Dr Mélissa Morel

I specialise in African iron metallurgy and archaeological science. My research aims to integrate human sciences such as history, archaeology, and anthropology, with natural sciences, including chemistry and geology, combined with extensive fieldwork, to better understand the organization and development of ancient iron-production systems. I completed my PhD in Geosciences at the University of Fribourg (2017–2022), where I studied an iron-smelting technique in northeastern Madagascar. I then began working on West African metallurgy with a postdoctoral position at the TRACES laboratory (2023) on a site in northern Côte d’Ivoire, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Geneva (2024–2025) focusing on long-term technological traditions in Senegal.

My laboratory approach combines the chemical characterisation of ores and slags (WD-XRF, LOI) with the study of mineralogical and microstructural behaviour (metallography, XRD, SEM-EDS). I am now developing an experimental archaeology component to better model and reproduce ancient smelting processes.