Sabine Huebner

The Department of Ancient Civilizations at the University of Basel is offering a postdoctoral position in Environmental / Landscape Archaeology, based in Switzerland and tenable from September 2026 (negotiable). This opportunity is part of the SNSF-funded project “The Roman Villa as Ecosystem: Climate, Production, and Society in the Sabina Tiberina,” led by Prof. Dr. Sabine Huebner. The project focuses on Roman villa sites in central Italy, examining their environmental and landscape context between ca. 300 BCE and 600 CE. It aims to understand how land-use regimes, subsistence strategies, and rural production systems responded to climatic variability and long-term environmental change. The successful candidate will be central to developing and applying a landscape-archaeological framework that situates villa sites within regional settlement and land-use dynamics in the Sabina Tiberina. Responsibilities include engaging with legacy survey datasets (such as the Tiber Valley Project), integrating archaeological evidence with published environmental and palaeoclimate data, and reconstructing land use, vegetation, and subsistence regimes (including mixed farming, olive cultivation, and viticulture). The role also involves assessing the impact of climatic variability on agricultural production and rural settlement stability. Active participation in the project’s publication strategy is expected, including preparing articles for international peer-reviewed journals and contributing to summer schools and outreach activities. Field campaign participation is required, and candidates with relevant experience may coordinate archaeological implementation. The position offers integration into a highly collaborative research environment, including the Basel Climate Science & Ancient History Lab, and provides opportunities to develop an independent research profile at the intersection of environmental archaeology and ancient history. Applicants must hold a PhD in Environmental Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Geography, or a closely related field. Demonstrated experience in Mediterranean landscape archaeology is required, and familiarity with central Italian survey traditions is highly desirable. Candidates should be skilled in working across scales, from micro-contextual environmental data to regional landscape reconstruction, and able to integrate environmental proxies into historical interpretation. A strong research interest in ancient rural economies, subsistence agriculture, and human–environment interactions is essential. Excellent command of English is required. The University of Basel offers a stimulating research environment, with one of the world’s leading research libraries in Classical Studies and many international collaborations. Employment conditions follow university regulations. The position is SNSF-funded, and the application deadline is 26 May 2026. Applications should include a motivation letter, CV (including publications), and copies of academic degrees, submitted via the University of Basel online portal. Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof. Dr. Sabine Huebner at [email protected].