Title: A Partnership of Unequals: Historicising Labour Relations between Local and Foreign Archaeologists in Türkiye through Ottoman Comparanda
Part I – Invisible Labour and the Double “Sift”
By Yağmur Heffron (University College London, Archaeology)
Date: Monday, October 15, 2025
Time: 1730-1900
Room: C Blok Amfi
Abstract: This lecture, titled “A Partnership of Unequals,” delves into the historical labor relations between local and foreign archaeologists in Türkiye, drawing comparisons from the Ottoman era. Part I will specifically examine the concepts of “Invisible Labour” and the Double “Sift,” highlighting the often-unacknowledged contributions and differential treatment of local workers within archaeological practice..
About the speaker: Dr Heffron is an archaeologist of ancient Anatolia whose work examines the intersections of material culture and textual history. Her research focuses on the religious history of early second-millennium B.C. Anatolia, exploring questions of ritual hybridity, religious identity, and the relationship between textual and material evidence. She is also interested in the contemporary dynamics of gender and labour in Middle Eastern archaeological fieldwork.Before joining UCL, Yağmur held an Anniversary Fellowship at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, and served as Assistant Director of the Neubauer Expedition to Zincirli (Türkiye). She has excavated widely across Türkiye and currently works as Assistant Director of the Uşaklı Höyük Archaeological Project.
Organized by the Department of Archaeology
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