Turkish Archaeology Student Awarded Prestigious Fellowship for Groundbreaking Research on Ancient Lycia

Batuhan Özdemir’s critical study of 19th-century British perceptions of Lycia earns him a coveted BIAA–Bilkent postdoctoral fellowship, spotlighting Türkiye’s growing presence in international archaeology.

A major success in Anatolian heritage studies has emerged from the UK, where Turkish archaeology student Batuhan Özdemir has been awarded a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship jointly supported by the British Institute at Ankara (BIAA) and Bilkent University. His work delves deep into the imperial and political framing of ancient Lycia (Trm̃misa) during the 19th century, earning him international recognition.

Özdemir, a PhD graduate from Durham University and former scholar sponsored by the Turkish Ministry of National Education, will soon take up a permanent academic post at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University—further strengthening academic ties between Türkiye and the UK.

His doctoral dissertation, titled “Geopolitics and Cultural Identities in the 19th Century: Framing Charles Fellows’s Lycian Collection in the British Museum”, critically examines how Lycian artifacts were collected, interpreted, and displayed during Britain’s colonial expansion. Özdemir argues that these objects—now part of the British Museum’s holdings—were framed to align with picturesque Hellenic ideals while marginalizing local Anatolian narratives.

In February 2026, Özdemir will present this research at the high-profile international conference “The Ancient Mediterranean and the British Museum: Pasts and Futures.” He has also co-authored a forthcoming academic paper with his supervisor, Dr. Cathie Draycott, exploring class, colonialism, and representational bias in the museumification of Lycia.

Eloise Jones: Myth, Femininity, and the Art of Lycian Tombs

Also celebrated is Eloise Jones, a Durham alumna and current PhD candidate at the University of Liverpool. She has been awarded a competitive Leverhulme Trust Studentship, supporting her fieldwork and research in Istanbul.

Her dissertation, “With Flashing Eyes: Femininity, Mythology, and Apotropaism in Lycian Funerary Iconography from the 6th–4th Century BCE”, explores how gender, mythological figures, and protective symbolism were embedded in Lycian tomb art. Her work adds nuance to our understanding of Classical Anatolian concepts of femininity, mortality, and the afterlife.

Before starting her PhD, Jones worked at the British Institute at Ankara, where she gained firsthand experience in Anatolian field archaeology.

Guided by Expertise in Anatolian Art

Both Özdemir and Jones have been mentored by Dr. Cathie Draycott, a leading scholar in the art and archaeology of Iron Age and Classical Anatolia. Draycott’s forthcoming article, “How Do You Describe What Lies In-Between? Bricolage, Network Thinking and Lycia-Trm̃misa,” will be published in Topoi. Orient–Occident (2024).

Durham’s Department of Archaeology—ranked 6th globally for Archaeology (QS World University Rankings 2025)—continues to provide students with rigorous, research-led teaching and fieldwork experience. These successes underscore the department’s role as a global leader in heritage research and education.

Durham University