PhD Position in Ancient History/ Documentary Papyrology (4 years)

The Department of Ancient Civilizations invites applications for a position as PhD student in Ancient History / Documentary Papyrology, tenable for four years from August 1, 2021, as part of the SNSF-funded research project 'Urban Biographies of the Roman and Late Antique Worlds: Antinoopolis and Heracleopolis in Egypt, c. 100 - c. 650 CE' led by Prof. Dr. Sabine Huebner.

The PhD student will be a member of the project "Urban Biographies of the Roman and Late Antique Worlds: Antinoopolis and Heracleopolis in Egypt, c. 100 - c. 650 CE" and is expected to write a dissertation on the Egyptian city, Heracleopolis Magna. As an important nome metropolis, this city presents an excellent case study for the transition of Egyptian towns from the Roman to the late antique period, with an eye to both the Ptolemaic past and the Islamic future. The PhD student will be fully funded for a period of four years, be registered as a PhD student at the University of Basel, and work at the Institute of Ancient History at the Department of Ancient Civilizations. The PhD dissertation should be completed by July 31, 2025.

The PhD dissertation project will pursue the comprehensive collection and analysis of source materials from the site of Heracleopolis and will write an urban biography, which adequately captures the difference between this city and other nome capitals of middle Egypt. The PhD candidate will work closely with the Postdoc on Antinoopolis and the Postdoc archaeologist and rely on the data collected by the latter from a territorial survey, archaeological excavations, traditional documentary sources and geographical and environmental evidence which will be placed in open access via the on-line prosopography and the GIS platform. The goal is to recontextualize as far as possible the texts with the archaeological remains allowing to reconstruct in greater detail the urban landscape of Heracleopolis for the Roman and later Roman periods.

• Duration: 4 years, starting in August 2021
• Salary: approx. 50'000 Swiss francs (€ 47'500 or $ 51,500) / year.
• Working language: English

Your position

The PhD candidate will conduct research on the city of Heracleopolis Magna, collecting and analyzing relevant source materials. Because of the nature of the documentation, excellent skills in Greek papyrology are a prerequisite. Throughout the project, the candidate will closely collaborate with other members of the team and engage with the research questions and methodologies of urban history for the ancient world. The final result will be a PhD dissertation on Heracleopolis. Besides, the PhD candidate will help to organize - jointly with the team - a number of workshops and conferences and a public exhibition, participate in outreach activities, and present his/her research at scientific meetings.

Your profile

Applicants should hold a Master's degree in Ancient History or related fields (Master's thesis is expected to be completed by start of the position), demonstrate their competence in Greek papyrology, be highly motivated to conduct innovative transdisciplinary research at the intersections of ancient history, papyrology, and digital humanities, have an excellent command of English and good knowledge of other research languages, and be able to work autonomously within an internationally and institutionally diverse environment.

We offer you

A stimulating research environment at the Department of Ancient Civilizations, housing one of the world's leading research libraries in Classical Studies and many international collaborations. The Institute of Ancient History accommodates multiple ongoing large-scale research projects on Graeco-Roman Egypt and a graduate education specialized in digital papyrology and the history of Graeco-Roman Egypt. The salary and the conditions of employment will be those of the University of Basel.