Soultana Maria Valamoti
Professor, Department of History and Archaeology
I was born in Thessaloniki in January 1965. I began my academic career as a Lecturer at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) in 2002, and since December 2018 I have been Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at AUTH. Since 2017, I have served as Director of the Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Archaeological Research (EDAE) at AUTH (http://edae.hist.auth.gr/
).
I have taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses at AUTH and have supervised numerous Master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, and postdoctoral research projects. I have also taught undergraduate courses at universities abroad, including the University of Sheffield and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain, the Sorbonne (Paris I) in France, and the University of California, Berkeley in the United States.
I completed my undergraduate studies in Archaeology at AUTH in 1987, and subsequently obtained a Master of Science (1989) and a PhD (2001) from the University of Sheffield, under the supervision of Professor Glynis Jones.
From 2016 to 2022, I directed the research project PlantCult, funded by the European Research Council under the Horizon 2020 programme (Consolidator Grant, CoG GA682529). The project investigates food cultures in prehistoric Europe (http://plantcult.web.auth.gr/index.php/en/
).
I have published four books, including one monograph, and have edited six collective volumes. I have authored over 100 scientific articles in journals and contributed chapters to edited volumes. I have participated in international and local conferences with more than 100 scholarly presentations, often in collaboration with my students. I am responsible for the collection of bioarchaeological remains and the study of archaeobotanical material from numerous archaeological sites in Greece. My archaeobotanical work also includes field research at Dikili Tash in Macedonia (in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kavala and the French School at Athens), Selinunte in Sicily (in collaboration with New York University, USA), Pella in Macedonia (in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Pella and the University of Michigan, USA), and Pylos in Messenia (in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Messenia).
I am particularly interested in connecting present-day dietary practices with those of the past, as revealed through charred plant remains recovered from archaeological excavations. I frequently communicate my research to the wider public through interviews, articles, and outreach activities, including cooking events such as “AUTH in the City.”
The greatest challenge I have faced has been balancing an academic career with motherhood.