(M/F) Postdoctoral Researcher in Rock Art Archaeology

CNRS; France; Sur place; EUR 26 000 - 37 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

CNRS's Trajectoires laboratory invites a research fellow to join the ANR ROCKMAPS project for 18 months, investigating the Bedolina carved panels and their geospatial context.

The role focuses on geostatistical analysis, database georeferencing of Neolithic–Iron Age settlements and sites in Val Camonica, and the production of scientific publications; fieldwork and collaboration across archaeology, geomorphology and geography are expected.

Qualifications

• PhD in Archaeology is required.
• Field archaeology experience is essential.
• Extensive knowledge of Recent Prehistory and Protohistory of the Italian Alps.
• Experience designing geographical databases (PostgreSQL/PostGIS).
• Proficiency with GIS software (QGIS/ArcGIS).
• Experience with geostatistical analyses.
• Strong scientific writing skills.
• Ability to work in a team and manage time independently.

Responsabilités

• Investigate Bedolina engravings and perform geostatistical analyses.
• Build a georeferenced database of Neolithic–Iron Age sites in Val Camonica.
• Analyse aerial/satellite imagery via remote sensing and review literature.
• Lead archaeological test pits to clarify chronology.
• Publish results in scientific articles and reports.
• Collaborate with project members across archaeology, geomorphology and geography; participate in fieldwork.

Connaissances

English

Italian

French

Formation

PhD in Archaeology

Outils

PostgreSQL/PostGIS

QGIS/ArcGIS

Description du poste

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Trajectoires. De la sédentarisation à l'Etat (VIIe - Ier millénaire av. J.-C.) Research Field History Anthropology Environmental science Researcher Profile Established Researcher (R3) Application Deadline 13 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Feb 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

You will be appointed to a research fellow position for a period of 18 months as part of the ANR ROCKMAPS project within the Trajectoires laboratory (UMR 8215).
The research fellow's role will be to investigate the cartographic representations, carved in stone, of Bedolina (Capo di Ponte, Lombardy, Italy).
Your main research task will focus on the geostatistical analysis of the carved symbols on the various panels at Bedolina (R1, R4, R7 and R9) and their relationship with the man-made environment (graves, settlements, engraved sites, specialised sites…) and the natural environment (springs, river networks, ridgelines, prominent landscape features, mines...). This research will be based on the set up of a georeferenced database of archaeological settlements (Neolithic–Iron Age) and notable natural sites in the Val Camonica, covering an area of approximately 1,500 km². This database will be compiled by analysing aerial and satellite imagery using remote sensing techniques, alongside a review of archaeological publications and grey literature. You will statistically test the degree of correspondence between the carved panels at Bedolina (engravings, microtopography), human settlements and the environment (mountains, valleys) at various scales (from hamlet to valley), by interpolating rock surfaces with topography and by shape and network analyses. You will summarise the results of this research in scientific publications.
You will contribute to the typological and chronological study of the engravings on the Bedolina panels (R1, R4, R7 and R9), and to the analysis of their surface conditions using 3D data (photogrammetry, stereoscopic scanning) and RTI.
You will take part in direction of archaeological test pits at the base of two of the carved panels in order to clarify their chronology and geomorphological history.
You will report regularly on the progress of your work whilst working independently. You will be able to draw on the support of members of the ANR ROCKMAPS project (UMR 8215 Trajectoires, UMR 6554 LETG, UMR 6118 Géosciences Rennes, EA 4451 CRBC, MAN, Inrap, Parco archeologico di Seradina-Bedolina). You will be required to take part in fieldwork and data acquisition in Val Camonica (Italy), workshops in Paris and Brest (France), the project's annual meetings, and to work as part of a team with researchers from other disciplines (archaeology, geomorphology, geography, geology).

• use 3D models and surveys of the carved panels at Bedolina
• catalogue and georeference the natural and man-made environment in Val Camonica from the Neolithic to the Iron Age
• carry out geostatistical analyses (topographic interpolation, shape and network analyses)
• lead archaeological test pits carried out at Bedolina and the project report
• write scientific articles on the research carried out in collaboration with project members

UMR 8215 Trajectoires (CNRS/University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Inrap), based in Paris, is an archaeological research laboratory. The laboratory's primary research focus is on the historical trajectories of societies from the onset of their sedentarisation to the emergence of the first States (7th–1st millennia BCE).
The ROCKMAPS project aims to recognise and analyse the cartographic content of an undervalued cultural heritage, the pre- and protohistoric map-like carvings found across western Europe. Beyond few well-accepted and world famous representations, not many are considered as real maps and their cartographic content is rarely underpinned, either by caution or evolutionist scepticism. The recent re-discovery and 3D recording of a map-like figuration, the Saint-Bélec Slab, stemming from an early Bronze Age barrow in Brittany, allowed for the first time to demonstrate statistically the spatial extent and part of the cartographic content of a prehistoric map. The ROCKMAPS project aims to investigate in-depth the Saint-Bélec Slab and the map-like carvings of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bedolina (Italy) in order to demonstrate their cartographic content through an interdisciplinary approach combining the development of 3D recording and modelling methodology, statistic and spatial analyses, use-wear analysis, field research, Bayesian modelling of 14C and OSL dating, geology, geomorphology and geoarchaeology.

• Qualifications required: PhD in Archaeology
• Experience in field archaeology
• Extensive knowledge of the Recent Prehistory and Protohistory of the Italian Alps
• Design of geographical databases (PostgreSQL/PostGIS)
• Proficiency in at least one GIS software package (QGIS/ArcGIS)
• Experience in geostatistical analysis
• Scientific writing skills
• Key skills: ability to work in a team, organise one's own time independently, and demonstrate initiative and the ability to make proposals
• Personal qualities: availability and responsiveness, organisation and attention to detail
• Languages: English (B2/C2 level), Italian (B2/C2 level), French (A1/C2 level)