Dr Gillian Juleff

I have two fields of interest. Firstly, I have specialised for many years in early ferrous technology (the archaeology of iron and steel), with a focus on Asia. My primary research has been in Sri Lanka where, under the umbrella of Monsoon Steel, I discovered through field survey and excavation evidence for a previous unknown wind-powered technology of the late first millennium AD capable of smelting direct to steel. The construction and operation of furnaces of this technology were demonstrated through experimental archaeology. Subsequent research has identified technologies across Asia that share traits with the Sri Lankan furnaces, which are the earliest in a technological lineage. My work has lead me to projects in India and collaborations with research teams in China and Japan.

My second field of interest is post-conflict archaeology and heritage in Sri Lanka. Having worked in Sri Lanka for over three decades, I have experienced the island during times of civil war and ethnic unrest. During the 1983-2009 civil war, between Tamil minority separatists and, majority Sinhalese, government forces, archaeology and heritage became increasingly politicised as a symbols of Sinhalese ancient primacy across the island. An uneasy peace now prevails but archaeology and heritage continue to fuel political nationalism. Since 2016 I have been working with UK colleagues and an interdisciplinary team in the Arts Faculty of Jaffna’s University to explore alternative, everyday archaeologies of the recent past in coastal communities of the Jaffna peninsula. The work supports identity and sense of place and belonging.

I am currently based in Exeter’s Cornwall campus and work within HaSS, an interdisciplinary department that aligns with my post-conflict work.

Biography:

I have over thirty years of experience working in archaeology in Britain and Asia. I gained a BSc (Hons) in Archaeological Conservation and Materials Science from the Institute of Archaeology, London University (now UCL). From London I moved to Bristol to become English Heritage’s first Archaeological Conservator for Southwest England. In 1984 I moved to Sri Lanka and became the head of artifact conservation for the UNESCO/Sri Lanka Cultural Triangle. In that post I was also coordinator of the conservation of cultural property course of the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, Colombo. From 1986 to 1990 I was also coordinator of an ODA/British High Commission/British Council/Cultural Triangle Heritage Management project which supported archaeological heritage management in Sri Lanka with funding of £350k.

In 1988 I began PhD research at UCL on the topic of ‘Early Iron and Steel of Sri Lanka: a study of the Samanalawewa Area’. With the discoveries made during field survey and excavation, the project mushroomed in scale beyond a PhD and transformed into Monsoon Steel, supported by funding from Balfour Beatty, ODA and the British High Commission (total £90k). In 1996 the first results were published on the front cover of the journal Nature, a rare single-authored paper by a female researcher.

Returning to UK in 1996 coincided with maternity leave and a period as a Field Monument Warden for English Heritage and freelance consultant in archaeology and archaeometallurgy, before joining Exeter in 2001. Until 2022 I was based on the Streatham campus in Exeter and taught modules in artefacts, world archaeology, archaeometallurgy, experimental archaeology and the archaeology of the Indian sub-continent. I am now based at Exeter’s Cornwall campus at Penryn where I teach in both the history and politics disciplines within Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS).

I am a Fellow of the Society of Antiquities of London (FSA)

I have given over 45 international invited lectures (not including conference presentations)

Research supervision:

I am not accepting new research students but I remain happy to consider co-supervision of research projects in the following subject areas –

• archaeometallurgy (in any region)
• ethnometallurgy (in any region)
• early mining and mineral exploitation
• archaeology and material culture of South Asia (including particularly Sri Lanka)
• Asian technological traditions (especially metallurgy)