معرفی
Prof. Dr. Dominik Bonatz is a Full Professor and Director of the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology at the Faculty of History and Cultures, Freie Universität Berlin. He serves as a Principle Investigator in the Excellence Cluster "Topoi – The Transformation of Space and Knowledge in the Ancient World" and leads multiple research projects including the German-Turkish project at Gercin Höyük and the German-Syrian project at Tell Fekheriye. His academic focus spans the Archaeology of Political Space, Syro-Hittite Iconography, and Megalithic Cultures of Southeast Asia.
- Positions: Full Professor (2003–present), Director of Institute (2003–present), Spokesperson for "Pictorial Construction of Space(s)" (2012–present), Head of "Shirin International – Syrian Heritage in Danger" (2015–present)
- Education: PhD in Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology (1997), MA in Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology (1993), both from Freie Universität Berlin
His research integrates visual anthropology with archaeological landscape studies, emphasizing the performance of images in political contexts. Key projects include the Digital Corpus of Ancient West Asian Seals and fieldwork in Syria, Turkey, and Indonesia. Publications cover funerary monuments, megaliths, and Assyrian ritual art, reflecting his interdisciplinary approach.
The 15 most recent publications (up to 2016) reveal a focus on: Late Bronze Age political structures in Mesopotamia, Assyrian and Aramaean visual culture, Indonesian megaliths, and digital storytelling applications in archaeology. These works span keywords from Archaeology of Death to Materiality of Rituals, with sub-fields addressing hybrid cultural symbolism and ancient media studies.
Teaching and Mentorship: With over 110 courses taught since 1998, Prof. Bonatz has supervised 20 PhD students and 42 Master's candidates. He currently mentors 12 PhD students, 8 Master students, and 2 Postdocs, while coordinating Erasmus exchange programs for the Faculty of History and Cultures.
Projects: He leads the Tell Fekheriye excavation (DFG funded since 2009), directs the Tanah Datar project in Sumatra, and organizes international workshops on topics like "Cast in Space" and "Archaeology of the Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont".
