Martina Revello Lami is an Assistant Professor of Material Culture Studies in the Department of Archaeological Sciences, contributing to both the BA and MA curricula.

More information about M. Revello Lami-

Office days

Monday to Thursday.

Research

Martina Revello Lami is an Assistant Professor of Material Culture Studies in the Department of Archaeological Sciences, contributing to both the BA and MA curricula. She earned her PhD from the University of Amsterdam, where she joined the Satricum Project as a pottery specialist. Prior to that, she obtained an MA in Archaeology from the University of Siena and a post-graduate degree in Classical Archaeology from Sapienza University of Rome (Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici).

Her research centers on production technologies, site-specific consumption patterns, and inter-regional distribution networks, with a focus on material culture in Central Italy from the Archaic to the Mid-Republican period. More recently, her work has expanded to explore the dynamic relationship between archaeology and contemporary society, examining how antiquity is perceived today and linking past and present through the material remains of both ancient and modern communities.

Methodologically, she employs a broad range of techniques, from surface macrotrace analysis to archaeometric methods, to investigate technological choices in pottery production. Her approach integrates traditional typological and contextual studies with advanced analyses, such as statistical assessments of ceramic variability, petrographic analysis using thin sections, and geoprospection to identify raw material sources. She has also been at the forefront of integrating petrographic and statistical methods with cutting-edge 3D scanning technology, recognizing the untapped potential of 3D tools in analyzing pottery macrotraces. This approach not only promises new insights into production techniques but also offers avenues for functional and use-wear studies.

Martina actively participates in several fieldwork projects in Italy, including Satricum, Pofi, and the Palatine Hill excavation in Rome. She is also involved in editorial roles, serving as editor-in-chief and co-founder of Ex Novo Journal of Archaeology (Archaeopress) and as chief editor of Time & Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness, and Culture (Taylor & Francis). In addition to her work on the Satricum Project, she co-authored the pilot project "Pottery Goes Public: 3D Technology and the Study of Archaeological Ceramics," supported by the Amsterdam Universiteit Fonds.

Teaching activities

Martina is involved in coordinating, designing, and teaching BA courses in Material Culture Studies, with a particular focus on pottery technology. She also coordinates courses on the Mediterranean during the first millennium BC and supervises BA and MA theses that engage with ceramic studies, pre-Roman and Roman material culture, and diverse analytical methodologies, including macrotrace analysis, archaeometry, and experimental archaeology.

Her commitment to teaching at Leiden University places the Faculty of Archaeology at the forefront of pedagogical innovation. She co-coordinated the pilot project "The Future of Experiencing the Past" alongside Dr. Rachel Schats and Prof. Dr. Marie, as part of the Center for Innovation’s SALT SWAT initiative (Spaces for Active Learning & Teaching, Support with Active Teaching). This project aimed to create a digital archive of 3D models of artifacts from the Faculty's collection, enhancing teaching on materials and techniques when physical artifacts are scarce or too fragile to handle. The long-term goal is to enable students to engage with and analyze the material record through these interactive models both in class and at home.

Building on this success, she introduced 3D mobile technology into the classroom in collaboration with Leiden's Learning & Innovation Centre (LLInC). In her BA2 seminar, students learned to digitally capture archaeological objects and display them in a virtual environment, alongside traditional pottery recording methods. The integration of 3D tools fosters a deeper understanding and encourages responsible engagement with these technologies.

Curriculum vitae

Material culture studies and more broadly the search for human choices as expressed through the materiality of ceramic objects lie at the core of my research. My formative years spent in Italy at the University of Siena played a fundamental role in shaping such an interest: here I had the privilege to share with prof. D. Manacorda his innovative approach to field archaeology and ceramic studies, placing particular emphasis on issues related to modes of production, economic interaction and exchange in the Roman world.

Since then my research focus has been mainly devoted to trace production dynamics and trading networks of pottery, especially mundane categories of objects such as cooking, storing and household ware vessels. At Sapienza University of Rome, where I earned my post-graduate degree at Scuola di Specializzazione with a thesis on large-scale distribution of amphoras in the Mediterranean, I had the opportunity to start my training in archaeometric techniques applied to archaeological ceramics. Lastly, my appointment as PhD student at ACASA – University of Amsterdam within the framework of the Satricum Project enabled me to delve into the practice of petrographic analysis and the study of technological choices in pottery production.

My current research on Satrican coarse wares, indeed, aims to integrate typo-morphological and contextual examination with more sophisticated analyses: the main analytical techniques applied are statistical analysis to calculate degree of ceramic variability, petrographic analysis with thin sections supplemented by geoprospection for potting raw materials, to identify possible raw sources, units of ceramic production and processing techniques. More recently, thanks to the fruitful collaboration with the 4D Lab based at the University of Amsterdam, I have coupled petrographic and statistical analysis with cutting-edge 3D scanning technology to automate the calculation of vessels capacity and metric standardization as well as to enhance the examination of surface macrotraces for identifying wheel-fashioning techniques. The potential of 3D technology within pottery macrotrace analysis is still largely untapped, and further experimentation may open promising research paths in relation to not only manufacturing techniques, but also use-wear and functional analysis.

As a member of the project “The Future of Experiencing the Past” (SaltSwat initiative, ICTO), she is also working actively towards a better embedding of 3D technology within her teaching activities.

Activities