Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PlaCe (Training the next generation of archaeological scientists: Interdisciplinary studies of pre-modern Plasters and Ceramics from the eastern Mediterranean)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2021-03-01 al 2023-02-28
PlaCe focuses on the first synthetic materials produced by humankind, i.e. plasters and ceramics, particularly the technology, know-how, raw materials and tools developed and employed for their production, in different regions of the eastern Mediterranean from prehistory to the post-medieval period. Being the most frequently found materials in almost every archaeological context, whether ritual, domestic, industrial, funerary or other, their analytical study can provide an as yet largely untapped wealth of information related to past human action, technological and societal evolution, and the development and spread of traditions and styles. With the same range of scientific methods applied to the study of archaeological plasters and ceramics, combining the two provides a stable basis for an innovative and wide-ranging training agenda that gradually brings the recruited early-stage researchers to the forefront of archaeological and cultural studies.
In PlaCe, manifold analytical methods are combined for a comprehensive study of plaster and ceramic assemblages in the eastern Mediterranean, and for the assessment of the region’s social and cultural connectivity throughout its prehistoric and historic past, contrarily to today’s fragmented landscape. Inter-institutional and inter-national collaboration in the framework of PlaCe provides scientific and cultural drives for the study of the region’s common past, contributing to new knowledge about eastern Mediterranean and European history and archaeology.
The carefully-planned research and training activities of PlaCe address the ESRs’ individual research topics, and are designed to promote both the training of the individual ESRs and the overall goals of the ETN, which are as follows:
• To provide training and support to ESRs to face current and future challenges in the fields of archaeological sciences and cultural heritage;
• To bring the ESRs to the forefront of archaeological and cultural studies;
• To increase the ESRs’ mobility and integration in professional networks and communities of practice;
• To study the evolution of plaster and ceramic technologies, and their adoption in differing social settings, contributing to our knowledge and understanding of the history and archaeology of southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.
In PlaCe, manifold analytical methods are combined for a comprehensive study of plaster and ceramic assemblages in the eastern Mediterranean, and for the assessment of the region’s social and cultural connectivity throughout its prehistoric and historic past, contrarily to today’s fragmented landscape. Inter-institutional and inter-national collaboration in the framework of PlaCe provides scientific and cultural drives for the study of the region’s common past, contributing to new knowledge about eastern Mediterranean and European history and archaeology.
The carefully-planned research and training activities of PlaCe address the ESRs’ individual research topics, and are designed to promote both the training of the individual ESRs and the overall goals of the ETN, which are as follows:
• To provide training and support to ESRs to face current and future challenges in the fields of archaeological sciences and cultural heritage;
• To bring the ESRs to the forefront of archaeological and cultural studies;
• To increase the ESRs’ mobility and integration in professional networks and communities of practice;
• To study the evolution of plaster and ceramic technologies, and their adoption in differing social settings, contributing to our knowledge and understanding of the history and archaeology of southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.
Since the commencement of PlaCe, 17 individual research projects have been set up and running with topics spanning chronologically from prehistory (3rd millennium BC) to the Postmedieval period (19th century AD), and spatially from northern Greece and Turkey to Cyprus, Egypt, and Jordan. These 17 individual research projects include plaster and ceramic material characterisation, using a broad range of physicochemical and microstructural methods of analysis, experimental reproduction of ancient recipes, data integration leading to archaeological interpretation. PlaCe has adopted a training-through-practice approach. The project has offered so far 13 training courses, and the knowledge and experiences that the fellows have been gaining from their participation in the various training courses are then applied for the implementation of their respective research projects. Throughout the first half of the project, the fellows have been busy setting up their individual projects, conducting fieldwork, studying the archaeological materials assigned to their projects, following training courses, and participating in conferences, workshops, and other scientific meetings. Result dissemination and public engagement are both important components of PlaCe; the consortium has held a number of public engagement events across the project participating cities, especially designed for children of school age and families. Moreover, the PlaCe fellows have been presenting their research in various conferences and the first publications have started to emerge, with many more articles in scientific journals planned for the coming year.
