Anaïs Lamesa studied Art History and History at Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne University before completing a PhD in Roman History at Sorbonne University in 2016. She subsequently undertook advanced training in Classical Art and Archaeology at the École du Louvre and the Institut National du Patrimoine and later qualified as a Senior GIS Technician. She has held research positions at the CNRS (2019–2021), the French Institute for Anatolian Studies (IFEA), where she served as Researcher and Academic Coordinator for Archaeology (2022–2024), and the University of Edinburgh as an UKRI/Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Guarantee Fellow (2024–2026). Anaïs joined the Department of Archaeology at Bilkent University in 2026.
She has been conducting archaeological research in Türkiye since 2007 and has directed archaeological surveys in Cappadocia, Labraunda, Dara, and Assos. Her research focuses on the archaeology of Anatolian landscapes, rock-cut architecture, quarrying, and stone craftsmanship from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine periods. Combining archaeological survey, building archaeology, GIS, 3D recording, and historical sources, she investigates how technical practices, settlement organisation, and cultural landscapes evolved over the longue durée. She has also led field projects in Ethiopia, developing a comparative perspective on rock-cut landscapes across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Horn of Africa.
Her research explores the interactions between architecture, technology, mobility, economy, and environment through interdisciplinary approaches that bridge archaeology, history and art history. She has published in international journals and edited volumes. She has co-edited several books, including Carved in Stone (2021) and Echoes of Stone Crafting (2023). She currently directs the GABAR Archaeological Survey Project in Cappadocia and co-coordinates the IRAAR (International Research Association for Archaeology of Rock-cut Sites) network, promoting international collaboration on the study of rock-cut architecture and quarry landscapes.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Roman and Byzantine Archaeology; Anatolian Archaeology; Landscape Archaeology; Rock-cut Architecture and Quarry Landscapes; Building Archaeology; Digital Archaeology (GIS and Photogrammetry)