Archaeologist

The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw

m.gwiazda2@uw.edu.pl

Dr Mariusz Gwiazda is co-director of the Berenike Project. He specializes in the archaeology of the Greco-Roman Eastern Mediterranean. His current work focuses on mortuary archaeology, craft production and Late Antique cultural transformations. He participated in archaeological projects conducted in Lebanon, Kuwait, Turkey and Egypt and has joined the Berenike Project in 2011.

Pottery specialist

The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw

jerzy.oleksiak96@gmail.com

Jerzy Oleksiak (MA, PhD researcher) is a ceramicist and arabist who has been working on the Berenike project since 2019. His research focuses on economic integration and dependencies of sites located in the Eastern Desert, Nile Valley, and Indian Ocean. His main area of interest is pottery, which plays a crucial role in studying and understanding the scale and vectorization of trade in the Late Antique Red Sea - a sphere of overlapping economic influence between the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Indian Ocean markets. He has worked as a ceramicist on various projects in Cyprus, Sicily, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

Bioarchaeology

Institute of Archeology of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow

judyta.bak@doctoral.uj.edu.pl

In The Berenike Project, Judyta Bąk is involved in research on funeral customs at the Berenike site. She specializes in archeology and anthropology of the body. Her interests and research activity related to the subject of body decoration and modification, funeral customs and analysis of human remains. Currently, she is a PhD student at the Doctoral School of Humanities JU, preparing a dissertation about the tradition of body painting and tattooing in pre-Hispanic coastal cultures of Peru.

Archaeologist

Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences

mawozniak@iksio.pan.pl

In Berenike, Dr. Marek Woźniak is responsible for researching the Hellenistic phase of the cities functioning. Manager of the (now completed) NCN 'Prelude' grant on issues related to the shape, origins and functioning of the Ptolemaic Berenike. He specializes in the archaeology of the Greco-Roman period, with a particular focus on the archaeology of the ancient, maritime trade and communication routes of the Indian Ocean and sites on the Asiatic and African peripheries of the Hellenistic world. Member of archaeological missions in Turkmenistan, Cyprus, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Sudan and, of course, Egypt (Alexandria, Sakkara, Berenike). In the 'Berenike Project' since 2009.

Bioarchaeologist

Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw (PCMA UW)

r.stark@uw.edu.pl

Dr. Robert Stark is a bioarchaeologist on the Berenike project. Robert’s research focusses on funerary archaeology and biological anthropology, with a specialisation in the use of isotope analyses to address aspects of past life ways. Robert has been involved with bioarchaeological research in Egypt and Sudan since 2010, most recently as part of the Old Dongola and Ghazali projects.

Archaeologist, numismatist

The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw

e.smagur@uw.edu.pl

Dr Emilia Smagur is an archaeologist in Berenike. She is also responsible for the documentation and analysis of coin finds. Her main field of expertise is archaeology of South Asia, the Indian Ocean trade as well as Indian and Roman coinage. Her current work focuses on the value and use of coins in the Indian Ocean ports, as well as on the agency of imports. She participated in many archaeological projects conducted in India, Nepal, Cambodia, Cyprus, Israel, Bulgaria and Ukraine and has joined the Berenike Expedition in 2021.

Archaeologist

Independent Researcher

snc28@pitt.edu

Sana Chowdhry is an independent researcher with archaeological experience in the commercial and non-profit sector. She has conducted archaeological field work in North America, Egypt, Jordan, England, and Saudi Arabia. Her research expertise and interests lie in the archaeology of Arabia, pre-modern trade networks of the Red Sea & Indian Ocean, pre-Islamic belief systems, and antiquity laws. Her technical expertise is in field surveying, GPR, and GIS analysis. She is currently a heritage management professional and freelance archaeologist based in the USA and is delighted to serve as a trench supervisor for the 2022 season of the Berenike Project.

Conservator

mahmoudsamir.arch@gmail.com

Dr. Mahmoud Samir Hussein is a researcher in antiquities restoration. He is responsible for restoring the archaeological small finds discovered in Berenike. He holds the position of Director of Restoration of the Tomb of Ramses II in the Valley of the Kings under the mission of Dr. Zahi Hawass. His main area of ​​expertise is the restoration of archaeological finds and murals. He also holds the position of restoration officer at the excavations of New York University in the Dakhla Oasis and the excavations of the Greek mission, the Center for Hellenic Studies in Alexandria, and director of the Royal Art Company for the restoration of palaces and monuments.

Archaeologist, glass specialist

Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology; University of Warsaw;

rkucharczyk@uw.edu.pl

She is a glass specialist involved in archaeological projects at various sites in Egypt and in the Mediterranean. Her research focuses on diverse aspects of ancient glass studies: from technology to typology, through distribution and consumption. The chronological extent of her scholarly interests ranges from the Roman period to early Islam and parallels the geographical range. She is primarily engaged in research in Alexandria (Kom el-Dikka). Recently, has also worked on glass finds from the newly discovered temple of Bubastis. In addition, the scope of her research further includes Marina el-Alamein, Marea and the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, as well as Ptolemais in Libya and Akrai in Sicily.

Pottery specialist

MF. The Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society

Alexandra.Konstantinidou@mf.no

Dr. Alexandra Konstantinidou is charged with the documentation and analysis of the pottery finds at Berenike. She has a long experience both as pottery expert and field archaeologist, being a member of several archaeological expeditions in Greece and Egypt. She is particularly interested in monastic archaeology, ancient technology and material culture as well as in archaeological theory.

Textile and painting conservator

Faculty of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw

anna.konopko@asp.waw.pl

Anna Konopko (MA, PhD Researcher) is a conservator holding diplomas in two specialties: conservation of textiles and conservation of paintings. It reflects her interest in interdisciplinary historic and modern objects which can’t be classified within traditional categories of arts and crafts. Currently she is working on completing her PhD which focuses on 18th/19th Chinese export art– mixed-media decorative wall panels. 2022 will be her first season at the Berenike site, where she will be responsible for cataloging, analysing textile artifacts, their preventive conservation as well as developing a methodology for future treatments and research.

Archaeologist, amphora stoppers specialist

Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences

mbajtler@iksio.pan.pl

Field archaeologist specializing in the ancient economy and maritime archaeology. Her current work focuses on architecture and urban planning of the site, mainly on the relation between main city roads and public buildings. Also responsible for documentation and analysis of amphorae stoppers. Since 2013 a member of "The Berenike Project".