UPDATED:
18 Nov 110
![[The University of Leicester]](School%20of%20Museum%20Studies%20-%20Ann%20Brysbaert_files/unilogo.gif)
+44 (0) 116 252 3976
I have Degrees in archaeology (BA, MA, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, PhD, University of Glasgow, Scotland) and in archaeological conservation (BSc. (hons), UCL, London, U.K.) and I have taken courses on the conservation and analysis of mural plaster and architectural surfaces (Certificate, ICCROM, Rome, Italy), on making ‘al fresco’ paintings (Arte Dedalo, Pienza, Italy) and pigment identification by polarized light Microscopy
As an archaeologist I have been working in the field as a painted plaster analyst which has covered several sites and museums in Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Syria and the U.K.
I excavated in Belgium and in Greece and worked as a conservator in Lebanon (UNESCO project, National Museum, Beirut), the Athenian Agora (American School of Classical Studies, Athens, Greece), INSTAP-SCEC (Crete, Greece), Kythera Survey Project (British School, Athens, Greece), Vander Kelen-Mertens Museum (Leuven, Belgium), among many other places.
After having worked for several years as a conservator and after having obtained my PhD in 2004, I was a full-time lecturer at the Department of Museum Studies on the campus-based programme between 2004 and early 2009 and was Programme Director for the MA in Museum Studies by distance learning from 2006. I am now based in Athens (Greece) where I work freelance for CYA/DIKEMES teaching undergraduate American students a several archaeology courses, archaeological science and heritage based courses which provide them with the necessary credits towards finishing their degrees upon their return to their US home university. I also work as a conservator and conservation consultant on a variety of projects.
While I remain honorary lecturer with the School of Museum Studies, my affiliation with the University of Leicester also materializes in teaching on the MA DL programme modules (from Oct 2009), including the supervision of several MA dissertations each year. By teaching on field trips and by writing course materials for DL programmes at the School of Archaeology and Ancient History I am also affiliated to the latter School while also being the Principle Investigator for the ‘cross-craft interaction in the cross-cultural context of the Late Bronze Age East Mediterranean’ project (see below).
As a result of combining studies in archaeology and a science-based conservation degree, my PhD research led me into employing a range of analytical techniques in a case study on painted plaster. The techniques I am familiar with are: XRD, SEM-EDAX, LIBS, Micro-Raman spectroscopy, XRF, and a wide range of microscopy techniques some connected to digital camera equipment and image analysis software. More recently, I have now employed some of these techniques also to a range of other archaeological materials.
My PhD research focused upon the technological study of painted plaster in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. A comparative study, based on instrumental analysis, experimental replication and social theory, looked into the issue of technological transfer of the craft of painting on plaster, and its direction both in time and space. Furthermore, by placing human action central, the issue of travelling artisans was assessed within the context of the Eastern Mediterranean Middle and Late Bronze Age dynamics. Within this research project, non-destructive analytical results were compared with destructive analysis with a view to a reduced sampling strategy for future studies on material remains. This research was reworked and updated in my monograph: The power of Technology in the Bronze Age East Mediterranean. The Case of the painted plaster.
My past and current research interests and activities cover aspects of material culture and material science/archaeometry, craft specialisation, ancient technologies, social agency and anthropological approaches to material culture studies, cross-craft interactions and the chaine operatoire concepts, and how these influence the socio-economical and political interactions of people in pre-industrial societies, as well as the formation, negotiation and performance of people's multiple dynamic identities.
My main interest lies in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, mainly the Bronze Age but other periods are of interest as well (Archaic Period): especially formative periods for craft specialisation, and cultural, socio-political and economic exchange/contact between the involved regions
Archaeometry, instrumental analysis and non-destructive ways of investigation and identification of ancient materials and their production processes, together with experimental archaeology and replication as a non-destructive method to investigate ancient technologies and their social aspects are crucial methods that help us to understand the socio-political and cultural interactions of people with and within their environment and each other.
Finally, the relation between 1) technologies, life cycles, depositional and post-depositional processes of objects and 2) their level of preservation and how that influences our understanding of material culture and our approaches to its conservation/preservation is an aspect that is also reflected in my teaching.
