Marike van Aerde
Assistant professor
- Name
- Dr. M.E.J.J. van Aerde
- Telephone
- 071 5271138
- m.e.j.j.van.aerde@arch.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-4471-3796
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
News
-
Video | Heritage in the Himalayas: The Karakorum Rescue Project -
Grant enables archaeologists to study origins of museum artefacts -
Honours student makes documentary about Roman emperor in Katwijk -
‘You feel connected to the people of a bygone era’ -
Documentary From Aksum to India premiered during Week of Classics -
Rescuing ancient rock art in Pakistan with a Prince Claus Heritage Emergency Grant -
Moving to virtual collaboration with Marike van Aerde and her team: ‘There is real team spirit in our WhatsApp group’ -
Exploring the Faculty’s depots: ‘What's an Indian type of cooking pot doing in Jerusalem?’ -
Exploring 3D technology in pottery studies: ‘It is the future’ -
Archaeologist teaches Honours Course in The Hague: “The past is still alive.” -
Archaeology students explore visual culture with artworks
Leiden Archaeology Blog
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).
Assistant professor
- FdA World Archaeology
- Zampierin D., Moita P., Lischi S., Aerde M.E.J.J. van, Barrulas P. & Mirão J. (2024), A multi-analytical approach applied to pottery from Oman as a key to understanding ancient Indian Ocean maritime trade, Archaeometry 66(5): 967-1015.
- Aerde M. van & Langbroek M. (2024), The world on a string. In: O'Farrell H. & Keurs P. ter (Eds.), Museums, Collections and Society: Yearbook 2023. Leiden: Sidestone Press. 43-54.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2024) Gandharan art and the classical world: review and new perspectives . Review of: Stewart P. (2023), Gandharan art and the classical world: a short introduction. Oxford: Archaeopress. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 10(37).
- Amarasinghe P., Kalaycı T. & Aerde M. van (2023), All roads lead to Beijing: politics, power, and profits of the roads. In: Kalayci T. (Ed.), Archaeologies of roads. Grand Forks, ND: The Digital Press at The University of North Dakota. 369-392.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2023), Gandhara in context: boeddhistische stoepareliefs als klassieke kunst?, Hermeneus 95(4): 29-35.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van & Botan S.A. (2023), Trade dynamics in East Africa: the continuation of ancient port settlements in the first millennium AD, Talanta: Proceedings of the Dutch Archaeological and Historical Society 54: 97-116.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2022), Van Hellas tot de Himalaya: de archeologie van culturele diversiteit. In: Huig E., Kuin I.N.I. & Liebregts M. (Eds.), De huid van Cleopatra: etniciteit en diversiteit in oudheidstudies. Zenobia no. 9. Hilversum: Uitgeverij Verloren. 186-197.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2022) Crossing oceans: interdisciplinary research and ancient trade routes. Review of: De Romanis F. (2020), The Indo-Roman pepper trade and the Muziris papyrus. Oxford Studies on the Roman Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Journal of Roman Archaeology .
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van & Khan A.G. (2021), Carvings & community: inclusive heritage solutions for for protecting ancient Karakorum petroglyphs under threat, Journal of Archaeohistorical Studies 1(2): 77-90 (5).
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van, Mohns A.D.L. & Khan A.G. (2020), Buddha on the Rocks, Gandharan Connections through the Karakorum Mountains. In: Rienjang W. & Stewart P. (Eds.), The Global Connections of Gandharan Art, Proceedings of the Third International Workshop of the Gandhara Connections Project, University of Oxford, 18th-19th March 2019. Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd.. 105-134.
- Aerde M. van & Zampierin D. (2020), A lot of pepper and a little garum: an archaeological comparison of the Roman presence at Berenike and Arikamedu, Ancient West & East 19: 145 - 166.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2019), Egypt and the Augustan cultural revolution: an interpretative archaeological overview. BABESCH Supplements no. 38. Leuven: Peeters Publishers.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2019), Routes Beyond Gandhara: Buddhist Rock Carvings in the Context of the Early Silk Roads. In: Yang L.E., Bork H.-R., Fang X. & Mischke S. (Eds.), Socio-Environmental Dynamics Along the Historical Silk Road. Kiel: Springer Open. 455-480.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2018), Revisiting Taxila: A new approach to the Greco-Buddhist archaeological record, Ancient West & East 2018(17): 203-229.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2018), Egypt and the Augustan Cultural Revolution: an interpretative archaeological overview. BABESCH.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2018), Heracles in Gandhara? A study of architectural decoration of early Buddhist stupas, European Architectural History Network Newsletter 6(1): .
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2017), Buddhism in Gandhara and beyond: cultural interaction between ancient East and West, Aspects of globalisation. Mobility, exchange and the development of multi-cultural states : 40-45.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (23 April 2015), Egypt and the Augustan Cultural Revolution : an interpretative archaeological overview (Dissertatie, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University). Supervisor(s) and Co-supervisor(s): Sojc N., Versluys M.J.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2015), Gandhara als cultureel kruispunt: interactie tussen de mediterrane wereld en de Indusvallei, Tijdschrift voor Mediterrane Archeologie 27(54): 41-47.
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2014), Augustus en Egypte: Rome als wereldstad, Archivo Español de Arte 86(2): 105-108.
- Müskens S., Versluys M.J., Leemreize M., Mol E. & Aerde M. van (2014), L’Egitto a Roma, Forma Urbis 9(9): 17-19.
- Müskens S.W.G., Leemreize M.E.C., Mol E.M., Aerde M.E.J.J. van & Versluys M.J. (2014), Egypt in the Roman world. By conquering the world, Rome itself became the world. Archaeology in Transition Symposium, Leiden. 25 September 2014 - 26 September 2014. [conference poster].
- Aerde M.E.J.J. van (2013), Concepts of Egypt in Augustan Rome: Two case studies of cameo glass from The British Museum, British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan 2013(20): 1-23.