Gunnel Ekroth

Gunnel Ekroth is Professor and Chair of Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University since 2011. Previously, she held research positions at Stockholm University (2002-2010), served as Visiting Professor at Université de Paris I (2009), and completed her Docent/Habilitation at Stockholm University (2004). She maintains active leadership roles as vice-chairman of the Swedish Institute at Athens and previously served as vice-chairman of the Swedish Research Institute at Istanbul (2012-2020).

Her research focuses on ancient Greek religious practices, particularly sacrificial rituals, hero cults, and sanctuary spaces. Her doctoral work demonstrated ritual similarities between hero cults and divine cults during the Archaic to Early Hellenistic periods. Subsequent research has explored meat distribution, blood handling, altar construction, and waste management in Greek sanctuaries. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Greece and spent significant research periods at the Swedish Institute at Athens.

Professor Ekroth's recent scholarship reveals a sophisticated integration of zooarchaeological evidence with traditional philological approaches, advancing our understanding of Greek sacrificial practices. Her publications demonstrate consistent engagement with theoretical frameworks while maintaining rigorous attention to archaeological context and material evidence. She has pioneered methods for interpreting ritual practices through spatial analysis of sanctuaries and material remains.

• Working member, Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities (2018)
• Royal Society of Sciences at Uppsala (2016)
• Editorial committee of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome, chairman (2012-2020)
• Swedish Institute at Athens, vice-chairman (since 2015)
• Royal Swedish Academy award for PhD dissertation (1999)

She has secured significant research funding from the Swedish Research Council and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. Professor Ekroth has established international scholarly networks through her editorial work and leadership positions. Over the past decade, she has been invited to lecture at 16 institutions worldwide including Oxford University, University of Amsterdam, and Collège de France, demonstrating her international recognition as a leading authority in Greek religious studies.