Tom Brughmans

Tom Brughmans serves as Associate Professor in Classical Archaeology at Aarhus University's School of Culture and Society, where he pioneers the application of network science and computational modeling to archaeological questions. His work bridges theoretical archaeology with complexity science, focusing on long-term economic dynamics in the Roman Empire through quantitative analysis of material culture distribution.

His research centers on developing methodological frameworks for archaeological network analysis, with specific expertise in Roman economic integration, amphorae trade networks, and agent-based simulation of ancient economies. Brughmans advocates for computational reproducibility and open-science practices, creating accessible tools that transform complex archaeological data into analyzable network structures while challenging traditional interpretations of Roman market systems.

Brughmans' publication trajectory reveals three dominant trends: advancing theoretical foundations of archaeological network science through handbooks and methodological guides; empirical investigations into Roman economic complexity using big-data approaches to amphorae distributions; and development of public-facing simulation platforms that translate academic research into interactive experiences. His work consistently integrates computational techniques with archaeological evidence to model socio-economic processes across centuries.

His scientific recognition includes prestigious competitive fellowships:

• Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (2017-2019) for the MERCURY project
• Marie-Curie Individual Fellowship (2019-2020) for SIMREC

Brughmans directs multiple major research initiatives including the Past Social Networks Project (an open repository for ancient network data), NEFLARA (a Marie-Curie project developing landscape archaeology frameworks), and MINERVA (focused on Roman economic functioning). He has secured substantial funding from the Leverhulme Trust, Marie-Curie Actions, and ERASMUS+ for projects advancing computational archaeology, while actively promoting collaborative research through platforms like FORVM that make economic modeling accessible to broader audiences.

As a core member of Aarhus University's Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet), he contributes to interdisciplinary investigations of ancient urban connectivity. His leadership extends to developing international research networks through the Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Network Research and creating open educational resources that democratize access to network analysis methodologies in archaeology.