The PhD students of the EUR

Camille ABRIC

(Doctoral contract 2023-2026)

Contact: Camille.Abric@etu.univ-paris1.fr

Ceramica incognita: modes of production and proto-urban phenomena in north-eastern Iran from the Late Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age (3500-1800 BC)

For her doctoral research, conducted under the supervision of Pascal Butterlin (Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne – UMR 7041 ArScAn), Camille Abric delves into the intricate connections between social dynamics and the evolution of ceramic manufacturing techniques within the early urban societies of Northeastern Iran. Her study aligns with Challenge 4 (Techniques and Innovation) of the EUR ArChal.

Between the end of the Chalcolithic period (3500 BCE) and the end of the Middle Bronze Age (1800 BCE), societies in Northeastern Iran undergo significant transformations, visibly reflected in both their architecture and material culture. The primary focus is on scrutinising the ceramic traditions that accompany these changes, acting as privileged witnesses of these societal shifts.

Taking into consideration this category of material, Camille Abric’s PhD thesis proposes an in-depth analysis of the nature and driving forces behind these transformations. Specifically, a monochrome grey pottery with a polished surface, sometimes adorned with geometric patterns, commonly referred to as Burnished Grey Ware (BGW), gradually supplants the characteristic black-painted pottery on red paste from the Chalcolithic period.

The objective is to question, analyse, and model the potential relationship between the development of this new ceramic production, the disappearance of painted pottery, and the emergence of a more globally labelled “proto-urban” phenomenon in the region. This research is particularly original as the region, despite recent studies, remains largely unknown to archaeologists. However, the application of numerous interdisciplinary analysis methods (anthropology of techniques, typology, and new technologies), based on ceramic collections from ancient excavations and unpublished excavation archives, helps fill this historiographical gap.


Alberto BRUTTO

Alberto BRUTTO 

(Doctoral contract 2021-2024)

Contact: Alberto.Brutto@etu.univ-paris1.fr

Living in power. The concrete and symbolic construction of the domestic space of the elites in pre-Roman Italy (9th-4th centuries BC)

Archaeologist with a Franco-Italian background, Alberto Brutto is currently working on a PhD thesis, under the joint supervision of the Universities of Paris 1 and Bologna, under the direction of Olivier de Cazanove (UMR 7041- ArScAn) and Elisabetta Govi (University of Bologna – UNIBO). His research topic, which fits the challenge 2 (Power and inequalities) of the EUR, focuses on a concrete and symbolic reading of the domestic architecture of pre-Roman Italy, in order to identify the Etruscan and Italic elites ways of living, and more generally, the socio-cultural aspects transmitted through the architectural language. Furthermore, still in the perspective of his PhD research and the challenge 4 (Techniques and innovation)of the EUR, he is interested in raw earth construction techniques, using an ethnoarchaeological approach while paying particular attention to contemporary issues related to an eco-responsible architecture.

Regarding his field activities, Alberto has participated in several archaeological missions, in Italy, in the Etruscan towns of Kainua-Marzabotto and Spina, in the Lucanian city of Civita di Tricarico and in the Oenotrian site of Francavilla Marittima, and in France, in the Gallo-Roman sites of Gisacum (Vieil-Évreux) and Les Crassées (Saint-Dizier).


Aura FOSSATI

Aura FOSSATI

(Doctoral contract 2022-2025)

Contact: aura.fossati@etu.univ-paris1.fr

Destruction dynamics of Mesoamerican archaeological heritage: regional characterisation of looting and comparative analysis for a global challenge

Aura Fossati is specialised in archeology of the Gulf of Mexico, attached to UMR 8096 ArchAm, Archéologie des Amériques, of the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. She also is the co-director of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Mexico. Aura is currently doing her PhD under the co-supervision of Brigitte Faugère (UMR 8096 – ArchAm) and Pascal Butterlin (UMR 7041 – ArScAn). Her work focuses on the protection of cultural heritage in fragile contexts and her research topics especially address the issues related to the illicit trafficking of cultural property, archaeological heritage and community development, heritage geopolitics and the contribution of science diplomacy in these fields. Thus, her project is part of the EUR ArChal’s challenge 3 (Conflicts, mobilities and migrations) and aims to better understand the dynamics of anthropogenic destructions, in particular looting, of archaeological remains in Mexico and Guatemala. Through an archaeological study of the stigmata and pathologies affecting this heritage and its environment, this work also aims to provide information on their evolution in time and space. Moreover, a comparative analysis with case studies in the Middle East will enable her to identify features specific to the different contexts, as well as similarities and interconnections linked to global patterns.  


Léonard GOURNAY

(Doctoral contract 2024-2027)

Contact: Leonard.Gournay@univ-paris1.fr

Study of wood resources in northern Italy during the Iron Age: the use of archaeodendrometry for dating, interpreting wooden structures and for the study of the environment in the Po Delta.

As part of his doctoral research, Léonard Gournay is doing a joint thesis with the University of Bologna. His work, supervised by Stéphane Bourdin (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UMR 7041, ArScAn) and Andrea Gaucci (Università di Bologna), focuses on wood as a fundamental material in the analysis of ancient structures, through dendrochronological, techno-morphological and environmental analyses, in line with Challenge 1 (Environment and climate change) and Challenge 4 (Techniques and Innovations) of the EUR ArChal.

Wood is an extremely relevant material for archaeological study. It can be used to date absolutely the felling of a tree with near-perfect precision (dendrochronology), stores a wealth of information that is visible on a macroscopic scale as soon as the wood is worked (techno-morphology), and makes it possible to consider environmental variations and the forest coverage of a given climatic area (xylology).

By focusing on this rare organic material — because not often preserved — which has been little studied in the contexts of northern Italy, this research aims to contribute to dendrological research in France and northern Italy and to promote methodological dialogue between European countries.

Taking advantage of the many timbers discovered at the Etruscan site of Spina (province of Comacchio, IT) during the 2023 and 2024 excavation campaigns, as well as those from the San Basilio site, the aim will be to use as many samples as possible to create one or more dendrochronological floating curves for the Iron Age, calibrating them using the wiggle-matching method. These curves will be added to those already existing for the region, with a view to eventually creating a master curve (one that is continuous from the present day to past eras). At the same time, the purpose is to make light on the context of the Spina excavation, which since 2023 has uncovered a hydraulic infrastructure made up of numerous rows of piles and spans. Using dendrology, which gathers all the methods used to analyse wood, we want to provide an understanding of this unique context, from the internal chronology of the Spina bank to the methods used by the Etruscans to create this infrastructure. Finally, the Po delta is still rich in a tradition of woodworking linked to the management of hydrographic risks, and we will assess through an ethnographic scope the potential relationship between modern methods of managing climatic hazards and the hydraulic technologies of the past, in a region greatly threatened by climate change and rising waters.