His PhD research project - entitled Charlemagne's Workshops - is an ongoing investigation into the role of copper-alloy craft production in the early medieval economy of North-west Europe. The geographic limits of this research have up until now centred on the Netherlands (Frisia Magna in medieval times)…

On 24 and 25 April 2025, the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam — home to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) — hosted an interdisciplinary workshop organized by dr. Rafal Matuszewski, an ancient historian at the Institute for History in Leiden.

When asked about the mission of the Leiden Jewish Studies network, Jürgen Zangenberg, Professor of Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity at Leiden University, and one of the organizers of the event says: “We try to keep the network as broad as possible, and to attract as many people from the outside…

In the world of Ancient Greece the interpretation of supernatural signs was a versatile tool to facilitate decision-making. This is the central hypothesis of the PhD dissertation of historian Kim Beerden. Defence on 14 February.

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) granted the research proposal submitted in the Free Competition by Prof. dr. F.C.W.J. Theuws (University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology) and Prof. dr. M. de Jong (University of Utrecht) entitled

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…

When are you (sexually) mature? A KNAW grant will enable associate professor Rafal Matuszewski to organise an interdisciplinary workshop on this question.

Four promising young researchers will be able to conduct two years of research at a university abroad thanks to a Rubicon grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The Leiden laureates are Renske Janssen, Girija Josh, Anne van der Meij and Yana van der Weegen.

Archaeologist Tuna Kalayci investigates roads in a recent edited book. What happens if we think of roads not only as containers of action but also as dynamic and complex phenomena, as the action itself? This question inspired Dr Tuna Kalayci to bring together various studies across a wide range of epochs…

Marco Cinelli from Leiden University College (LUC) and the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) was awarded the 2024 EURO Award for the Best EJOR Paper at the European Conference on Operational Research in Copenhagen.

What is life like as an academic? Twelve PhD candidates will report on their daily work in videos and blogs on the Faces of Science website (in Dutch). They include three researchers from Leiden who are researching topics such as North Korean support for African liberation movements, how differently…

Associate Professor Carolien Stolte has been appointed visiting professor at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR). Stolte will continue her research into global peace movements there during the coming semester.

ILS organizes monthly Lunch Seminars in which all researchers from Leiden Law School can present their research. The idea is to share in an open and accessible way what researchers from other research programs and institutes are working on. During a seminar, two or three speakers will present their…

On the 26th of February, 2018, it was exactly 25 years ago that the coins of ‘Verzameling Mr. B. Kolff’ were handed over to the Leiden Papyrological Institute.

Roderick Geerts, a PhD candidate of the Faculty of Archaeology in Leiden, takes us on a short journey through the rich history of the Red Sea port of Berenike in Egypt.

After years of hard work, the Roman Villa of Serenus at Amheida in the Dakhla Oasis, of which the reconstruction in mud brick was commissioned to architect Dr Nicholas Warner by the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (New York University), after which it was beautifully decorated by Dorothea…

Rafał Matuszewski has been elected Fellow of the Young Academy of Europe (YAE) in recognition of his academic leadership and outstanding scientific achievements in the fields of ancient Greek history and classics.

The KNIR seminar 'Reasoning to Believe' will concentrate on early modern sermons, a genre of tremendous impact on European culture not just in the period of the Reformation but throughout. We will lecture on the practice of sermons in the period 1200-1650 throughout and beyond Europe, concentrating…

Cisca Hoogendijk received an NWO Internationalisation in the Humanities Grant for the project 'Text in Context: Recontextualising the papyri from Roman Soknopaiou Nesos / Dime (Fayyum, Egypt)'.

300 hundred man went down with Dutch VOC vessel ‘de Rooswijk’ on January 9 1740 for the coast of Deal in the UK.

The Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) has found that foster care at stitching Enver is not up to scratch. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, spoke to public broadcaster NOS about these new findings.

PhD defence

PhD defence

Lecture, Austrian Studies Fund Lunch Talk

Four projects led by the Faculty of Humanities have been awarded KIEM grants. The researchers will receive €10,000 to carry out their plans.

Society has an impact on what is viewed as heritage. Susanna de Beer investigated how heritage can be made enduring by making use of it in the present. Lars de Kruijf, student of Dutch and Journalism New Media, spoke with Susanna de Beer.

Is it a prehistoric mammoth tooth or just an ordinary pebble? It was National Finds Day at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities on Saturday 17 June, and Leiden University was one of the collaborating partners.

Patients who feel understood will recover faster. But how can doctors become more empathetic? By reading literary works, suggests emeritus Leiden Professor of Medical Psychology, Ad Kaptein. He discusses this issue in his book ‘Helende woorden – romans over ziek-zijn’ (Healing words - novels about…

In July 2022 our alumnus Samatar Botan received the news that he had received the NWO Mosaic 2.0 grant. This grant enables him to start a PhD research at our Faculty on the ancient Aksumite Empire, a topic that is close to his heart. We speak with him about his ambitions and drive. ‘I want to know more…

This year, an NWO PhD in the Humanities grant went to Mink van IJzendoorn, enabling him to investigate the disappearance of amphorae. ‘We take means of packaging and shipment for granted, but they are deeply ingrained in our daily lives; they are crucial.’

During the 2019 Reuvensdagen, PhD candidate Femke Lippok was awarded the prestigious W.A. van Es-prize for her research master’s thesis The Pyre and the Grave, written in 2017. The jury lauded Femke for her pioneering work and making use of big data analysis, while adding an admirably expansive and…

Peter Akkermans, Professor of Archaeology of the Middle East, cannot say for certain how much damage the destruction by IS has caused in Palmyra.

The theme for this year’s Week of the Classics (19 to 27 March) is war in Classical Antiquity. Leiden Classics scholars are organising various activities, including the popular Know-Your-Classics Pub Quiz.

On Thursday, the 19th of March 2026, students and staff had the chance to partake in the second full-day workshop organized by the Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Religions (L*CeSAR). This edition was centered on the role of the environment in relation to religion in antiquity.

This programme aims to identify the intellectual contexts that were of importance for the architectural theory of the period, and especially to clarify the relation of architectural theory to primitivism.

The Around the Rapenburg walk takes you along the canal where Leiden University was founded 450 years ago.

There are currently two projects in Coptic Studies that are supported by the NVIC. Both are directed by Dr. Karel Innemee and both take place in the Wadi Natrun.

Disclaimer: Manuscripts related to the Resilience Center are for academic purposes only and are not intended for mass distribution or copying. Please refer to applicable laws for fair use, including copyright holders' restrictions on publications.

Inspectors say the William Schrikker Foundation, a leading Dutch youth protection agency, is failing in its duties. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Child Law, told public broadcaster NOS: ‘It's deeply concerning that there's insufficient oversight of children’s safety.’

Since 2009, at ACPA, 95 candidates received their PhD in Creative and Performing Arts. On this page you will find an overview of ACPA's alumni.

Would you like to do collection-oriented research, but do not have sufficient resources? Every year, the Museums, Collections and Society (MCS) research group makes several research scholarships available for this purpose. Researchers Elizabeth den Hartog and Marika Keblusek previously received an MCS…