The PlaCe network is a high-profile partnership dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of pre-modern ceramics and plasters. This Innovative Training Network aims at training Early-Stage Researchers to conduct state-of-the-art, science-based research on the technology, use, and provenance of the most abundant materials in archaeological sites. This is a €3.9 million research project fully funded by Europe’s Horizon2020, the EU Research and Innovation funding programme, as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action running from 2021 to 2025.

The project will employ 15 Early-Stage (doctoral) researchers across the consortium, offering a wide range of training courses for the analytical study of the first synthetic materials produced by humankind, i.e., plasters and ceramics. It focusses on the technology, know-how, raw materials and tools developed and employed for their production, in different regions of the eastern Mediterranean, in pre-modern societies from prehistory to the post-medieval period.

Position: Shifting intra-and inter-regional foci of artisanal ceramic production in the region of Sagalassos (SW Turkey) from the Archaic to Byzantine period

The research group Archaeometry of the department Earth and Environmental Sciences at KU Leuven,participant in the Horizon 2020 MSCA-ETN-ITN project “Training the next generation of archaeological scientists: Interdisciplinary studies of pre-modern Plasters and Ceramics from the eastern Mediterranean  (PlaCe-ITN)” offers a fully funded doctoral position with the above research project, based at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. This high-profile Innovative Training Network aims at training Early-Stage Researchers to conduct state-of-the-art, science-based research on the provenance, use, and technology of plasters and ceramics, in pre-modern societies in different regions of the eastern Mediterranean. The successful applicant will be admitted to the PhD programme of the Arenberg Doctoral School at KU Leuven, and will receive high quality interdisciplinary training on a broad range of topics in the fields of archaeology and archaeological sciences, and particularly plaster and ceramic analysis. Most of the research will be conducted atKU Leuven, but the successful applicant is expected to travel to partner organisations for further training, including a secondment to the University of Cyprus.

The analysis of the occurrence of mineral raw materials for ceramic production in the region of Sagalassos is already well advanced, and three main areas of pottery production were identified from archaeometrical analysis. This project will develop a better understanding of intra-regional patterns of ceramic exchange in the wider geographical area, and will reconstruct ceramic production organization and craft technology in the long-term, taking into account the concept of ceramic koinè. 

The successful candidate is expected to have a Master’s degree in earth science, archaeological science or a related field. For the particular research requirements of this fellowship, a degree in geology, mineralogy or ceramic petrology will be considered as an advantage.

Good oral and written communication skills in English and the ability to work in an international, interdisciplinary research environment are essential.

Eligibility Criteria 

• According to the eligibility criteria set by the European Commission and the particular MSCA-ITN-2020 call, the recruited Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) will have to comply with the following conditions: 
• not have resided in Belgium for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date, and not have carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Belgium. Short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account; 
• be—at the date of recruitment—an ‘early-stage researcher’ (i.e., in the first four years of his/her research career and not have a doctoral degree). 

Qualified applicants from all countries are welcome to submit an application, provided they meet the eligibility criteria.