Soil ecologists Emilia Hannula (Leiden) and Elly Morriën (UvA) received the Golden Medal of Teylers Tweede Genootschap on 5 November. They received the prize for their submission to a competition on sustainable soil management.

The Historia Naturalis Brasiliae Reconsidered

How should we address our colonial heritage? And how digital and accessible are our collections? Outgoing State Secretary Fleur Gräper spoke with researchers and heritage specialists about this on 25 January.

Provenance and distribution of raw materials

On 27 May 2021, Hirad Abtahi defended his thesis 'Adjudicating Attacks Targeting Culture'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof.dr. C. Stahn.

Heritage knowledge that offers insight into identity and cultural diversity.

This book explores the return of six outstanding Kandyan artefacts to Sri Lanka by the Dutch government in 2023. It captures numerous reflections of the international interdisciplinary research team that investigated the provenance of these artifacts and the remarkable layered history that the research…

Dutch archaeologists are making three-dimensional virtual reconstructions of archaeological objects lost in the Syrian civil war.

Prof. dr. Marcel Cobussen will take part in a research network project in London.

Discover the effects of clothing value and lifespan on buyer-user-producer relationships through collaborative research with Localising Global Garment Biographies.

The year 2019 is the 444th anniversary of the University’s ‘birth’ and the 350th anniversary of painter, draughtsman and engraver Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). Reason therefore to celebrate both 444 years of Leiden University and Rembrandt Year. But what was the connection between Rembrandt, the most…

Leiden University is a unique international centre for the advanced study of languages, cultures, arts, and societies worldwide, in their historical contexts from prehistory to the present.

Featured Reviews published on the HJD blog offer an accessible platform for scholars and practitioners to share reflections, spark dialogue, and highlight innovative ideas shaping the study and practice of diplomacy.

Laura van Broekhoven always knew she wanted to study archaeology, and that’s exactly what she did. Now this Leiden alumna is director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, one of the four museums of the University of Oxford.

Mexico, between 500 B.C. and A.D. 900

Leiden University offers courses about papyri and papyrology for beginners and more advanced students (BA and MA), both based on texts in translation as well as in the original source languages, from Egyptian to Greek, Latin and Arabic.

Study Archaeology at Leiden University. Learn about a full range of theoretical, analytical and field methods from some of the world's leading archaeological researchers.

Morocco and the Netherlands have a strong bond. The modern community of Dutch people with Moroccan roots is part of a shared history spanning four centuries of social and academic exchange. As an institution that functions at the heart of Moroccan society and the university system, the Netherlands Institute…

Past, Present and Future of Nubian Communities in Sudan

How have human-environmental entanglements changed in the Gulf of San Miguel, Darien, Panama, from the first traces human practices through to the present?

A functional study of chert artefacts from preceramic sites in Colombia (2002)

Itandehui Jansen graduated from the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam and is currently making films as part of her PhD project at Leiden University. And with great success. Her films have been shown at the IDFA and the Short Film Corner of Cannes, and have won a number of prizes.…

The medieval manuscripts collection of the Athenaeumbibliotheek Deventer, which consists of around 130 manuscripts and 20 fragments, has now completely been digitized.

Ralph Keuning, the former director of Museum de Fundatie, a museum for the visual arts in Zwolle, stepped down in 2022 following complaints about authoritarian leadership. On top of that, an independent investigation has shown that he received almost €200,000 from the struggling museum after his departure.…

The Centre for Indigenous America Studies (CIAS) at Leiden University is designed to coordinate and promote the teaching and research of Indigenous languages, literatures, cultures and cultural heritage. Our aim is to contribute to an increased acknowledgement, recognition and understanding of Indigenous…

The renovated National Museum of Antiquities will re-open for the public on 15 December. Conservator Ruurd Halbertsma, Leiden Professor of Archaeology, explains why the renovation was needed: 'More visible cohesion between cultures, more context and more artistic lighting.'

On Thursday 10 April 2025 Wahyu Widodo successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Het zichtbaar maken van ongeschreven verhalen van inheemse culturen en volken van de Cariben. Dat doet de tentoonstelling ‘Caribbean Ties’ in de Oude UB.

Archaeological and Anthropological perspectives

Leiden University Libraries (UBL) recently participated in the Pagode-Europeana-China project as an associated partner. As a result, almost two hundred items related to China from the UBL Special Collections are now available via the Europeana website. The UBL was the only library to participate in…

Leiden has much to celebrate: first, 450 years of the Relief of Leiden and then 450 years of Leiden University. And that is no coincidence.

Research framework CIAS

On May 17th, Arthur Crucq succesfully defended his doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Arthur on this great result.

This year’s “best master’s thesis in the area of national or international history” was written by Bareez Majid, who has completed a research master's in Middle Eastern Studies. She wins the prestigious 2015 Volkskrant–IISG thesis prize for her courageous, solid research on a former “torture prison”…

What are the new challenges for collective organisations in the logistic sector? On 25 November 2021, Raquel Alquézar Crusellas has visited the ERC group to exchange insights about her new research about collective organisations among delivery riders in Europe.

Tax collection has become highly complex and the system is creaking at the seams. Is there an easier way to collect taxes? This is the question raised by Rex Arendsen, Professor of Tax Law, in his inaugural lecture on 16 September.

Desafios para a proteção dos conhecimentos tradicionais, dos recursos genéticos e das expressões culturais tradicionais dos povos indígenas no cenário internacional

The ability to create objects and structures with our hands has been essential to human development. This ability is something modern society is at risk of losing. Leiden archaeologists gather knowledge about ancient processes of ‘making and creating’ over the centuries, knowledge that helps our current…

Children find that both dinosaur fossils and replicas belong in a museum, but they appreciate the real objects more. This is shown by research from Leiden University and Naturalis Biodiversity Center. 'Children look beyond superficial looks and attach great value to less obvious characteristics, such…

Valentina Carraro presented her paper at the workshop ‘Collective agency of international institutions’, University of Bamberg, 6-7 October 2022.

The research provides insight into disease behavior in both rural and semi-urban areas in Serengeti in Tanzania.