Jordan Anastassov

Jordan Anastassov serves as a Lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology and Ancient Sciences within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Neuchâtel, specializing in protohistoric archaeology with emphasis on the European Iron Age in the Balkans and Switzerland. His academic journey spans teaching and research roles at Geneva, Lausanne, and Neuchâtel universities since 2006.

His educational foundation includes a Gallo-Roman Archaeology degree from the University of Lausanne (2006) and a Doctor of Science in Prehistoric Archaeology from the University of Geneva and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2012). This dual training underpins his cross-cultural research approach.

Dr. Anastassov's research centers on Celtic-Thracian interactions during the Iron Age, particularly through two major projects: the Sboryanovo mission in Bulgaria investigating necropolises and territorial organization since 2014, and the La Tène collections study in Switzerland analyzing the eponymous site's artifacts. His work integrates excavation data with material culture analysis to reconstruct political structures, ritual practices, and cross-cultural exchanges in Southeast Europe.

His 12 recent publications (2007-2019) demonstrate consistent focus on Balkan Iron Age archaeology, with 2017-2019 works detailing Sboryanovo's Celtic sanctuary excavations and La Tène contextual analyses. These publications reveal methodological strengths in multidisciplinary collaboration, chronological refinement, and Balkan-Celtic cultural synthesis.

His scientific distinctions include:

• Lucien Chalumeau Prize (2014, University of Geneva)
• Augustin Lombard Prize (2006, Geneva Society of Physics and Natural History)
• Ernst and Lucie Schmidheiny Foundation Grant (2006)
• Vaud Academic Society Grant (2005)
• Foundation of the 450th anniversary of the University of Lausanne Grant (2005)

Dr. Anastassov directs the Swiss archaeological mission at Sboryanovo with support from the Swiss-Liechtenstein Foundation, and manages the La Tène collections project. His professional engagement includes presidency of the Thracian Studies Group (GET), committee membership in Switzerland's Working Group for Prehistoric Research, and affiliations with the Swiss Association of Archaeologists and French Association for Iron Age Studies. He has participated in excavations across Switzerland, France, Uzbekistan, and Bulgaria with responsibilities in site supervision and artifact analysis.

His research extends to public outreach through exhibitions including 'In Chariot Across Europe' at Razgrad Museum (2018-2019) and 'Celts in Thrace?' at University of Geneva (2017), alongside media features in France Culture, RTS, Le Figaro, and Sciences et Avenir.