Dr. Marike van Aerde is Assistant Professor World Archaeology at the Faculty of Archaeology. She has coordinated the Ancient Networks research project since 2017, investigating the archaeology of exchange networks across the Indian Ocean regions of the 1st millennium CE. She currently investigates the impact of growing trade hubs on rapid environmental changes. Her research is rooted in scientific methods and interdisciplinary collaborations that include archaeological fieldwork as well as conceptual theory. 

More information about Marike van Aerde

Office days

Monday to Thursday

Research

Dr. Marike van Aerde is Assistant Professor World Archaeology at the Faculty of Archaeology. She has coordinated the Ancient Networks research project since 2017, investigating the archaeology of exchange networks across the Indian Ocean regions of the 1st millennium CE (incl. Roman Egypt, Aksum, and the Indian Subcontinent). Her work has included a wide range of material studies, rock art documentation, and both applied and conceptual analyses of trans-regional connectivity, exploring the evolution of exchange across the ancient world. Based on her project’s long-term findings, Marike is currently exploring patterns of increasing human impact on rapid change in natural environments, coinciding with increases in flourishing trade and human presence from the early 1st millennium CE. Her research is rooted in scientific methods and interdisciplinary collaborations that include archaeological fieldwork as well as conceptual theory.

She has recently led fieldwork campaigns in Pakistan and Egypt: the Karakorum Rescue Project in the Pakistani Himalayas, documenting threatened rock art assemblages in collaboration with local communities (2020-2023, supported by Cultural Emergency Response, CER), and the ROZA Survey fieldwork, examining a previously undocumented Roman-era river town in Minya, Egypt (2025-ongoing, in collaboration with Cologne University).

The Ancient Networks project has resulted in PhD dissertations on topics ranging from the global role of ancient Aksum to new methods for Indian Ocean pottery analyses. She actively pursues Open Access knowledge-sharing and international heritage initiatives.

Teaching activities

Marike teaches BA and MA courses at the Faculty of Archaeology on topics ranging from Archaeological Theory to ancient Egypt, and supervises BA, MA and RMA theses annually. She is a regular contributor to Leiden University's Honours Academy, where she has provided interdisciplinary classes on the archaeology of climate change and current issues since 2017. She has also been a recurring lecturer for the Leiden Leadership Programme (LLP) since 2022.

Curriculum vitae

Marike was appointed as Assistant Professor World Archaeology in 2021. She was awarded the LeidenGlobal seed grant for her research in 2019, and between 2017-19, she held the Postdoctoral Byvanck Fellowship at Leiden University, which included an interdisciplinary teaching program. Marike’s doctoral research (2015) examined archaeological evidence of exchange processes between ancient Egypt and Rome. Previous fieldwork included campaigns at the Palatine Hill in Rome, Ostia Antica, and material analyses in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma, the Royal Dutch Institute in Rome (KNIR), and The British Museum in London. She was awarded the Graduate School Research Scholarship from University College London (UCL, 2005-2008). Aside from her archaeological credentials, Marike also holds a (cum laude) MA degree in Classics from Radboud University (2005).

Publications