Call for application for a 2 years Research Fellowship (PIPE Project)

The University of Pisa announces the public selection for the assignment of A two years research fellowship “Study of clay objects (excluding vessels) in archaeological contexts of the Nile valley (Egypt and Nubia) dating back to the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1550 BC)”  as part of the project “PIPE – Profiling the Identity of the Producers in ancient Egypt and Nubia through the ‘aura’ of clay figurines” (PRIN 2022 PNRR).

Among the world of ancient Egyptian craftspeople, a peculiar type remains particularly invisible, the clay manufacturer, although this category of craftsmanship is tied to one of the core materials for the material production in ancient Egypt: the clay. The plasticity of a clay-based material has also the capacity to keep over time direct traces of maker’s gestures, revealing the shaping techniques used more frequently or techniques transmitted over time or practiced by specific categories of makers. Techniques adopted, technical gestures and complexity of a shaping sequence are key aspect to reconstruct figures hidden behind an ancient technology. Moreover, clay artefacts often preserve dermatoglyphic impressions, commonly known as fingerprints, often unintentionally left by the people who modelled them while they were at a wet state. Furthermore, dermatoglyphic impressions left on the surface of an object have the potential to unearth the identity of the maker in terms of sex and age.
Taking as case study MBA Egypt and Nubia (2000-1550 BC), the final aim of PIPE is to provide for the first time a social and technological profile for the clay artisans from the Nile Valley based on the multiple – and often non-simultaneous – stories encapsulated within the artefact production, which reproduce segments of life of the non-wealthy and non-dominant people, too often ignored by the writing of our history.

Duties of the fellowship, to be based in Pisa:

• Study of clay artefacts of key interest for research, after they have been identified in the literature, in the databases of national and international museum collections.

• Interest in archaeometry and ability to carry archaeometric analysis (skill to be learned in the first months of the fellowship) and coordinate Archaeometric activites

• Documentation and study of artefacts identified in museum collections with missions abroad to targeted museums

• Photography and 3D modelling in order to document the morphology and mechanical properties of the selected clay objects (skills to be learned in the first months of the fellowship)

• Identification of fingerprints on targeted clay artefacts through the use of Dinolite (skill to be learned in the first months of the fellowship)

• Organization of workshops and seminars

• Support in project administration

• Publication of results