Olivia Arkley, PhD student at the University of Liverpool and recipient of the 2025 BIAA Doughty-Wylie Scholarship, tells us about her experience of undertaking fieldwork in Türkiye.
If you are interested in conducting study or research visits in Türkiye, check out the BIAA open calls for applications here and/or join our webinar on 16th April.
Olivia Eve Arkley is a PhD student in the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology at the University of Liverpool. In 2025, she was awarded a BIAA Doughty-Wylie Scholarship to join the Mendiktepe team for its second excavation season in Türkiye, deepening her research interests in Embodiment Theory and ritual violence in the Ancient Near East during the 4th to 3rd Millennium BCE. In this interview, Olivia shares insights into her academic journey, fieldwork experiences and future aspirations, highlighting how the BIAA and the scholarship supported her.
What sparked your interest in archaeology?
It started very young! I believe my time as a child visiting Bulgaria with my parents, where they dragged me to heritage sites and the archaeological museum in Varna, which holds impressive remains from prehistoric burials. By the time I needed to choose GCSEs in the UK, I had already decided I wanted to be an archaeologist (combining my love of history and travelling) and made specific choices that helped me get into an archaeology course at university.
What drew you to Türkiye as a fieldwork location?
The location of Türkiye played such an important role in human history, acting as a bridge between continents and fostering the emergence of communities with varied cultural practices, which is a major research interest of mine. The archaeology reflects this concentration of complex social and technological innovations that I have been so lucky to visit and excavate at sites such as Pınarbaşı and Mendiktepe, where they yield such exciting discoveries. I have fun and gain so much experience working in Türkiye; it is really a special place for archaeological research, and the food is also an added bonus!
Can you give us an overview of the fieldwork you conducted in Türkiye?
Using the BIAA funding, I could join the Mendiktepe team for their second digging season for over 4 weeks, where a Neolithic site with stone round buildings were excavated, discovering many lithic tools like hammerstones. Mendiktepe is part of the Taş Tepeler project that includes archaeological sites such as Karahan Tepe and Göbeklitepe, which I was lucky to visit in person. I was also able, with the funding, to travel around SE Türkiye in my last week to visit the Batman Museum, which holds artefacts from Başur Höyük, which is a key part of my PhD thesis.
How did you learn about the BIAA grant, and how did receiving it support your fieldwork and research?
My supervisor, the director of the site, recommended I apply for the BIAA grant to support my involvement in the Mendiktepe excavation and allow me to visit sites and materials pertinent to my PhD project, like Başur Höyük and Arslantepe. It was so valuable in supporting my ability to go and undertake this work and research; as a self-funded PhD, I rely upon part-time employment to support myself, and this grant really was the only way I could dedicate time and support my progression as an excavator and archaeologist specialising in the region.
What skills or insights did you gain from this experience?
I developed more of my practical archaeological skills, like sample taking and recording new features that I had never encountered before, such as small stone pillars, while becoming comfortable engaging with international teams and practising my Turkish. I also feel more confident in my research after visiting sites and museums to see the material up close, which helps significantly when presenting at conferences or writing about these artefacts
How do you think this fieldwork will shape your future studies or career in archaeology?
The research was invaluable in completing my PhD thesis, providing me with new ideas and directions to explore that I hope to continue after my PhD. I similarly appreciate the relationship and support received from the BIAA during my time as a Doughty-Wylie recipient, that I hope to continue and engage with the institute in Ankara in the future. The experience has already improved my excavation skills, and that will open doors to new archaeological projects in the region.
What advice would you give to other students interested in pursuing archaeological fieldwork abroad?
I cannot encourage working and conducting fieldwork abroad more! I think it promotes so much growth as both a researcher and a person since you gain a lot of confidence from navigating the country and the archaeological research. Archaeological work abroad too provides experience of diverse sites and archaeological contexts that are invaluable to your career and make you a better candidate for future projects. I’d definitely recommend pursuing fieldwork in Türkiye, it is safe and always exciting, which is so important to engage students.
Are you planning to continue working in Türkiye?
I do plan to continue to work in Türkiye, I am actively seeking Post-Doc opportunities and would be so excited to work with the universities here on new research. I will also definitely be keen to excavate again in Türkiye, on almost any project. I’m not picky!