Prof. dr. Leonard V. Rutgers (Ph.D. Duke 木瓜福利影视 1993) is an archaeologist and historian of religion, specializing in Late Antiquity. He currently leads the international Genetic Legacies project, which uses previously unpublished genetic data to shed new light on the history of Jewish communities in Europe (0鈥�1500)--a collaboration with David Reich (Harvard) and archaeologists and heritage professionals from all over Europe. The are highly promising and will soon appear in further publications, including with Cambridge 木瓜福利影视 Press.
Rutgers is known for his interdisciplinary approach, bringing together archaeology, history, the natural sciences, and digital methods, particularly in his work on the Jewish and early Christian catacombs of Rome. He has previously directed archaeological projects such as The Rise of Christianity and Reconfiguring Diaspora, whose results attracted worldwide attention, including coverage in , as well as the theme group Diaspora, Migration, and the Sciences: A New Integrated Approach at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Research.
His research focuses on themes such as migration, , cultural interaction, and . In addition, he develops innovative digital platforms, among them a geo-spatial model for Jewish migration in collaboration with the Digital Humanities Lab at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视. He is member of the Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia and the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities and has edited the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Late Antique Art and Archaeology.
Public Humanities
Rutgers attaches great importance to sharing research with a wider audience. From 2015 to 2018, he wrote a popular weekly column for the . He has also published three well-received popular science books on archaeology: Underground Rome (2000), The Classical World in 52 Discoveries (2018, winner of the Homerus Prize and a bestseller), and Israel on the Tiber (2023, awarded as the best book on the art and archaeology of Italy, 2021鈥�2023). A fourth popular-science book, this time on ancient DNA and population genetics, is currently in the making.
Publications
- (2022) (translations into English and Italian in preparation)
- )
- (2009)
- S
- (1998)
T (1995/2000)
Edited Volumes
- Languages of the Jews ( in press)
- Ancient and Medieval Religious Homelands: Essays on Space, Place, and Religion (in preparation).
- (2 vols., 2025)
- (4 vols. 2025)
- (2023)
- (2002)
- (1998)
Chair
Late Antiquity, with special emphasis on the interaction between Jews, Christians, and Others