About us / Fitch Laboratory
Fitch Laboratory
Scientifically informed archaeology through material analysis, international research partnerships, and postgraduate training.
A world-leading centre for science-based archaeology that has pioneered scientific techniques in archaeological research in Greece.
The Fitch specialises in the analysis of inorganic materials, especially ceramics using ceramic petrology and chemical analysis. It also supports bioarchaeological research — human and animal bone, ancient plant remains — and has opened new understandings of technological transfer and the movement of people, goods and techniques across the Aegean.
Permanent staff work alongside externally funded researchers. The Laboratory offers the three-year Williams Fellowship in ceramic petrology, annual bursaries, and a training programme that draws early-career and senior scholars from around the world.
The collections hold more than 12,000 thin sections and thousands of comparative clays — an irreplaceable repository for tracing trade networks and craft traditions from prehistory through classical antiquity.
Network of collaborators
Partnerships in research, training, infrastructure and outreach — in the UK and Greece, and further in Europe, Asia and North America.
Editorial media
The Fitch Lab at the BSA
Thin-section petrography and WD-XRF applied to Late Bronze Age Mycenaean ceramic assemblages. Produced by the British School at Athens.