PhD Studentship: A Climatic Framework for Cretan Civilisations

We are exploring how climate changes and extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and wildfires, shaped ancient societies on Crete. This island played a key role in the early Eastern Mediterranean history, serving as home to Europe’s earliest civilization, the Minoans, who flourished for 1,700 years, followed by other major societies like the Classical Greeks, and Romans.

As today’s Mediterranean faces hotter temperatures, worsening droughts, and more frequent wildfires, Crete, with its rich cultural history and long record of climate change, offers a unique case study of how past communities adapted to comparable challenges. Despite its extensive archaeological record, Crete lacks detailed local, high-resolution climate data to reveal the environmental pressures faced by its ancient societies. Your project will address this critical gap using stalagmites from the east of Crete.

Stalagmites are high-resolution paleoclimate archives, which can provide climate data at the scale of a single human lifetime. They have been used to indicate climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor Wat, the capital of the Khmer empire (ca. 1430 CE), and the ancient Akkadian empire in Mesopotamia (ca. 4.2K BP). You will work with newly collected stalagmites measuring carbonate stable isotopes. If feasible then complimentary methods may include trace elements, Ca isotopes and biomarker approaches. The stalagmites will be calibrated to produce the most accurate climate records through records of cave monitoring data. We have already installed monitoring equipment to record drip-water rates, temperature, relative humidity and pCO2. We are collecting modern calcite samples for isotopic analyses. Precise U/Th dating will allow us to link these findings to archaeological records, offering a timeline of how ancient Cretans responded to environmental stress.

This research will provide critical insights into the relationship between climate and cultural resilience in one of history’s most influential regions. By revealing how the Minoans and their successors navigated extreme events, we aim to deepen our understanding of long-term human–environment interactions and inform strategies for addressing today’s climate challenges in the Mediterranean and beyond.

For further information on this project and details of how to apply to it, please click on the 'Apply' button above.

Further information on how to apply for a CENTA studentship can be found on the CENTA website: https://centa.ac.uk/apply/

Funding notes:

This project is offered through the CENTA3 DLA, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Funding covers: annual stipend, tuition fees (at home-fee level), Research Training Support Grant.

Academic requirements: at least a 2:1 at UK BSc level or a pass at UK MSc level or equivalent.

International students are eligible for studentships to a maximum of 30% of the cohort. Funding does not cover any additional costs relating to moving or residing in the UK. International applicants must fulfil the University of Birmingham’s international student entry requirements, including English language. Further information: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/pgt/requirements-pgt/international/index.aspx.

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