective are tools made of stone, flint, bone, antler and wood? What are the constraints imposed by the various building materials? How much labour do we need and how much knowledge…

Organisation of settlement space and residence rules among the Taino, the indigenous people of the Caribbean encountered by Columbus

In April 2025, Ms. Esther Rachow from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem presenting her ongoing doctoral research at an Austria Centre Leiden lunch-time talk. She answered a few questions about her visit below.

Op 22 november vindt in Nijmegen een feestelijk congres plaats ter ere van het 40-jarig bestaan van het Belgisch-Nederlands Boekbandengenootschap. Voor onderzoekers organiseren het Belgisch-Nederlands Boekbandengenootschap en de Radboud Universiteit bovendien op donderdag 21 november 2024 de workshop…

Henri Pirenne Institute for Medieval Studies (Ghent University) & BRON Research Centre (Musea Brugge) are organising a two-day conference on new and ongoing research on Jan van Eyck and the Northern Renaissance in Bruges.

In Renaissance Florence, humanists wrote Latin poems fashioning their city as the new Rome, and members of the Medici family as Roman rulers. How can we explain this practice?

In the last weekend of April, the tenth edition of the Benelux Mathematics Olympiad took place. The Dutch delegation won a total of 8 medals. The 17-year-old Nils van de Berg even obtained a golden one!

MINESCAPES invites PhD students from various disciplines to apply for participation in their 2024 summer school, taking place from May 31 to June 10, 2024. The Summer School will bring together students and scholars from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to study mining landscapes…

On the occasion of the appearance of the monograph "Varieties of the Self.Peter Abelard and the Mental Architecture of the Paraclete" written by Babette Hellemans and published at Brill in 2023, a workshop will be organized concerning rules of observance as ‘texts of life’ in ascetic communities. The…

Nathalie Brusgaard has won second prize (€ 2.000) in the Leiden University Thesis Prizes 2015 with her thesis 'The Social Significance of Cattle in Bronze Age North-Western Europe'.

Overview of Leiden publications on Central Asia. For additional publications dedicated to a single country, please go to individual pages of the researchers, which you can access through the Researchers page.

The paleo diet: eating like people in the Stone Age did, because it is supposed to be healthier. But how accurate are the recipes in this diet?

Papers written on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Institute of Prehistory, Volume I.

Study information, Student-for-a-day

Study information, Student-for-a-day

Researchers from the department of Economics – Marike Knoef, Kees Goudswaard, Koen Caminada, Jim Been en Lieke Kools- have been awarded a major subsidy provided by Netspar. Netspar is a scientific knowledge network which is dedicated to promote a better understanding of the economic and social impact…

As of 1 October, David Holmes has been appointed full professor of Pure Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute (MI). His work lies at the intersection of algebra, geometry and number theory.

Adults who lost a parent during childhood tend to experience greater attachment anxiety in romantic relationships, according to Carline van Heijningen’s doctoral research. However, this anxiety was less pronounced among those who recall having a strong bond with their deceased parent during childhoo…

An international consortium of research institutes, universities and non-academic partners in six European countries has been awarded with a research grant from the Department for Research and Innovation of the European Commission in June 2018. MIDA is coordinated by the ‘Centre National de la Recherche…

Two researchers at the Faculty of Archaeology have received a Veni award from the Netherlands Organisation for Academic Research (NWO). This award offers promising young researchers the opportunity to further develop their ideas for a period of three years.

Physicists in Leiden have built a microscope that can measure no fewer than four key properties of a material in a single scan, all with nanoscale precision. The instrument can even examine complete quantum chips, accelerating research and innovation in the field of quantum materials.

Explore how cultural heritage can proactively respond to global crises, from geopolitical conflicts to climate change, through innovative cross-cultural collaboration between Latin American stakeholders and Una Europa.

On April 22, Lasse van den Dikkenberg defended his dissertation: Living with Flint. For this, he examined flint finds from the Rhine-Meuse Delta. These finds belong to the Vlaardingen culture, which existed here from 3400-2500 BC. His research revealed that import played a larger role in the Neolithic…

Multiple identities of elites and ‘commoners’ viewed through the lens of crafting from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Ages in Europe and the Mediterranean

The list of highly Cited Researchers identifies the world’s most influential contemporary researchers across 21 scientific fields. Prof. dr. W. Jiskoot is cited one out of three in the field of Pharmacology & Toxicology in the Netherlands, and as one of four of all categories in Leiden.

Join-in courses zijn MA-cursussen over middeleeuwse onderwerpen gegeven binnen vastgestelde MA-programma's van de zes deelnemende universiteiten van de Onderzoekschool. Op aanvraag zijn deze vakken toegankelijk voor studenten van andere (Nederlandse) universiteiten. De cursusbelasting en het aantal…

Numismatic research of Roman coin hoards in the Netherlands. The use of numismatic sources is incorporated in Claes’s research project “Dialogues of Power”. This project aims to analyse the legitimising dialogue between Roman emperors and their Germanic legions during the so-called “crisis of the third…

Why did 'character', 'habit', and 'virtue' serve as key terms in late 19th and early 20th-century scholarly correspondences, biographies, and obituaries? Why did scholars around 1900 display so much interest in the working habits and character traits of what they called the 'scholarly self'?

In the Criminal Justice research programme, (criminal) law researchers and social scientists – many of whom are criminologists – collaborate on various projects. The research programme focuses on the content and form of decisions that could be, should be and are taken in by actors in the criminal justice…

Mariken Teeuwen started at the Institute for History as a professor by special appointment of Script Culture of the Middle Ages on 1 March. ‘I’m looking forward to doing research together with students.’

Study information, Q&A