STARC - Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center

03/09/2026

Three new projects in human osteoarchaeology are underway!

We are delighted to announce the launch of three new research projects exploring different dimensions of past lifeways through human skeletal remains. All three projects are led or supervised by Efthymia Nikita, bringing together new research questions, approaches and collaborations within our research team:

🔹 BIOSOCIAL – a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship with Ria Kiorpe as Postdoctoral Fellow.

🔹 THIMIAMA – a RIF POST-DOC project with Grigoria Ioannou as Postdoctoral Researcher.

🔹 BODIES IN TRANSIT – a RIF ERC VISION project.

Stay tuned...we will be sharing more about each project and its research in the coming months!

28/08/2026

We're proud to share that APAC Labs' latest research has been published in Digitalia, one of Italy's leading journals dedicated to digital technologies for cultural heritage.

The article, "Hidden Secrets and Science and Technology Approaches to Titian's Ecce Homo", by APAC Labs researchers Nikolas Bakirtzis, Nicolette Vollero Levy and Andriana Nikolaidou showcases APAC Labs' interdisciplinary research on Titian’s Ecce Homo painting, combining heritage science, advanced imaging, material characterisation, and digital documentation to uncover the artist's techniques and reveal a previously unknown portrait hidden beneath the visible composition.

The publication also highlights the international impact of this research, which inspired the exhibitions "Unseen Gaze – The Hidden Portrait under Titian's Ecce Homo" in Limassol and the Musée Condé, Château de Chantilly in France, demonstrating how science and digital technologies continue to reveal new stories hidden within works of art.

03/08/2026

APAC Labs is happy to be a partner in – Knowledge Graphs for Stratigraphy. StratiGraph is a newly launched Horizon Europe Innovation Action coordinated by the CNR Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche(CNR).

The project aims to transform archaeological and palaeontological documentation by developing innovative open collaborative tools. It integrates advanced knowledge graphs, artificial intelligence, and 3D field documentation techniques.

Within StratiGraph, The Cyprus Institute / APAC Labs will lead the development of the project's data model and knowledge graph. Particular attention will be given to the Heritage digital twin-based data model. This will support the integration, analysis, and visualisation of the complex data generated throughout the project. The data model will ensure semantic consistency, interoperability, and scalability, while addressing the diverse requirements of archaeological and heritage documentation.

The APAC Labs team will also implement one of the project's case studies, centred on the Saint John Lampadistis Monastery in Cyprus. This will involve annotating and interpreting the complex building stratigraphy of the UNESCO site, while testing and refining the project's innovative tools.

Through StratiGraph, APAC Labs contributes to shaping the future of archaeological documentation across Europe, in line with open science and FAIR principles

03/07/2026

📢 The Cyprus Institute is currently seeking two enthusiastic and highly motivated PhD candidates in the framework of the Horizon Europe One Archaeological Science ERA Chair Project (https://1archsci.cyi.ac.cy/) starting 1 October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Available PhD positions:
🔗 PhD in Science and Technology in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (Human Osteoarchaeology) - The Cyprus Institute https://www.cyi.ac.cy/education/prospective-students/financial-support/phd-in-science-and-technology-in-archaeology-and-cultural-heritage-human-osteoarchaeology
🔗 PhD in Science and Technology in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (Archaeobotany)- The Cyprus Institute
https://www.cyi.ac.cy/education/prospective-students/financial-support/phd-in-science-and-technology-in-archaeology-and-cultural-heritage-archaeobotany

📍 Location: Nicosia, Cyprus

📅 Application deadline: August 23, 2026 (for Fall 2026 admission).
OneArchSci is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme (Grant Agreement No 101186503).

Learn more about OneArchSci project at: https://1archsci.cyi.ac.cy/

“Moving the Archaeological Science Group into an innovation-driven future, supporting the non-academic ecosystem of SME actors and government and NGO stakeholders in archaeology, cultural heritage and environmental sciences, within the legal constraints of the relevant authorities and addressing s...

01/07/2026

Can archaeology, chemistry and detective work come together in a comic book? Of course! Our OneArchSci team has created The Mass Burial Mystery, a free educational comic that introduces young readers to osteoarchaeology and isotope analysis for reconstructing aspects of the past.

Read it for free here: https://zenodo.org/records/21073113
And yes... our colleagues were shameless enough to name the comic's heroes after themselves! 😄

OneArchSci is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101186503.