- Since 2008 (until 2013) an innovative interdisciplinary project is being carried out between myself and several colleagues in the School of Archaeology, Computer Science and external archaeological departments (University of Exeter and University of Glasgow) on a Leverhulme Research Programme Grant. This project is called: 'Tracing Networks : Craft Traditions in the Ancient Mediterranean and Beyond' . For more information on my personal involvement, please click on: http://www.tracingnetworks.ac.uk/content/web/cross_craft_interaction.jsp for regular updates.
My specific contribution is based on the material culture from the Mycenaean site of Tiryns, Greece. The director of the overall Tiryns project is: Prof. J. Maran, University of Heidelberg, Germany. My Research Associate to the Tiryns project is Dr. Melissa Vetters.
- Since 2007: Investigation and analysis of 7th Century Greek painted plaster at Kalapodi. Director: Prof. W.-D. Niemeier, German Archaeological Institute, Athens.
- Since 2007: Investigation and analysis of 7th Century Greek painted plaster at Isthmia. Director: Prof. E. Gebhardt, University of Edinburgh - American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
- 2007-2012:Investigation and analysis of Bronze Age painted plaster and pigments from Mycenae, Greece: a diachronical and intra-site investigation between palatial and non-palatial material. Director: Prof. S. Iakovidis, Greek Academy of Archaeology, Athens.
- Since 2007: Investigation and analysis of Bronze Age painted plaster and pigments from Tiryns, Greece: a diachronical and intra-site investigation between palatial and non-palatial material. Directors: Prof. J. Maran, University of Heidelberg (Germany), Dr. A. Papadimitriou (Eforia of the Argolid).
- Ongoing work on painted plaster (towards final publication) for the sites of Hattusha, Miletus and Tell Alalakh (Turkey), Qatna and Tell Sakka (Syria), and several Bronze Age sites in Greece.
Key words: eastern Mediterranean and Aegean archaeology, ancient technologies and cross-craft interaction, archaeometry, craft specialisation, material culture, material science, experimental archaeology
PhD's supervised:
The Painted Murals of the Sukias House, Safavid Period, Iran. Technology and Preventive Conservation Measures (K. Samanian). Started January 2006. Succesful viva: June 2009.
Academic activities
Since 2012: Anonymous reviewer for ‘Archaeometry’ and ‘Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology’.
Since 2008: Member of the editorial board of ‘Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry’
Since 2007: Anonymous reviewer for ‘Talanta. International Journal for Pure and Applied Analytical Chemistry’.
2006-2009: Internal examiner of PhD theses, UoL.
Since 2006: Anonymous reviewer for ‘Journal of Archaeological Science’.
Since 2006: Anonymous reviewer for scientific project proposals to the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (Daresbury).
Since 2006: Anonymous reviewer for scientific project proposals to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), U.K.
Since 2004: Anonymous reviewer for journal ‘Museology’, articles both in English and Greek
4. Rebay-Salisbury, K., L. Foxhall, and A. Brysbaert (eds) (2012: under contract). Material Crossovers: knowledge networks and the movement of technological knowledge between craft traditions. London: Routledge.
3. Brysbaert A. (ed.) 2011. Tracing Prehistoric Social Networks through Technology: A Diachronic Perspective on the Aegean. London: Routledge.
2. Brysbaert A. 2008. Power of Technology in the Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean. The Case of Painted Plaster. Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology, 12, London: Equinox Press.
1. Brysbaert A., De Bruijn N., Gibson E., Michael A. and M. Monaghan (eds) 2003. Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology (SOMA) 2002. Proceedings of the 6th Annual Meeting of Postgraduate Researchers. Held at the University of Glasgow, Department of Archaeology, 15-17 February, 2002, Oxford: Archaeopress.
14. Brysbaert, A. (2013: under contract). Multiple chaînes opératoires and cross-craft interaction: a holistic approach to workshop studies at Mycenaean and post-Mycenaean Tiryns, Greece. In: A.-L. Schallin and I. Tournavitou (eds), Mycenaeans-up-to-date. Conference held Athens November 2010. Skrifter utgivna av Svenska Institutet i Athen. Stockholm.
13. Brysbaert, A. (2013: in press) The painted plaster from the Plakes House, Mycenae: a technological study. In: S. Iakovidis. Plakes House, Mycenae. Athens: Archaeologiki Etaireia.
12. Brysbaert, A. (2013: in press) A technological study of the plaster fragments, Royal Workshop, Mycenae. In: Ch. Maggidis. The Royal Workshops at Mycenae. Athens: Archaeologiki Etaireia.
