Deciphering the Feudal Landscapes of Crusader Peloponnese

They have been described as castles, castle towns or simply fortified medieval villages. The hilltop settlements of the late-medieval Peloponnese dominate the landscape as relics of its feudal past. Yet, their identity, origin, purpose and chronology remain ambiguous.

Wine trade from the Holy Land

Palestinian wines were praised and consumed across western Europe. Transport containers found in Jerusalem, likely used to carry these wines, are stored in the depot at the Faculty of Archaeology. What can these amphorae tell us about connectivity across the Mediterranean in the early Middle Ages?

Flattery and Flans: Imitation in Islamic Numismatics

During the Early Islamic Period, a variety of coins emerged from the dying empires of Rome and Iran that helped the local Central Asian economies supply of silver for the next several hundred years. One of these coins was centred around one city that would rise from conquests and continue to thrive.

Een speurtocht naar metaalvondsten: het levenswerk van Herman Zomerdijk in Kennemerland

Duizenden metaalvondsten die door detectorist wijlen Herman Zomerdijk zijn gedaan in de regio Kennemerland schetsen een uniek beeld van Noord-Holland door de eeuwen heen.

Water in the Desert? The Oxus Civilization and the role of the irrigation system

Deciphering the Middle to Later Stone Age transition in South Africa from a stone tool perspective

Viola C. Schmid, the new postdoc in the project ‘Finding resolution for the Middle to Later Stone Age transition in South Africa’, is analysing the stone artefacts of Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter.

Fieldwork in a flood: working with natural disasters

Chi Zhang's fieldwork was disrupted by catastrophic flooding in Henan Province, China.

Tonnen en vaten: de zeecontainers van de late middeleeuwen

Wat hebben zeecontainers en middeleeuwse tonnen en vaten met elkaar gemeen? En welke rol spelen deze “verpakkingsmaterialen” in de ontwikkeling van de handelseconomie vanaf de middeleeuwen tot vandaag de dag?

Life at an archaeological dig in the Egyptian desert

Roderick Geerts is spending the winter months at the Red Sea coast in Egypt, excavating the ancient port of Berenike