Ana Silkatcheva
HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Scholar in Islamic Art and Architecture
Supervisor: Professor Alain George
College Affiliation: Wolfson
Email: ana.silkatcheva@ames.ox.ac.uk
DPhil project (from 2019): “Geometric Patterns on Mosaic Pavements of the Late Antique and Early Islamic Levant”
Previous Studies
2014 – 2015: Master of Museum and Heritage Studies, University of Sydney
2011 – 2014: Master of Arts (Research) (Archaeology), University of Sydney (Distinction) Thesis title: “Byzantine Mosaic Workshops of North-west Jordan”
2006 – 2009: Bachelor of Arts (Classical Archaeology), University of Adelaide
Scholarships, grants and awards
(2021) James A. Sauer Fellowship, American Center of Research (ACOR), Amman
(2021) Professor Samuel Lieu Travel Grant, Centre for British Research in the Levant (CBRL)
(2021): Marcia and Oded Borowski Research Fellowship, W.F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research, Jerusalem
(2020): Catherine Southwell-Keely Travel Grant, Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation, University of Sydney
(2019 – 2022): HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Scholarship in Islamic Art and Architecture, Khalili Research Centre, University of Oxford
(2016): Bursary for participation in ‘Wisdom of Islamic Art’ study tour of Iran (Tehran, Qom, Kashan, Esfahan), University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran
(2011): Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship (for research in Jordan)
(2009): Demosthenes Medal for Continuous Excellence in Ancient Greek Studies, University of Adelaide
Teaching experience
“Colloquial Arabic for Archaeologists”, a professional development course developed and taught at the Centre for Classical and Near Eastern Studies of Australia, Sydney, in 2014, 2016 and 2018
Curatorial work
2017-2019 Curatorial Researcher for the Islamic ceramics collection, Nicholson Museum and Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney
2016 Curatorial Consultant for the Islamic ceramics collection, Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar
2015 Curatorial Intern at the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar
2014-2015 Curatorial volunteer at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney
Affiliation with Archaeological Excavations and Cultural Heritage Projects
2018 Artefact processing for Sydney Light Rail archaeological excavations (Artefact Heritage Services)
2017 Excavations of Willow Court Asylum, Tasmania (Flinders University)
2015, 2017 Survey of Colonial Built Heritage in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, India
2015 ‘Stories from the sandstone’: epigraphic survey of cliffs at Manly Quarantine Station, Sydney (University of Sydney)
2012 Excavations of Byzantine Abila, Jordan (John Brown University)
2011-2014 Excavations of Islamic Tāwaḥīn al-Sukkar, al-Ṣafi, Jordan (Hellenic Society for Near Eastern Studies)
2008 Excavations of Byzantine/Islamic Khirbet al-Sheikh ‘Isa, al-Safi, Jordan (University of Adelaide and Hellenic Society for Near Eastern Studies)
Professional experience
2014-2018 Archaeological Librarian, Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens, Sydney and Athens
2016-2017 Heritage Consultant / Archaeologist, City Plan Heritage, Sydney
2011-2014 Archaeologist, Hellenic Society for Near Eastern Studies, Jordan
Research Assistantships
2018 Department of Art History (Museum and Heritage Studies), University of Sydney
2015 Department of History, University of Sydney
2013 Department of Classics, University of Adelaide
2010-2012 Department of Linguistics, University of Adelaide
Language training
2016 Syriac summer school, University of Lausanne and Venice International University, Venice
2014 Modern Greek for Archaeologists semester, Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens, Sydney
2014 Advanced Koine Greek summer school, Macquarie University, Sydney
2013 Biblical Hebrew semester, St Barnabas Theological College, Adelaide
2006-2009 French, German, Ancient Greek, Latin as part of BA, University of Adelaide
Independent professional training
2020 Geographic Information Systems course, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
2017 Introductory Archaeological Geophysics course, Flinders University, Adelaide
2016 ‘Wisdom of Islamic Art’ Study Tour of Iran (Tehran, Qom, Kashan, Esfahan), University of Denominations and Religions, Qom, Iran
2015 Archaeological Illustration course, Nicholson Museum, Sydney
2012 Portable X-Ray Fluorescence training, Bruker Elemental hosted by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney
2012 New Archaeological Research Network for Integrating Approaches to Ancient Material Studies (NARNIA): Mosaics Training Course, University of Cyprus, Nicosia
Research interests
Byzantine/Islamic transition in the Near East
Byzantine/Islamic mosaics
Islamic ceramics
Display and reception of Islamic art in museums and galleries
Islamic art in Australia
Arabic dialectology
Publications and Conference Presentations
