Stijn Heeren

Dr. Stijn Heeren is an Assistant Professor of Archaeology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam’s Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. He leads the PAN programme (Portable Antiquities of the Netherlands), which documents privately held archaeological artefacts through a digital platform (www.portable-antiquities.nl). His work bridges academic research, heritage preservation, and public engagement, earning recognitions like the Dutch Data Prize 2018 and Stuiveling Open Data Award (2017 runner-up). He previously held roles including Visiting Professor at Ghent University (2015-2016) and part-time Lecturer at the University of Amsterdam (2010-2015).

His research focuses on rural communities, settlements, cemeteries, and material culture from the Late Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages, with specialization in metal artefacts, the Low Countries, and the Late Roman period (3rd–5th centuries). He completed his PhD at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on rural integration in the Roman Empire (2008, cum laude), winning the W.A. van Es prize in 2011. He collaborates with institutions like the National Heritage Agency (RCE), Nederlandsche Bank, and volunteer archaeology groups.

Key activities include managing PAN’s digital infrastructure, advancing isotopic studies on human mobility (e.g., Sr-O-C analysis), and lecturing on prehistoric/Roman Europe and archaeology’s societal role. His work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to historical transitions and citizen science initiatives.