PlaCe is making a significant contribution to premodern plaster and ceramic studies in the eastern Mediterranean, with the project’s numerous individual research studies adding to the fields’ state of the art, and specifically to investigations into material provenance, production technology and technological change, function/use, and dating. Within these broad categories, several more research questions are raised and investigated relating to the mode(s) and scale of material distribution, trade and exchange networks, human mobility, economic links, social interaction among neighbouring and more distant communities, technological and cultural evolution, the mode(s) of organisation of artefact production (e.g. standardisation, specialisation), economies and socioeconomic structures, including the role of gender, etc.
In the first half of the project’s lifecycle, PlaCe has already an impact on the recruited fellows, the involved institutions and their respective research communities, and at large on the European Research Area. The recruited fellows are financially secured for at least 36 months to pursue high quality research at some of the best universities and research centres of Europe and the UK in the field of archaeological sciences. They are supervised by renowned scholars, and they have been fully integrated in a strong research network of contacts and professional collaborations that can only benefit them in their future careers. Moreover, the fellows have access to a range of laboratories through the PlaCe partnership in order to advance their personal research and complementary skills in the best possible way. As importantly, they have an amazing opportunity in PlaCe to follow a unique training programme that involves a range of courses devoted to the interdisciplinary study of premodern plasters and ceramics that no other research partnership or single institution can offer. This has already been expressed and acknowledged in the evaluation feedback that we have been receiving after the completion of each training course.
In a similar fashion, the involved institutions in PlaCe, and their respective research communities have benefited from developments in their respective laboratories enabled by PlaCe, to support the project’s research activities. Also, the close collaboration among the PlaCe beneficiaries has laid the groundwork for the development of other research projects, the exchange of ideas and methodologies. Some of the PlaCe training courses are also open for the communities of the respective PlaCe beneficiaries, so that a larger number of students and research staff can benefit from these training events. Finally, this is a large project, with six European universities and research centres from four different European countries as well as two leading UK universities, and many European nationals involved for its implementation. Therefore, PlaCe can be considered as a project of impact for the broader European research area with its training and research agenda leaving a positive mark on the future of archaeological sciences, and the study and promotion of cultural heritage in Europe.
In the first half of the project’s lifecycle, PlaCe has already an impact on the recruited fellows, the involved institutions and their respective research communities, and at large on the European Research Area. The recruited fellows are financially secured for at least 36 months to pursue high quality research at some of the best universities and research centres of Europe and the UK in the field of archaeological sciences. They are supervised by renowned scholars, and they have been fully integrated in a strong research network of contacts and professional collaborations that can only benefit them in their future careers. Moreover, the fellows have access to a range of laboratories through the PlaCe partnership in order to advance their personal research and complementary skills in the best possible way. As importantly, they have an amazing opportunity in PlaCe to follow a unique training programme that involves a range of courses devoted to the interdisciplinary study of premodern plasters and ceramics that no other research partnership or single institution can offer. This has already been expressed and acknowledged in the evaluation feedback that we have been receiving after the completion of each training course.
In a similar fashion, the involved institutions in PlaCe, and their respective research communities have benefited from developments in their respective laboratories enabled by PlaCe, to support the project’s research activities. Also, the close collaboration among the PlaCe beneficiaries has laid the groundwork for the development of other research projects, the exchange of ideas and methodologies. Some of the PlaCe training courses are also open for the communities of the respective PlaCe beneficiaries, so that a larger number of students and research staff can benefit from these training events. Finally, this is a large project, with six European universities and research centres from four different European countries as well as two leading UK universities, and many European nationals involved for its implementation. Therefore, PlaCe can be considered as a project of impact for the broader European research area with its training and research agenda leaving a positive mark on the future of archaeological sciences, and the study and promotion of cultural heritage in Europe.