11. Brysbaert, A. (2012: under contract) Talking shop: muticraft workshop materialities in prehistoric Tiryns, Greece. In: K. Rebay-Salisbury, L. Foxhall, and A. Brysbaert (eds), Material Crossovers: knowledge networks and the movement of technological knowledge between craft traditions. London: Routledge.
10. Rebay-Salisbury, K., L. Foxhall, and A. Brysbaert (2012: under contract). Introduction. In: K. Rebay-Salisbury, L. Foxhall, and A. Brysbaert (eds), Material Crossovers: knowledge networks and the movement of technological knowledge between craft traditions. London: Routledge.
9. Foxhall, L., K. Rebay-Salisbury, A. Brysbaert, J. Fiadeiro, A. Harding, C. Haselgrove, E. Tuosto, P. van Dommelen, I. Whitbread, et al. (2012: in press). Tracing Networks: technological knowledge, cultural contact and knowledge exchange in the Ancient Mediterranean and beyond. In: E. Barker, S. Bouzarovski, C. Pelling, and L. Isaksen (eds) New Worlds out of Old Texts: Developing Techniques for the Spatial Analysis of Ancient Narratives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
8. Foxhall, L., K. Rebay-Salisbury, R. B. Salisbury, A. Brysbaert, J. Fiadeiro, A. Harding, C. Haselgrove, E. Tuosto, P. van Dommelen, I. Whitbread, et al. (2012: in press). Tracing Networks: tracking objects, modelling movements. In: D. Peterson and J. Dudgeon (eds) The Past in Motion.
7. Brysbaert, A. 2011a. Introduction. Tracing social networks through studying technologies. In: Brysbaert A. (ed.) Tracing Prehistoric Social Networks through Technology: A Diachronic Perspective on the Aegean. London: Routledge, 1-11.
6. Brysbaert A. 2011b. Technologies of Re-using and Recycling in the Aegean and Beyond. In: Brysbaert A. (ed.) Tracing Prehistoric Social Networks through Technology: A Diachronic Perspective on the Aegean. London: Routledge, 183-203.
5. Brysbaert A. 2011c. The Painted Plaster from Qatna: a Technological Study. In: C. von Rüden with A. Brysbaert and I. Weisser. Die Wandmalereien aus Tall Mišrife/Qatna im Kontext überregionaler
Kommunikation. Qatna Studien, 2. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 249-269, 329-335.
4. Brysbaert A. 2007. A Technological Approach to the Painted Plaster of Tell el-Dab’a, Egypt: Microscopy and Scientific Analysis. In: M. Bietak, N. Marinatos and C. Palivou (eds) Taureador Scenes in Tell el-Dab’a (Avaris) and Knossos, Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 151-162.
3. Brysbaert A. and P. Vandenabeele 2006. Bronze Age Painted Plaster in Mycenaean Greece: An Application of Micro-Raman Spectroscopy Within the Context of Collaborative Research. In: A. Denker, A. Adriaens, M. Dowsett and A. Giumlia-Mair (eds) COST Action G8: Non-Destructive Testing and Analysis of Museum Objects. COST. European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research, Stuttgart: Fraunhofer IRB Verlag, 102-108.
2. Brysbaert A. 2000. Conservation of Copper Alloy Objects from Tell Beydar. In: Van Lerberghe K. and G. Voet (eds) Tell Beydar : Environmental and Technical Studies, (Subartu VI), Turnhout: Brepols, 125-134.
1. Brysbaert A. 1996. Restauratie en Conservatie van een Tiental Keramiek-Voorwerpen in het Vander Kelen- Mertens Museum, Leuven. In: V. Vandekerckhove (ed.) Van Bodemarchief tot Museumcollectie. De Archeologische Afdeling van het Stedelijke Museum Vander Kelen-Mertens, Leuven: 85-93.
22. Brysbaert, A. and M. Vetters (in preparation). Exotica at Tiryns. A reassessment of archaeologists’ usage of the Chaîne Opératoire approach.
21. Brysbaert, A. and J. Maran (forthcoming). Set in stone: Mycenaean architecture ‘on the move’. In: U. Wulff-Reidt (ed.) Die Architektur des Weges. Gestaltete Bewegung im gebauten Raum. 11. Diskussionen zur Archäologischen Bauforschung, 08.-11.02.2012 in Berlin. Berlin: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.
20. Brysbaert, A., Bocchi, L., Tuosto, E. Relating archaeological chaîne opératoire and process mining in computer science. (Submitted to Archeologia e Calcolatori, Jan 2012).
