Braden Cordivari

04 December 2025

The “Synchrotron Radiation for Cultural Heritage Materials – Part 1” webinar took place on Wednesday, 3 December 2025, at 14:00 GMT with great success.

Organized by the SAS Student Ambassadors, the event aimed to foster dialogue between cultural heritage researchers and synchrotron beamline scientists, addressing questions related to technology, provenance, and the preservation of cultural heritage materials.

The program featured three presentations:

• Synchrotron applications on ancient ceramics by Carlo Marini (Beamline Group Leader, ALBA Synchrotron, Spain)
• Synchrotron-based studies on bones by Simone Lemmers (MSCA Research Fellow, Elettra Synchrotron, Italy) and Ilaria Carlomagno (Beamline Scientist, Elettra Synchrotron, Italy)
• Computed Tomography for cultural heritage materials by Vincent Fernandez (Beamline Scientist, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility – ESRF, France)

There was strong interest in the event, reflected in the number of applications and the active participation during the webinar. It attracted participants from diverse disciplines, including archaeology, natural sciences, and conservation, and from different educational stages, ranging from undergraduate and master’s students to doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, and academic staff.

“Synchrotron Radiation for Cultural Heritage Materials – Part 2” is scheduled for 21 January 2026 at 14:00 GMT and will focus on pigments and metal artifacts. Stay tuned for more information about the registrations.

-Gavriela Logotheou, Lead Ambassador

Braden Cordivari

25 November 2025

The SAS is now accepting nominations for the Charles C. Kolb Award for Archaeological Ceramics for 2025!

Each year the SAS offers an award for the best paper on the science-based study of ceramics in honor of Charles C. Kolb, a life member of SAS for over 30 years and dedicated editor of its Bulletin. Nominations for papers accepted for publication or published within 2025 should be submitted by 31 January 2026. Find out more about the nomination process and eligibility at the link above!

Braden Cordivari

23 November 2025

The Journal of Archaeological Science and SAS are launching a new prize to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of SAS. Find out more about eligibility and nominations here, and please spread the word!

Braden Cordivari

17 November 2025

The Society for Archaeological Sciences is launching a community-run portal for listing employment opportunities in archaeological science. We invite anyone to submit relevant listings at all levels from PhD positions to professorships by filling out this form.

The results of the form will be freely available on the SAS website, through a linked spreadsheet. This service relies on community submissions, so it is neither comprehensive nor official, and anyone can add listings. 

The Society for Archaeological Sciences does not verify, endorse, or take responsibility for the content of any listings submitted through this form. All information is provided as received, and SAS is not liable for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies. Users are responsible for checking details such as submission dates in the original post link. We hope that people will fill out the form as part of advertising new positions and encourage their colleagues to do the same.

Please direct any questions to the SAS VP for Member Communications, Braden Cordivari (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Braden Cordivari

07 October 2025

Congratulations to Aristeidis Voulgaris (Thessaloniki City, Directorate Culture and Tourism), the winner of the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry-SAS Travel Award! This award will support travel to the 9^th Symposium of the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry, which will be held this year in Patras, Greece (5-8 November 2025). Aristeidis is the team leader for "The Functional Reconstruction of Antikythera Mechanism - The FRAMe Project". At the HSA Symposium, he will present results of an experimental study on the effects of seawater on the corrosion of the bronze components of the Antikythera Mechanism. His work will show how the depositional environment has altered the dimensions of the mechanism, which in turn has implications for the reconstruction of its components. We look forward to following the next chapter of Aristeidis’ exciting work!

Braden Cordivari

17 November 2025

Congratulations to Zofia Chomoncik, winner of the SAS Travel Award for Young Researchers in Archaeometry 2025, which took place October 14-17 2025 in Budapest! Zofia is a master’s student at Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Her presentation “Unchanging tastes: Material choices in Hellenistic and Roman storage vessels from Nea Paphos” investigated technological decisions made by potters at Nea Paphos, Cyprus. She focused on storage vessels—Greek pithoi and Roman dolia. Based on petrographic analysis of ceramic fragments excavated by the Polish Archaeological Mission (Maloutena and Agora), Zofia examined how material choices reflected both intentional technological practice and local geological conditions. Contrary to expectations of diverse clay usage, her study revealed a strong reliance on a single clay source, even when alternatives were available. She also explored the ambiguous role of mudstone as the dominant inclusion, highlighting the balance between environmental constraints, tradition, and innovation in ancient pottery production. Congratulations, Zofia!