Frans Theuws is Professor of Medieval Archaeology of Europe. He is the corresponding Principle Investigator of the ERC funded project COCO: Connected Communities in Early Medieval Europe.

More information about Frans Theuws

Research

Frans Theuws is currently the corresponding Principle Investigator of the ERC funded project COCO: Connected Communities in Early Medieval Europe

Curriculum Vitae

Professor Frans Theuws studied History and Provincial Roman Archaeology at the University of Nijmegen and Medieval Archaeology at the University of Amsterdam (1983 cum laude). His PhD research dealt with the characteristics of early medieval society in the southern Netherlands and northern Belgium (1988 cum laude). As an initiator and a team leader he was involved in the organisation of the European Science Foundation project ‘The Transformation of the Roman world’. He has directed several projects financed by the National Science foundation on the archaeology of the Late Roman and Early medieval period of Northern Gaul. He directed excavations of medieval settlements in the southern Netherlands. Between 2003 and 2011 he was professor of Historical Archaeology at the University of Amsterdam.

In 2012 he accepted a nomination as Professor of Medieval archaeology at the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University. At Leiden he was the principle investigator of the NWO funded project ‘Charlemagne’s Backyard’ which focused on the economy of the Netherlands in Carolingian times. Next he became the principle Investigator of the ERC funded Advanced Grant project ‘Rural Riches’. The bottom-up development of post-Roman northwestern Europe.

In 2019 he officially retired but was reappointed part time to direct the ERC funded Project Rural Riches until 2023 and continued teaching on early medieval Europe until September 2022.

In 2026 he was part time reappointed to direct the ERC funded Synergy project COCO: Connected Communities in Early Medieval Europe.

Other activities

• Member of the project team Res-Hum at Masaryk University Brno. 

• Publication of the architectural remains and burials of the Saint Servatius complex in Maastricht together with Nina Jaspers MA and Dr. Mirjam Kars. The project is funded by the Town of Maastricht and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands.

• Publication of the cemetery of Gennep-VenZelderheide together with Dr. Mette Langbroek, Dr. Maurice Janssen and Dr Femke Lippok financed by the Province of Limburg.

• Publication of Merovingian cemeteries in Flanders in the context of a Synthese project financed by the Vlaamse regering directed by Saga Archeologie: Begraven voor de toekomst. Grafcultuur in de 6e, 7e en vroege 8e eeuw in het noordoostelijke Scheldebekken.

Publications

Activities