Skip to main content
Overview

Kelly Papastergiou

Postgraduate Research Student


Affiliations
Affiliation
Postgraduate Research Student in the Department of Archaeology

Biography

Academic Background

I completed my BA in Archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and continued my studies with an MSc in Material Culture Studies and Digital Archaeology at Leiden University, in the Netherlands. During my master studies I focused on the ceramic technology at Bronze Age Greece and the appearence and spread of the potter's wheel use. After my graduation I joined Prof. J. Hilditch's "Tracing the potter's wheel" project in the University of Amsterdam, as a research assistant. 

My research interests lie in the field of pottery analysis, chaîne opératoire of pottery production, scientific characterisation of ceramics and communities of practice. 

This background and interest in the analysis of ceramic technology led me to pursue the PhD "Communities of ceramic practice and the development of complex societies in the Jordan Valley in the 4th and 3rd millenia BC". 

Research Topic

Communities of ceramic practice and the development of complex societies in the Jordan Valley in the 4th and 3rd millenia BC

During the Early Bronze Age, in a period of proto-urban development, many communities flourished along the Jordan Valley. The ceramic assemblage originating from these sites has been traditionally described by form and decoration. Through the scientific characterisation of these ceramics, the project's scope is to shed some light on the communities of ceramic production that emerged in the region over time and by identifying patterns of ceramic production to reveal networks of exchange, as village communities gave rise to nucleated fortified settlements and as they were abandoned. 

This is a fully funded Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) Studenship project, between Durham University and the British Museum, offered by the AHRC. 

Supervisors

Prof. Dr. Graham Philip (Durham University)

Dr. Kamal Badreshany (Durham University)

Dr. James Fraser (British Museum)

Dr. Michela Spataro (British Museum)