Research programme
Ancient Worlds network
The Ancient Worlds Network brings together staff and graduate students in LIAS working on the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world.
- Contact
- Miriam Müller

The Ancient Worlds Network brings together staff and graduate students in LIAS working on the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world. Our expertise covers a wide range of areas and disciplines, including the study of Ancient Arabia, Assyriology, Coptic Studies, Egyptology, Hebrew and Aramaic Studies, ancient Iranian Studies, Papyrology, linguistics, the study of religions, and the history of philosophy and science. The aim of the network is threefold. First, we want to stimulate scientific debate and synergy among faculty and graduate students engaged in the study of the ancient world at LIAS. To this aim we regularly organize discussion sessions on "Current Debates" in our respective fields. Second, we aim to reflect on current and future challenges to our various academic fields and to propose strategies for improving our resilience and versatility. Third, we will contribute to improving facilities for graduate training in ancient world studies at LIAS through a "Teaching Lab", designed and implemented to facilitate graduate teaching training.
Lecture Series Ancient Worlds Lunch Talks
Spring semester 2025: every other Wednesday 13:00-14:00 - free pizza and everyone is welcome to bring lunch.
This will be an opportunity to exchange ideas and latest research in an informal atmosphere with a small audience of MA and PhD students, Postdocs and Faculty of the ONOS and CAC program and all interested students and colleagues of Classics, History and Archaeology.
List of speakers and schedule:
February 19th, 2025: Magical passages in Ancient Near Eastern rituals: Liminality, transformation and separation – Ilan Peled (Lecturer in Hebrew)
13:00-14:00, Herta Mohr, KITLV Seminar Room 1.30 (1st floor)
March 5th, 2025: Capturing ideas in cuneiform sources through the lens of Longinus' Περì Ὕψους: Research findings, questions, and possibilities – Michela Piccin (NINO visiting fellow)
13:00-14:00, Herta Mohr, KITLV Seminar Room 1.30 (1st floor)
March 19th, 2025: From Coffin Texts to correspondence: Cataloguing the archive of Adriaan de Buck – Lauren van Kruijssen (MA candidate in Egyptology)
13:00-14:00, Herta Mohr, KITLV Seminar Room 1.30 (1st floor)
April 2nd, 2025: Moses of Abydos: A life in fragments – Jacques van der Vliet (Lecturer in Egyptology/Professor emeritus of Ancient Egyptian Religion, University of Nijmegen)
13:00-14:00, Herta Mohr, KITLV Seminar Room 1.30 (1st floor)
April 16th, 2025: Defining New Kingdom sub-elite categories: An impossible quest? A case study: the woodworkers – Alisée Devillers (NINO postdoctoral fellow)
13:00-14:00, Herta Mohr, KITLV Seminar Room 1.30 (1st floor)
April 30th, 2025: An analysis of An: Aspects of development in the Mesopotamian sky-deity An/Anu (c. 3200-1600 BCE) – Clinton Briar (Visiting PhD student)
13:00-14:00, Herta Mohr, KITLV Seminar Room 1.30 (1st floor)