Birgitta Eder

Birgitta Eder, PD Dr., is Head of the Athens Branch of the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Athens (ÖAI) and leads the research group Early Greece. Since 2019 she directs the Institute’s operations in Greece, coordinating field projects, publications and international collaborations.

Education & Qualifications

• Doctorate, Ancient History and Classical Archaeology, University of Vienna (1995)
• Habilitation, Elis and Olympia: The Genesis of Two Centers of a Landscape, TU Darmstadt (2018)
• Post-graduate studies, University College London (1988-1989)

Research Focus
Eder’s scholarship centres on the archaeology and history of the Aegean from the Late Bronze Age through the Early Iron Age (2nd–1st millennia BC). She integrates landscape archaeology, ceramic studies, and historical geography to investigate the emergence and transformation of early Greek communities. Long-running interests include the political geography of the Mycenaean world, the role of sanctuaries—especially Olympia—in negotiating identity and power, and the long-distance exchange networks that linked the Aegean with the central and western Mediterranean.

Current field initiatives encompass the interdisciplinary study of the Early Mycenaean settlement at Kakovatos (Triphylia), geoarchaeological survey around Olympia focusing on harbour structures and palaeoenvironments, and landscape-archaeological exploration of the Kleidi–Samikon area in the western Peloponnese.

Publication Trends
Across more than two decades, Eder’s publications chart a trajectory from detailed pottery analyses and burial studies to synthetic treatments of territorial control and cult continuity. Recent co-authored geoarchaeological papers (2023–2025) signal a methodological expansion towards high-resolution environmental reconstruction, while edited volumes such as (Social) Place and Space in Early Mycenaean Greece (2021) demonstrate her commitment to collaborative, theoretically informed debate.

Scientific Awards & Fellowships

• APART Fellowship, Austrian Academy of Sciences (1998–2000)

Grants & Collaborative Networks
Eder has continuously secured competitive funding from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). She currently directs the FWF-funded project Pots in Life and Death at Early Mycenaean Kakovatos, combining archaeometric ceramic analysis with broader investigations of social practice. International partnerships include the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), the University of Freiburg, and numerous European research networks.

Laboratories & Research Teams
As head of the ÖAI Athens branch, Eder oversees an active team of post-docs, doctoral candidates, and technicians. The branch maintains dedicated ceramic processing and GIS facilities, while collaborations with the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science provide access to archaeometry, geoarchaeology and digital humanities laboratories.