Marike van Aerde is a lecturer and researcher specialised in the archaeological evidence of ancient trade routes between the Indian Subcontinent, Egypt and East Africa up until the mid-1st millennium CE. She was awarded her doctoral degree from the Faculty of Archaeology in Leiden in 2015, specialising in connectivity between ancient Egypt and the Roman Mediterranean. Since then she has expanded her research project and currently collaborates with a diverse team of young researchers and PhD and MA students.
In 2019-2020 Marike was awarded the LeidenGlobal seed grant for her research project. From 2016-2019 she held the Postdoctoral Byvanck Fellowship at Leiden University, which included an interdisciplinary teaching program at both the Archaeology and Humanities Faculties in Leiden. She has appeared regularly at international conferences, incl. the EAA, the Gandhara Connections conference series in Oxford, UK, and expert meetings in Alexandria, Egypt.
From 2010-2015, Marike’s PhD research was part of Professor Miguel John Versluys’ VIDI project 'Cultural innovation in a globalising society: Egypt in the Roman world'. Her doctoral thesis explored cultural connectivity between Egypt and the Roman world. Fieldwork included campaigns at the Palatine Hill in Rome and material analyses in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma, the Royal Dutch Institute in Rome (KNIR), and The British Museum in London. Marike also holds a (cum laude) MA degree in Classics and Archaeology from Radboud University (2005), and as MA was awarded the Graduate School Research Scholarship from University College London (UCL, 2005-2008).
