Co-investigator for the DRC
Nicolas Nikis is a researcher at the Royal Museum for Central Africa and lecturer at Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). He holds a MA in Art history and Archaeology from ULB (2012), a MA in Preventive Archaeology from Université Paul Valery-Montpellier 3 (2013) and a PhD in Archaeology from the Université libre de Bruxelles (2018). His research focuses on the reconstruction of copper and pottery manufacturing processes, exchange networks and ancient politics over the last 2000 years in Central Africa. Over the years, he has conducted surveys and excavations in Benin, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), DRC and Burundi. Since his appointment at ULB and RMCA in 2021, as part of the Belgian Science Policy funded FED-tWIN programme, he has developed a strong interest in the provenance of collections and historiography of archaeology in Central Africa.
Having worked closely with collections and archives in recent years, I have come to appreciate their enormous potential for research, but also as an important heritage. The importance of ensuring equitable access to this heritage data has been neglected for too long, and I believe that any project that moves in this direction should be supported.
For a list of Nicolas’ work visit ORCID.