19. Brysbaert, A. (2013: forthcoming) ‘The chicken or the egg?’ Interregional contacts viewed through a technological lens at Late Bronze Age Tiryns, Greece. Oxford Journal of Archaeology.
18. Brysbaert A. (2012a: forthcoming) Technologies and Representations within Bronze Age Aegean Architecture. In J. Bennet and M.S. Peters (eds) Technologies of Representation. Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology. Oxford: Oxbow books (publication date: Summer 2012).
17. Brysbaert A. (2012b: in press) People and their things: integrating archaeological theory into Prehistoric Museum Displays. In S. Dudley, A.J. Barnes, J. Binnie, J. Petrov and J. Walklate (eds) Narrating Objects, Collecting Stories. Essays in Honour of Professor Suzan M. Pearce. London: Routledge (publication date: May 27, 2012).
16. Brysbaert A. and M. Vetters 2010. Practicing identity: a crafty ideal? Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 10-2: 25-43.
15. Brysbaert A. 2008. The Bronze Age Painted Plaster from Thebes: a Technological Study. Journal of Archaeological Science 35, 2761-2769.
14. Brysbaert A. and V. Perdikatsis 2008. Bronze Age Painted Plaster from the Greek Mainland: a Comparative Study of its Technology by Means of XRD Analysis and Optical Microscopy Techniques. In: Y. Facorellis, N. Zacharias, K. Polikreti (eds) Archaeometry Studies in the Aegean: Reviews and Recent Developments. Proceedings of the 4th HSA Symposium on Archaeometry, (British Archaeological Reports, International Series 1746),Oxford: Archaeopress, 421-429.
13. Brysbaert A. 2007 Murex Uses in Plaster Features in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 7-2, 29-51.
12. Brysbaert A. 2007. Cross-Craft and Cross-Cultural Interactions during the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Late Bronze Age. In: Antoniadou S. and A. Pace (eds) Mediterranean Crossroads, Athens: Pierides Foundation, 325-359.
11. Brysbaert A. 2006. Lapis Lazuli in an Enigmatic ‘Purple’ Pigment from a Thirteen-Century bc Greek Wall Painting, Studies in Conservation 51-4: 252-266.
10. Brysbaert A., Melessanaki K. and D. Anglos 2006. Pigment Analysis in Bronze Age Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Painted Plaster by Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). Journal of Archaeological Science 33-8, 1095-1104.
9. Brysbaert A. and P. Vandenabeele 2004. Bronze Age Painted Plaster in Mycenaean Greece: A Pilot Study on the Testing and Application of Micro-Raman Spectroscopy. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 35, 8/9, 686-693.
8. Brysbaert A. 2004. Take It or Leave It? Implications and Results of Destructive Versus non-Destructive Analysis of Bronze Age Painted Plaster in the Eastern Aegean. In: Cleland L. Stears K. with G. Davies (eds) Colours in the Ancient Mediterranean World. Conference held at the University of Edinburgh: 10-13 Sept. 2001, (British Archaeological Reports, International Series), Oxford: Archaeopress, 9-15.
7. Brysbaert A. 2003. Does DIY Work? Experimentation and the Archaeology of Technology in an Aegean Bronze Age Context. In: A. Brysbaert, N. De Bruijn, E. Gibson, A. Michael and M. Monaghan (eds) Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology (SOMA) 2002. Proceedings of the 6th Annual Meeting of Postgraduate Researchers. Held at the University of Glasgow, Department of Archaeology, 15-17 February, 2002, Oxford: Archaeopress, 7-16.
6. Brysbaert A. 2002. Colours in Antiquity: Colour and Hue from Egypt to Byzantium, University of Edinburgh, 10th –13th September 2001. Papers of the Institute of Archaeology 13, 135-139.
5. Brysbaert A. 2002. Common Craftmanship in the Aegean and East Mediterranean Bronze Age: Preliminary Technological Evidence with Emphasis on the Painted Plaster from Tell el-Dab’a, Egypt. Egypt and the Levant 12, 95-107.
4. Brysbaert A. 2000. Bronze Age Plaster Finds from Palaikastro-Crete: Options and Limitations of a Field Laboratory. Papers of the Institute of Archaeology 11: 47-60.
