UCL Institute of Archaeology

08/09/2026

Congratulations to everyone graduating today!

 
As graduates you have joined our enduring and impressive family. The Institute is, and will remain, your home. And we will always look forward to welcoming you back!

06/09/2026

Congratulations to Dr Archontoula Barouda for passing her PhD viva 🎊

Under the supervision of Dr Patrick Quinn, Archontoula’s thesis, 'Ceramic and Plaster Technologies and Traditions in the Neolithic Makri, Thrace, Greece', explores the technologies, materials, and production practices behind ceramics and plastered floors from Neolithic Makri in Thrace, northeastern Greece.

🔗Read more about Archontoula's thesis and PhD journey at tinyurl.com/Archontoula

04/09/2026

Detached heads, microfibre cloths and scalpels.

What do they have in common? They’re all part of the careful conservation of historic dolls.🪆

Postgraduate students from UCL’s Institute of Archaeology recently worked with historic dolls from the Museum of the Order of St John, investigating their materials, condition, and conservation needs.

Find out more about the project in the blog below!

From November 2025 to June 2026 Morven, Liz, Vicky, and Kate, four postgraduate conservation students at University College London (UCL), worked to assess and treat four dolls that had recently been acquired by the Museum. They have written about the treatment process and their experiences. In 1968,...

03/09/2026

🥁 Introducing Raksha Dave, archaeologist, broadcaster, award-winning author, and now Honorary Professor of Practice at the UCL Institute of Archaeology!

In her own words: "As a UCL alumna, being awarded an Honorary Professorship by the Institute of Archaeology is profoundly meaningful to me, both personally and professionally. My time at UCL played a formative role in shaping my career, my approach to research, and my commitment to public engagement. The university gave me the intellectual foundation and confidence to pursue a career dedicated to exploring the past and communicating its relevance to diverse audiences, and I have always been proud to be part of the UCL community."

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Raksha back to the Institute. Congratulations!

Photo taken by Dr Daniel Eddisford at Bignor Roman Villa, IoA training excavation, 1997.

UCL Alumni Mirador Talent Management

02/09/2026

Book launch: Digging into Pottery: Scientific Approaches to Archaeological Ceramic Analysis Around the World
🔗https://tinyurl.com/ma26fu82

The new volume will be officially launched at the upcoming IoA Ceramic Analysis Day on Friday!

⏲️ 09:00 - 17:00, 4 September 2026
📍 UCL Institute of Archaeology
🎟️ Non-UCL attendees: Please get in contact using the email on the event page: https://tinyurl.com/s9d8e53f

Edited by Maja Miše and Andrea Martínez-Carrasco, Digging into Pottery brings together international case studies and demonstrates how scientific analysis of archaeological ceramics can illuminate far more than the origins of individual vessels. Its contributions explore pottery production and technology, raw-material selection, technological choices, exchange and mobility, showing how integrated archaeological and scientific approaches can address wider questions about past societies and human interaction.

Published by Archaeopress.

🔗 Find out more about Digging into Pottery: https://tinyurl.com/ma26fu82

The new volume, Digging into Pottery Scientific Approaches to Archaeological Ceramic Analysis Around the World, will be officially launched at the upcoming IoA Ceramic Analysis Day.

01/09/2026

Step inside the world of archaeology.

Join us at the UCL Institute of Archaeology for a free day of discovery at the Winter Archaeology Festival.

Get hands-on with archaeological objects, explore specialist labs and collections, hear from archaeologists, enjoy talks and walking tours, and discover how archaeology helps us uncover the stories of people, cultures and environments that have shaped our world.

Whether you're an archaeology enthusiast, a prospective student or simply curious, there's something for everyone.

🎟️ Book your free place: https://tinyurl.com/WAF26

29/08/2026

26/08/2026

From Mine to Masterpiece: A workshop-centred Perspective on Great Shang Bronze Production

Delivered in the spirit of Beno Rothenberg’s pioneering vision for archaeometallurgy as a field rooted in landscapes of production rather than objects alone, this lecture offers a workshop-grounded reconsideration of Shang bronze production and asks what a mine-to-masterpiece perspective can tell us about the social and political architecture of early Chinese states.

Join us for this year's Beno Rothenberg Memorial Lecture, given by Dr Siran Liu, Associate Professor at the University of Science and Technology Beijing.

⏰18:00, 7 October 2026
📍UCL Institute of Archaeology, with an option to attend online
🎟 Booking required: https://tinyurl.com/3tu6encd

20/08/2026

🗓️ Just two weeks to go until IoA Ceramic Analysis Day!

Join IoA staff, students and alumni for a day of presentations exploring scientific approaches to archaeological ceramic analysis across diverse regions and periods.

Presentations will cover coarse ware, glazed pottery, figurines, refractories and plaster. Scientific analyses include thin-section petrography, geochemistry, SEM and XRD, exploring questions of provenance, trade, technology, tradition and identity through archaeological research from the UK, Europe, the Mediterranean, South America, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and the Far East.

Non-UCL attendees must get in contact via the email in the link below 👇
🔗 tinyurl.com/35ma2jpu

13/08/2026

🎉Congrats to everyone on their A-Level results today! If you are in today we have a number of degrees with spaces available: do follow the link in our story to the University College London clearing page to find out more and how to apply!