The aim of this project is to better understand the last stage of the production chain of a metal, lead, which was omnipresent in the Roman period, from the end of the Republic and under the Empire, that is, its marketing, its organisation, its logistics and its constraints, and the management of the resource. We propose here to work on one of the manufactured products that required large quantities of metal, the fistulae aquariae, or lead pipes that formed the water conveyance networks that Roman cities were equipped with. The latter provide information, both epigraphic (names of the craftsmen and/or clients) and geochemical (elemental and isotopic composition of the metal, which is that of the original ore), which, if duly analysed and cross-referenced, could provide information on the techniques used to manufacture the pipes, the origin of the metal used on them and, consequently, the sources of supply for the market, the evolution of the latter over time and the commercial strategies put in place. Epigraphy will allow us to better understand, thanks to the systematic inventory and the study of the names found on the pipes, the organisation of the lead market from the point of view of its actors, both private and public (emperors, cities), and the relationships they maintained between them. The project is therefore fundamentally interdisciplinary: it brings together researchers in history, archaeology and archaeometry around common problems. It will focus on several distinct geographical sectors, Rome and Ostia, Campania, Aquileia and Veneto, the middle Rhone valley and the cities of Mediterranean Gaul, which functioned as independent markets, but which should be compared in order to draw general conclusions about the global trade in Roman lead.

The abundant quantities of flax found in good states of preservation in Egypt make this material a unique source of investigation for reconstructing the history of ancient Egyptian techniques and life. The iSOPALIN project proposes a multi-isotopic study of flax fibres found in archaeological contexts in Egypt, aiming 1) to understand their states of degradation through the prism of light isotopes (2H, 13C and 18O), 2) to offer a study of the provenance of the fibres based on 87Sr/86Sr strontium isotopes and 3) to compile all the isotopic information obtained to document the growth environments associated with flax. The radiocarbon dating of these archaeological artefacts will make it possible to chronologically anchor the restitution of these growing environments. This work will be articulated between isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and CO2 laser spectroscopy, between France and Egypt, between fibre and sediment, and between modern linen samples, fragments from European museum collections and archaeological textiles found during recent excavations in Egypt. It will combine cutting-edge analytical developments (such as the development of CO2 laser spectroscopy, an interesting alternative to expensive and difficult-to-maintain IRMS, applied to the measurement of d13C in archaeological samples) and large-scale archaeological challenges, documenting linen as a material and providing a better understanding of its isotopic compositions, both in terms of stable isotopes (2H, 13C, 18O, 87Sr) and radioactive ones (14C). These last aspects will allow us to deepen our knowledge of the paleoclimates associated with the cultivation of flax in Egypt as well as the use of this material as a chronological marker to reconstruct the history of this exceptional civilisation.

The archaeology of the 19th and first half of the 20th century strongly affected the cultural heritage of ancient sites through numerous and extensive excavations using improper methods As a result, a considerable information was lost, and the management of the sites was difficult to ensure. In view of this situation, the Epicur project is taking up the challenge of re-examining the remains that have been uncovered in the past. It examines the emblematic case of the episcopal group of Cuicul-Djemila (Algeria), registered on the world heritage (Unesco), using non-invasive research protocol based on new technologies. Its objective is to show how ancient discoveries still hold significant potential. Their rational exploitation advances the research by ensuring their conservation through documentation, and also by promoting the results through training, publications, museography and digital technology.