01/07/2026

APAC Labs is currently contributing to the ongoing study of Pyla-Kokkinokremos, a fortified hilltop settlement in south-east Cyprus dating to circa 1200–1180 BC. The site has long played a prominent role in discussions about the c. 1200 BC "collapse" in the eastern Mediterranean. Its function and intra-site role remain widely debated.

Two visiting researchers recently joined APAC Labs to contribute to this work. Sonia Mironiouk (University of Bologna) is investigating an amphoroid krater from the site using non-destructive techniques, including p-XRF, MA-XRF, and portable FTIR. Victor Goeman (KU Leuven) is working on the digitalisation of material from Pyla using GIS and photogrammetry.

Together, their work helps APAC Labs better understand the function and character of this Late Bronze Age site. It also sheds light on its role within the wider landscape of south-east Cyprus.

29/06/2026

Our last post concludes on APAC Labs' active participation in the Digital Heritage Summit in Limassol, Cyprus.

The final day of the event was dedicated to the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage. A roundtable organised under the ANCHISE Project (Horizon Europe) brought together several experts in the field to discuss future strategies for combating illicit trafficking.

APAC Labs researcher Dr Valentina Vassallo took part in the roundtable as a representative of the ANCHISE project. Dr Vassallo contributed to the discussion by introducing the current fragmented situation in terms of data and tools, and by advocating how the operational tools developed within the ANCHISE project — after analysing professionals' needs — will contribute to solving this global problem under the umbrella of a future hub for combating illicit trafficking.

23/06/2026

Continuing our series of posts on APAC Labs' active participation in the Digital Heritage Summit in Limassol, Cyprus.

During the event, a two-day hackathon marked the culmination of the Twin it! Part II campaign on 3D, organised by the Europeana Initiative and the European Commission. APAC Labs researcher Dr. Valentina Vassallo participated in the hackathon as a representative of the 3D-4CH Project(3D-4CH Online Competence Centre in 3D for Cultural Heritage), alongside other project partners.

During the hackathon, participants were divided into teams and used Twin it models to focus on presenting solutions to global challenges such as sustainable tourism, heritage preservation, technological innovation, research and education.

Valentina's team ("Aphrodite's team") developed an app showcasing the Aphrodite route in Cyprus. The app utilised 3D models of Cypriot cultural heritage to promote lesser-known sites and non-mainstream locations on the island, encouraging cultural and sustainable tourism.

While the project did not win first prize, it is certainly an interesting example of how 3D can facilitate education, preservation and communication - all of which are promoted by the 3D-4CH project.

Stay tuned for our next post recapping another exciting project!



3D_4CH_participation_Hakathon_prototype_presentation.jpg

23/06/2026

Join us on Thursday, 25 June 2026, at 15:00 (EET) for a seminar on Archaeometric Assessment of Evidence for Medieval Glass Production from Akhsiket, Uzbekistan by Marcel Frenken, Graduate Research Fellow at the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC), The Cyprus Institute.

👉 More information and registration details:

https://www.cyi.ac.cy/index.php/component/k2/seminar-archaeometric-assessment-of-evidence-for-medieval-glass-production-from-akhsiket-uzbekistan.html

This seminar forms part of the OneArchSci project funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101186503.

Learn more about OneArchSci: OneArchSci

21/06/2026

Continuing our series of posts on APAC Labs' active participation during the Digital Heritage Summit in Limassol, Cyprus.

APAC Labs researcher Dr. Valentina Vassallo took part in the Digital Heritage Summit in Limassol, Cyprus, where she represented the StratiGraph Project at the roundtable 'Why we Digitise Cultural Heritage, its Use & ReUse; Persistent Virtual Worlds and AI'.

Dr. Vassallo contributed to the discussion, sharing the StratiGraph Project activities, which aim to transform archaeological and palaeontological documentation by developing innovative, open, collaborative tools that integrate advanced knowledge graphs, artificial intelligence and 3D field documentation.

Her contribution highlighted the project's open collaborative tools and their validation through diverse case studies. Among them, the UNESCO site of St. John Lampadistis Monastery in Cyprus was showcased as one of StratiGraph's examples to bridge archaeology, natural science investigations and Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) studies for the research, conservation and valorisation of Heritage assets.

Stay tuned for our next post recapping another exciting project participation!