Learn about current approaches and ethical issues in heritage management and experience some of these in daily practice.

Recently, we have witnessed an increased interest of the public and media in the hidden world of underwater archaeology sparked by the identification of a shipwreck as

Valerio Gentile received the award during the Reuvensdagen for his master's thesis 'Martiality in Practice'. He is the first international student who wins this prestigious award. The W.A. van Es Prize is annually awarded by the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency.

‘Fernweh: Crossing borders and connecting people in archaeological heritage management ’

Study Archaeology at Leiden University. Learn about a full range of theoretical, analytical and field methods from some of the world's leading archaeological researchers.

Bahar Şimşek defended her thesis on 4 May 2021.

INTERDISCIPLINARY SYMPOSIUM

During his visit to the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, Minister Ronald Plasterk (Home Affairs) on Thursday, January 24, 2013 performed the official opening of a small exhibition. The exhibition portrays the work Prof. Dr. Corinne Hofman and Dr. Menno Hoogland have conducted on Saba over the past 26…

The Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) alliance signed a collaboration agreement with the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology on 23 September.

A look into the political history of collecting and the collections of Andean mummies in Western European museums from 1830-1930 through archaeology and paleoimaging.

In September 2017, immediately after graduating in Cultural Anthropology and Media Studies, Lyonne van Gaalen (25) became a trainee at LDE (the strategic alliance between Leiden University, Delft University of Technology and Erasmus University Rotterdam). Now in her second and final year as a trainee,…

This research cluster aims to analyse and interpret the formation and transmission of Graeco-Roman culture by exploring the relationships between cultural products (texts, objects, practices) and their societal and historical contexts.

The team consists of

The material and intellectual presence of Egypt is at the heart of Western culture, religion, and art from Antiquity to the present. In his book ‘Beyond Egyptomania. Objects, style and agency’, archaeologist Miguel John Versluys not only presents the Nachleben of Egypt as a major constituent of (European)…

Research how ‘custom’, ‘traditions’ and ‘heritages’ take on new meanings in the uplands of South and (mainland) Southeast Asia.

Seven research projects have been honored in the unique researchprogramme Smart Culture - Arts and Culture. The successful research projects have one purpose, which is proving the connection between innovative artistic and cultural practices, scientific and social issues.

Within just a few years, the Chinese government's policy towards the Uyghurs deteriorated sharply. From control and marginalisation, it shifted to violation of human rights. PhD candidate Elke Spiessens was right in the middle of it with her research. 'The fabric of the community is being completely…

Fieldwork is a crucial part of the learning process for students in the Faculty of Archaeology. This includes both fieldwork aimed at collecting archaeological data and materials as well as fieldwork for heritage studies. The Faculty has established a specific centre of expertise to further shape these…

Studying archaeology at Leiden University is all about studying societies and cultures from the past, trying to reconstruct them and bring them back to life. The programme offers various specialisations and regional focus areas. You may choose to focus on regions like Europe, the the Mediterranean and…

Studying archaeology at Leiden University is all about studying societies and cultures from the past, trying to reconstruct them and bring them back to life. The programme offers various specialisations and regional focus areas. You may choose to focus on regions like Europe, the the Mediterranean and…

Representing Japanese Colonial 'Heritage' in Taiwan

A technique originally developed for satellite imaging can now be used to recover pictographic texts from underneath the surface of a five hundred year old Mexican manuscript.

Education and Organisation Development

In June 2024, the University of Groningen organizes a summer school, titled "Things that Matter". The Summer School explores challenges in digitizing source materials, questioning distinctions between physical and digital copies. It delves into the impact of virtual collections and criteria for digitization,…

A ‘new governance culture’ – a hot topic for a number of years now. What kind of culture of public administration do we have in the Netherlands and how do you change it? This question is the focus of the podcast Het Spel & De Macht (the Game & the Power). Each episode considers one theme related to…

Do you have a question about studying at Leiden University or student life in Leiden? Do you want more information about the Heritage and Society specialisation? Chat with a current student for answers to your questions!

Do you have a question about studying at Leiden University or student life in Leiden? Do you want more information about the Heritage and Museum Studies master's specialisation? Chat with a current student for answers to your questions!​​​​​​​

Jessica Barr and Barbara Zimbalist invite essays that examine any aspect of race and religion in medieval culture and society for a special issue on race and religion in the Middle Ages. Deadline for submission: 1 February 2021.

Links to related organisations, institutes, journals and archives.

The skateboarding world was highly enthusiastic about the participation of skaters in the Olympic Games in 2021, although there was also a lot of opposition. Researcher Sander Hölsgens observes that the discussion has now abated and that the Games have had positive effects for skateboarders and citi…

What practical steps can we take to resolve cross-border claims to looted art and prevent illicit trafficking in cultural goods? That's what the European Parliament asked Leiden legal scholar Evelien Campfens. Her advice: develop a registration system, issue art with a ‘passport’ and set up a European…

From the 1920s on, popular music in Southeast Asia was a mass-audience phenomenon that drew new connections between indigenous musical styles and contemporary genres from elsewhere to create new, hybrid forms. This book presents a cultural history of modern Southeast Asia from the vantage point of popular…

Tarini J. Shipurkar was the winner of the 2016 IIAS National Master's Thesis Prize in Asian Studies. She wrote her thesis, entitled ‘Gender on Campus: Redefining Gender Identities at Jawaharlal Nehru University’, at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, Leiden University.…

This project investigates generational dialogues about the legacies and memories of labour, student and communist movements in the Arab world. The research focuses in particular on video and installation art by young makers born in the 1980s that address the generation of their parents and the events…

A new administrative culture. Renewed vigour. More transparency. Will it become reality with the new government? And how do you go about achieving it? By all of us striving to change together: not just politicians, but also stakeholders, civil servants, media, and civilians. That was the conclusion…

Colleagues from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences work on a variety of topics that contribute to a healthy society. Erik Bähre, Tessa Minter and Natashe Lemos Dekker presented their work during the Healthy Society Event on 9 June 2022.

This dissertation gives an ethnographic account of Kurdish dengbêj narrative from a theorethical perspective.

Lecture

This study describes religion in Java.

VALUE (Videogames and Archaeology at Leiden UnivErsity) is publishing an edited volume on the intersection of archaeology, heritage and video games. In this volume, both scholars and game creators are collaboratively writing to raise academic awareness, address a variety of research opportunities and…

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded a €4.84 million NWO Large grant to set up a new state-of-the-art laboratory for isotope geochemistry. The new lab, the “Netherlands Isotope GEochemistry Laboratory” (NIGEL), will be built in the brand new VU Research Building at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.…

The opening and inauguration of the Visitors Centre, and the visitors trail on the site, are an important result of the Tell Balata Archaeological Park project that is jointly being implemented by the Palestinian Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, the Faculty of Archaeology of the University…

Dr. Gabrielle van den Berg received a prestigious VICI grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for her project

This week more than 400 international students are starting their study programme in Leiden or The Hague. Why did they choose to study here? And what is the advice from their mentors?

The master’s specialisation in Applied Archaeology offers you the best start to your professional career in archaeology. This unique specialisation is a collaboration of Leiden University and Saxion University of Applied Sciences.

The emergence of metalwork deposition during the Bronze Age in Northwest Europe, c. 2300-1500 BC