M/F Archaeobotany of the Arabian Peninsula during the Islamic period

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Environnements et sociétés de l'orient ancien Research Field History Anthropology Environmental science Researcher Profile Established Researcher (R3) Application Deadline 18 Aug 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2026 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

Under the supervision of the scientific director of the IKAP project (The Islamic Khaybar Archaeological Project), a large-scale project carried out within the Khaybar oasis in northwestern Saudi Arabia, the researcher will be responsible for the analysis and publication of the archaeobotanical remains recovered from the excavations and surveys carried out as part of the IKAP project. He or she will propose possible collaborations with other specialists in environmental archaeology, and will work closely with colleagues specialising in social anthropology and the study of written sources.

Technical and scientific activities

• Process and record botanical samples from excavations and surveys carried out as part of the Islamic Khaybar Archaeological Project.
• Undertake the typo‑chronological study of this material in coordination with the archaeologists in charge of the excavations and surveys, and in collaboration with other researchers and specialists involved in the project.
• Produce detailed scientific reports on the research conducted.
• Contribute to the scientific publications of the project (by writing or co‑authoring articles and by participating in conferences and seminars).

Training activities

• Contribute to the training of French and Saudi students in the methods and techniques used in archaeobotanical analysis.

Logistics

• Contribute to the preparation of field missions, in collaboration with the director and project manager (definition of requirements, timetable).

The Khaybar oasis, located in western Saudi Arabia, is an important site in local history. It has been preserved for millennia, and human occupation appears to have been almost continuous from the earliest prehistory to the present day.The IKAP project (The Islamic Khaybar Archaeological Project) began in February 2025 and will continue until mid 2028. The project is led by S. McPhillips (CNRS, ArchéOrient - UMR 5133, Environment and Societies of the Ancient Near East) and is funded by the French Agency for the Development of AlUla (Afalula, France), in partnership with the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU, Saudi Arabia).The project aims, in particular, to provide new archaeological documentation to better understand human occupation and environmental dynamics in the Khaybar oasis during the Islamic period.The researcher will be hosted within the UMR 5133 team at the Jalès research station (Ardèche). Travel to Saudi Arabia is planned, including 5-6 weeks of fieldwork. The work will take place in a hot hyper-arid environment.

• PhD. in Archaeology;
• Experience in Islamic archaeology of the Near East and the Arabian Peninsula;
• Good knowledge of site recording and documentation methods in archaeology;
• Fluency in spoken and written English (minimum level C1);
• Some knowledge of spoken and written Arabic desirable.;
• Ability to lead a team and to train technicians and/or students in an international linguistic and cultural context;
• Proven track record of scientific publications in international peer-reviewed journals;
• Field experience in the Middle East, ideally in the Arabian Peninsula;
• Good knowledge of the network of specialists in archaeobotany;
• Extensive experience of working within scientific research projects;
• Ability to adopt and integrate diverse scientific approaches (e.g. ethnology, history).