The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, is pleased to invite all interested participants to a guest lecture by Prof. Eman Khalifa (Cairo University), entitled “Pottery: A Multiple Analysis Approach.”
The lecture will explore how archaeometric methods can deepen our understanding of ancient ceramics and the societies that produced and used them. Drawing on case studies from Egypt, Prof. Khalifa will discuss the benefits of integrating multiple analytical approaches to reconstruct past technologies, economies, and daily life.
The lecture will be held on Monday, 15 June 2026 at 12 pm at the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, room 119
Abstract: “As the most ubiquitous of archaeological finds, pottery offers an unparalleled window into the past. In this upcoming lecture, Eman Khalifa explores how the field of archaeometry can unlock the hidden stories within these ancient clay vessels, amplifying the insights gleaned from ancient ceramics. The discussion will illustrate how a multi-disciplinary approach—integrating residue analysis, DTA, XRD, archaeobotanical investigation, and textual studies upon a single sherd or vessel—unravels a far more nuanced portrait of life in antiquity.
Drawing upon her primary fieldwork at Aswan and Beni Hassan in Egypt, Khalifa will highlight the profound potential of these combined methodologies. Featuring compelling case studies of Old and Middle Kingdom pottery, she will reveal how collaboration in science brings ancient pottery to life.”
Eman Khalifa is professor, international officer and international ranking coordinator at the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Egypt. She has been teaching prehistory and pottery in the Egyptology Department since 2013, after earning her MA and PhD. degrees from Tulane University, USA in 2012. In 2015, she designed a course on Pottery Science, which she has been teaching since then in both Arabic and English.
She is also Director of Ceramological and Scientific Studies at the Qubbet el-Hawa Research Project, Aswan, Egypt, where she supervises residue-analysis among other archaeometrical methods. She excavated at Nabta Playa, Qubbet el-Hawa, Beni Hassan, and Saqqara in Egypt, as well as Norte Chico in Peru. Since 2025, professor Khalifa has been a referee on the promotions committee of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Universities.