I'm Isabelle and I'm from Malta, where I read for a BA (Hons) in archaeology, graduating in 2002. After graduating, I got a job as sub-editor and journalist with The Sunday Times (Malta). It was great fun and a wise editor gave me free rein and allowed me to write all about heritage and the arts (with occasional forays into the world of property. The latter was probably a punishment of sorts!). However, I missed the dirt in the trenches, although many people couldn't understand why I'd be happy to swap an air-conditioned office for a dusty trench. Put it this way, the office wasn't even that nice.

I toyed with the idea of a Master's degree but was unsure what to do and where to go - until I met my mentors Simon Stoddart and Caroline Malone, who convinced me that Cambridge is the only place to go to. They were right, although at the time I wasn't too sure. Wasn't Cambridge that pretty place for uber-geniuses? The myth was dispelled when I came over in 2004 and read for an MPhil in World Archaeology, focusing on prehistory. I had a great time. The department of archaeology was (and remains) great, and I liked the port, gowns and all the other Cambridgey stuff (well except for the abominable weather, which I hate with a consuming passion).

Besides, one year in Cambridge left me with plenty of research questions to answer, so I couldn't leave just yet! See the section 'my projects' for further details. So I decided to start my PhD at Magdalene College, which is fast gaining a (not undeserved) reputation as a haven for archaeologists. Thing is, I've now got even more research questions, so maybe I'll have to stay in Cambridge even longer :-)

My Master's dissertation focused on pre-nuragic Sardinia, specifically figurative art and its relationship to concepts of embodiment and identity. The results of this work are being prepared for publication.

My doctoral research also centres on Sardinia, this time I'm examining art and identity during the Iron Age. Specifically, I'm studying the many bronzetti. The first step is to catalogue as many examples as possible and put them in a database. Once this is sorted out, I can move on to qualitative analyses. The collections are spread pretty much everywhere, from Cagliari and Sassari, to Rome and the dreaded art market. In 2006 I hope to go to Rome and document the bronzetti found in the Pigorini and Villa Giulia museums. Next, I wish to tackle the ones in Cagliari and Sassari, and then hopefully move on to one of the main private collections - the Ortiz collection.

The Sardinian bronzetti have intrigued me since those heady undergraduate days, when one of my mentors, Dr Nicholas Vella, taught a course on the archaeology of Sicily and Sardinia. First I was able to marvel (and scratch my head) at the sight of Late Neolithic and Early Copper Age figurines, and once those had sunk in, we moved on to the wonderful world of bronzetti. What are they? Well, hopefully I will have a few answers at the end of three years.

When I'm not busy puzzling over bronzetti I am kept equally busy by the Archaeological Review from Cambridge, the department's graduate journal edited by yours truly and Alice Stevenson. Otherwise, I can be found next to the warmest heater reading and sipping hot chocolate or experimenting in my kitchen. For recipes, photos and other stuff not strictly related to the world of academia, click here.

2006. Entries on 'cults', 'excavation', 'fertility', 'Neolithic cultures' and 'patriarchy' in James H. Birx (ed.). Encylopedia of Anthropology. Sage Reference.
2005. The human form in Neolithic Malta. Malta: Midsea.
(forthcoming) editor of issue focusing on the body. Archaeological Review from Cambridge.
(in preparation). Sagona, C. and Vella Gregory, I. Punic Antiquities of Malta, Number 2. Leuven: Peeters Press.
(in preparation). The art of Neolithic Malta. Malta: Midsea