Valerio Gentile
PhD candidate / guest
- Name
- Dr. V. Gentile MPhil
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 2727
- v.gentile@arch.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0003-4402-2730
Valerio Gentile is a guest researcher at the Faculty Archaeology. He studies weapon depositions in Late European Prehistory.
More information about Valerio Gentile
News
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Archaeologist Valerio Gentile investigates Bronze Age spear combat -
Leiden University celebrates curiosity at 449th Dies Natalis -
The archaeology of face masks: ‘Face masks layers will be a huge help for future archaeologists’
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Archaeological Science article on experimental archaeology among most downloaded -
Sword fighting in the name of science
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From the Colossal to the Microscopic: exhibition on archaeological sciences in Van Steenis -
Archaeology alumnus Valerio Gentile wins W.A. van Es Award
Leiden Archaeology Blog
Research
Valerio Gentile is a researcher specialized in the Bronze Age and Iron Age of Europe and in material culture studies approaches.
His main research interest is armed conflict in ancient societies, both in its practical aspects as well as in its broader ideological and social implications. He is also interested in metalwork circulation and deposition during the Bronze Age, and he is very active in the efforts to establish a methodology for the application of microscopic analysis and experimental archaeology to the study of metallic items.
In his past research, he crossed skeletal data with grave goods to gain insights on the social identity and practices of Iron Age ‘warrior burials’ in Central Italy. Successively, he investigated the phenomenon of Bronze Age weapon depositions in the Low Countries with a combined approach of microscopic wear analysis and experimental archaeology. He defended his PhD at the faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University in 2024.
Currently he is researching the patterns of use on swords and spears from Bronze Age Germany and Central Europe at Göttingen University, focusing on the changes in the ways these items were used and regarded through time and space.
Curriculum vitae
Cum Laude Bachelor of Arts in History and Preservation of Artistic and Archaeological Heritage at the University of RomaTre (Rome) - 2013
Cum Laude Research Master in Archaeology at Leiden University, Faculty of Archaeology – European Prehistory department (Leiden) – 2017
PhD in Archaeology at Leiden University, Faculty of Archaeology – Material Culture studies department (Leiden). NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) grant - 2024
Postdoctoral researcher at Seminar für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Universität Göttingen (Göttingen). DFG (German Research Foundation) grant – current position
Prizes and awards
Best research presentation at the Symposium Onderzoek Jonge Archeologen (SOJA) - 2015
W.A. van Es Prize for ‘the best Master thesis in Archaeology of the last two years’ by the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency – 2017
PhD candidate / guest
- Faculteit Archeologie
- Archaeological Sciences
- Material Culture Studies
- Gentile V. (19 September 2024), Weapons of choice: exploring Late Bronze Age attitudes towards martiality through experimentation and micro-wear analysis (Dissertatie, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University). Supervisor(s) and Co-supervisor(s): Gijn A.L. van & Fontijn D.R., Braekmans D.J.G.
- Gentile V., Dijk C.J. van & Ter Mors O. (2024), Multi-stage experiments in Bronze Age spear combat: insights on wear formation, trauma, and combat contexts, Journal of Archaeological Science 170: 106044.
- Gentile V. & Steffens B. (2024), Strange by design: the Tollebeek spearhead revised. In: Amkreutz L.W.S.W. & Fontijn D. (Eds.), Larger than Life: The Ommerschans hoard andthe role of giant swords in the European Bronze Age (1500-1100 BC). Papers on Archaeology from The Leiden Museum of Antiquities no. 30. Leiden: Sidestone Press. 329-340.
- Gentile V. (2024), Geweld in de bronstijd onderzocht. Experimenteren met wapens. In: Amkreutz L. & Vaart-Verschoof S. van der (Eds.), Bronstijd: vuur van verandering. Leiden: Sidestone Press. 157.
- Gentile V & Steffens B. (2024), Een puntig probleem. De speerpunt van Tollebeek. In: Amkreutz L. & Vaart-Verschoof S. van der (Eds.), Bronstijd: vuur van verandering. Leiden: Sidestone Press. 159.
- Gentile V. (2022), Reconstruct the unknown, replicate the uncontrollable: current issues in the experimental archaeology of combat, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 46: 103709.
- Amkreutz L, Fontijn D.R. & Gentile V. (2020), Gevechtsporen op een bronstijdzwaard uit Thorn-Wessem, Archeologie in Nederland 4(4): 48-50.
- Gentile V. & Gijn A.L. van (2019), Anatomy of a notch: An in-depth experimental investigation and interpretation of combat traces on Bronze Age swords, Journal of Archaeological Science 105: 130-143.
- Gentile V. (2019), Academisch Zwaardvechten [archeologieonline.nl]. [other].
- Amkreutz L., Fontijn D.R. & Gentile V. (2019), Down by the River. A Late Bronze Age full-hilted sword from the river Meuse near Thorn and Wessem. In: Arnoldussen S., Ball E.A.G., Dijk J. van, Norde E. & Vries N. de (Eds.), Metaaltijden 6.. Leiden: Sidestone Press. 113-121.
- Gentile V., Gijn A.L. van & Amkreutz L.W.S.W. (2019), Op het scherpst van de snede: gevechtssporen op prehistorische zwaarden, Archeologie in Nederland 3(4): 56-59.
- Gentile V., Sparacello V.S., D'Ercole V. & Coppa A. (2018), Martial Practices and Warrior Burials: Humeral Asymmetry and Grave Goods in Iron Age Male Inhumations from Central Italy. In: Dolfini A., Crellin R.J., Horn C. & Uckelmann M. (Eds.), Prehistoric Warfare and Violence. Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches: Springer. 61-83.