Dirk’s work is concerned with the economies, group identities and belief systems of prehistoric societies across Europe.
More specifically, he explores links between the introduction of new technologies, mostly related to metallurgy and metalwork production, and societal change in the Bronze and Iron Ages. He also studies the develoment of trade networks against the backdrop of these changes. Dirk currently is involved in fieldwork projects in both Ireland and Iberia, looking at Bronze Age settlement systems, changes in funerary ritual and the environmental impact of early copper mining.
Expertise
Ancient world systems • Archaeometry of inorganic materials • Mining Archaeology • Prehistoric economies • Scientific dating methods • Social Archaeology
Current Research
Knocknashee hillfort project • The beginnings of the Early Iron Age in south-western Iberia: chronology and material culture • Early mining in the Lower Segura Valley (SE Spain)
Career Network
Heritage institutions (museums and research institutes) in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain • International Union of Pre- and Protohistoric Sciences • Academic Publishing
Further Details Can Be Found Here…
Email: d.brandherm@qub.ac.uk
(Image: Surveying old mining works in the Sierra de Orihuela – D. Brandherm)
ARCHAEOLOGY & PALAEOECOLOGY • School of Natural & Built Environment 