Dr Enrique Aragon Nunez

My double PhD (cotutelle program) completed in 2020 with cum laude and winner of the Vice-Chancellor’s prize for doctoral thesis excellence at Flinders University covered research fields such as maritime archaeology, migration-connectivity and cultural interaction.

This research uses an interdisciplinary approach—combining geographic, material culture, and network science—to the Rochelongue Shipwreck (7^th-6^th c. BC) in order to make a more definitive interpretation of the site and its broader effect on maritime connectivity. This investigation takes a novel approach by conceptualising the site as a more generic ‘contact site’ (representative of a contact zone). My study reveals the role of indigenous populations embedded in an increased long-distant trading context stimulated by the sea connectivity. My academic and professional background represents a unique multidisciplinary expertise in inter-tidal archaeology, maritime archaeology and coastal cultural heritage.

I have been Principal Investigator of an international project for my PhD involving organisations such as Flinders University, Spanish Research Council and French Ministry of Culture. Moreover, the results from this project will be soon published as part of a monography in collaboration with Prof. Jean Guilaine, J. Gascó and D. Garcia. This opportunity helped me to develop strong organisational skills and experience in planning and performing research design plans, as well as the capability to integrate multidisciplinary results. Following this, I have a strong track record in collaborative interdisciplinary projects since 2006 with institutions and universities in Europe (e.g. Historical society-environment interaction: wetlands and lake areas of Roman Baetica, PI: Prof. Lazaro Lagostena, University of Cadiz), America (e.g. Seminole Canoes Project, Colab. Adriana J. Millares, History Miami Museum) and Arabian Peninsula (e.g. Dhows carved in stone: photogrammetry and network analysis of petroglyphs at al-Jassasiya, Qatar, Colab. Dr Ferhal Sakar, Qatar Museum). It is relevant also to highlight my international profile, not just because of my academic background in Spain (BA), France (MA) and Australia (PhD) but also because I have collaborated in projects within prestigious organisations such as the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (Texas A&M University / Phoenician Shipwreck Project: PI: M.E. Polzer); DRASSM (French Ministry of Culture / ATLAS project, PI: Dr Marie-Pierre Jézègou) and the Austral-Asian Institute of Maritime Archaeology (e.g. ARC project, Clarence Historic Shipwreck / PI: Mark Staniforth and Peter Veth). Finally, I am a member of ICOMOS, and recently I was selected to be part of the UNESCO research committee to investigate the submerged archaeological site of Samabaj, Atitlan Lake (Guatemala).