The University of York is offering a fixed-term, paid full-time job for a postdoctoral Research Associate in Textile Archaeology.
The placement is part of the project "Seeing the Dead", an AHRC-funded project which aims to investigate the funerary custom attested in Roman Yorkshire in the 3rd and 4th centuries CE of pouring liquid gypsum over the bodies of adults and children in stone or lead coffins before burial. The Research Associate in textile archaeology will examine all surfaces of the gypsum casings, complete and fragmentary, for fabric imprints that reveal structures (textile weave, animal or vegetable fibres, borders, and selvedges). They will document the casing details, identify the nature and function of the fabrics, the technical tradition involved in their manufacture, and the types of garments and shrouds chosen. Remains of embedded textiles in the casings or in the sediments of coffins will be selected and sampled for microscopy and spectroscopy for better visualisation and analysis. The Research Associate will generate new knowledge about the nature and function of the burial textiles and how they reflect the social status of the people in them. Deadline for application is March 31, the interview date is April 25.
For more information see the website at Uni York.