3. Brysbaert A. and A. Lindenlauf 2000. Colour in Ancient Greece. International Conference on the Role of Colour in Ancient Greek Art and Architecture, 700-31 BC, Thessaloniki, 12th-16th April 2000. Papers of the Institute of Archaeology 11: 110-115.
2. Brysbaert A. 2000. Where Old and New Meet on Crete: Conservation at INSTAP-SCEC: a Case Study. In: ANISTORITON, http://users.hol.gr/ dilos/anistor/cover.htm. (in situ section).
1. Brysbaert A. 1998. The Shinewater Park Sickle from de Late Bronze Age: the Treatment of a Unique Waterlogged Composite, in http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/conservation/jcms/, vol. 4.
1. H.G.M. Edwards and J.M. Chalmers 2005 (eds) Raman Spectroscopy in Archaeology and Art History, Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry ¦ Pp xxi + 476 ¦ ISBN 0-85404-522-8, Chemistry World September, 2005, 74-75. (by A. Brysbaert).
9. Brysbaert A. (in press) Gender display of Greek Prehistoric Archaeological Collections through the Concepts of Chaîne Opératoire and Cross-Craft Interaction. In M. Skaltsa (ed.) Women in Museums. Reality and Representation. Museums ’08, International Symposium, Thessaloniki, 11-13 April 2008 (submitted Spring 2009).
8. Brysbaert A. 2008. The Power of Technology in the Aegean and East Mediterranean Bronze Age: the Case of Painted Plaster. BICS 51-1: 175-176.
7. Brysbaert A. 2003. Rotating Angles in Measuring the Aegean Bronze Age. The Technology of Bronze Age Painted Plaster from the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. In: K. Foster and R. Laffineur (eds). METRON. Measuring the Aegean Bronze Age. Proceedings of the 9th International Aegean Conference. New Haven, Yale University, 18-21 April, 2002, Liège-Austin: Université de Liège, 167-178.
6. Brysbaert A. 2003. Palaikastro Painted Plaster: Past, Present, Postquem. In: A. MacGillivray (ed.) A Guide to Palaikastro, Pl. 15.
5. Brysbaert A. 2003. Bronze Age Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Painted Plaster. Akoue. Newsletter of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens 49, 15.
4. Brysbaert A. 2000. Pigments and the Polarizing Microscope: a Course Review. Conservation News 71: 8-9.
3. Brysbaert A. 1999. Conservation Problems and Decisions Involved in the Treatment of a Waterlogged "Sickle" from Shinewater Park-Eastbourne (U.K.). In: C. Bonnot-Diconne et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 7th ICOM-CC Working Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials Conference, Grenoble/France 1998: 173-178.
2. Brysbaert A. 1998. Conservation at the INSTAP-SCEC: the "Triglyph" Larnax from Mochlos, East Crete. Glass and Ceramics Conservation. ICOM Newsletter 4: 7-9.
1. Brysbaert A. 1998. Conservation and Photography of the "Triglyph" Larnax from Mochlos. INSTAP-SCEC Newsletter 1- 2: 2-3.
7. Brysbaert A. 2009. Painted Plaster in the Aegean and East Mediterranean: Technologies and Beyond. AIA 110th Annual Meeting, Philadelphia. Abstracts Book 32, Philadelphia: AIA.
6. Brysbaert A. 2007. Socio-political Relationships between the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age: the Role of Technology. AIA 108th Annual Meeting, San Diego. Abstracts Book 30, Boston: AIA: 94.
5. Brysbaert A. 2004. Technology and Social Agency in Bronze Age Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Painted Plaster (PhD thesis, Dept. of Archaeology, University of Glasgow, Scotland).
4. Brysbaert A. 2001. Painted Plaster from the Bronze Age Site of Palaikastro-East Crete: Preliminary Results of Its Analysis. In: A. Kalokairinos (ed.) 9th International Congress of Cretan Studies. Elounda, 1-6 October 2001. Abstracts, Iraklio: Society of Cretan Historical Studies 19.
3. Brysbaert A. 1996. Conservation texts panels for the Vander Kelen-Mertens Museum, Leuven (Belgium).
2. Brysbaert A. 1996. A Labyrinth of Problems in the Conservation of Cretan Sites: is there a Leading Thread? (BSc. Thesis, Dept. of conservation, University College London, U.K.).
1. Brysbaert A. 1992. De Zielehuisjes in het Oude Egypte, 2 vols, (MA thesis, Dept. of Archaeology, Catholic University Leuven, Belgium).