Throwback: a festive end of the Faculty of Archaeology’s celebratory year

Published on 25 May 2023

On Tuesday, the 16th of May, the Faculty of Archaeology put a festive end to the 25th year celebrations. The programme included a dedication of our largest meeting room, the sealing and burying of a time capsule, and a BBQ.

25 years

In the past academic year, a string of events was organised to celebrate the Faculty’s 25^th birthday. In September, we opened the year with food trucks and a party with live music; in December, we held an inspiring panel discussion about the future of archaeology; in March, we opened our doors to the public for a chance to get an insight into what archaeology is all about; in April we, together with Archol, invited archaeologists working in the Netherlands and the Groot Reuvens Overleg; and, finally, in May, the final event took place!

Dean Jan Kolen puts a spin on the issue of dinosaurs in archaeology at the Lustrum Party in September 2022.
The Lustrum Party had a great food selection, as witnessed by the queue.
The Lustrum Party concluded with a live music performance by the cover band Gold Vicious.
The next event was panel discussion about the future of archaeology in December 2022.
The panel consisted of Professor Rosemary Joyce (UC Berkeley), Professor Carl Knappett (University of Toronto), Professor Ian Lilley (University of Queensland), and Dr Elisabeth Niklasson (University of Aberdeen) and it was moderated by our own Martina Revello Lami and Martin Berger.
In March 2023, the Van Steenis building became a Pop-up ArcheoHotspot open for public.
The visitors of the Pop-up ArcheoHotspot participated in various activities, including a pottery workshop.
Liesbeth Mol speaking on behalf of Archol on 25 years of collaboration with the Faculty of Archaeology at the next event in April 2023.
Commemorative cake with the portrait of Caspar Reuvens, the founder of archaeology in Leiden, in whose honour the Central Hall was renamed Reuvenshal.

Corrie Bakelszaal

As part of the final event, we dedicated the ‘Aquarium’ (room A2.24) to our Emeritus Professor Corrie Bakels. Together with her and close colleagues, we celebrated this momentous occasion.

Burying the time capsule

Staff and students had been asked to hand in contributions for the Faculty’s time capsule, which will be dug up again when the Faculty turns 50 in September 2047! Some of the colleagues presented their contributions, after which Dean Jan Kolen buried the time capsule in a homemade burial mound.

Alex Brandsen presenting his contribution to the time capsule, a poem A quarter century past, written with the help of ChatGPT.
Erik Kroon explaining the idea behind A Game of Tenures, an RPG about pursuing a career in science.
Handover of contributions to the time capsule.
Burying the time capsule in the burial mound made by our students: Arthur, Zoë and Alex.
The time capsule is in the ground and ready to be dug up in 25 years.