Archaeology of Ancient Israel Postdoctoral Fellowship Announcement

We welcome Dr Sophia Aharonovich – CACHE’s new Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Archaeology of Ancient Israel. Sophia is already well known to many in the Department of Ancient History through her involvement with the excavations at Khirbet el-Rai, Israel including co-leading the expedition in 2019 and participating this year in the larger expedition under Dr Gil Davis and Dr Kyle Keimer.

During her Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Sophia is planning to work on forensic analysis of biblical period sediments and pottery analysing organic residue, pollen grains and phytoliths. She will use her research to bring some taste, smell and colour to daily life in the biblical period.

Her postdoctoral fellowship is fully funded by the Education Heritage Foundation for three years.

Sophia has received several international scholarships including the Carmel Research Institute, Israel (2012), the Spackman award (2014) and the Organic Geochemistry International Elsevier Scholarship (2015). Sophia was the only Australian scientist on board of JOIDES Resolution during the 355 IODP Expedition in Indian Ocean (2015). She has also received multiple highly competitive research grands including the Irene Levi-Sala CARE Archaeological Foundation Grant and the Australian and New Zealand International Ocean Discovery Consortium (ANZIC) post-cruise funding with total sum of over 70,000 AUD.

Photo credit: Joanne Stephan