Staff profile

Before joining the Department of Archaeology at Durham, I lectured in Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology at the University of Cambridge, where I also held a research appointment at Emmanuel College. Before that, I held a research position in Germany, where I also taught both undergraduate and graduate students. I have worked continuously in Egypt and Sudan for over a decade.

I am currently Assistant Director of the Sanam Temple Project, having led excavations at a temple built by Taharqa in the Fourth Nile Cataract region in collaboration with New York University. In collaboration with Sudan’s National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM), I also co-direct a field project on the 18th Dynasty tomb of Djehutyhotep, which was relocated from Lower Nubia to the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum during the UNESCO Nubian campaign. In collaboration with the Section Française de la Direction des Antiquités du Soudan (SFDAS), this project directly contributed to the Sudan Virtual Museum. I have also overseen excavations at a large Kerma cemetery at Ginis East, North Sudan.

In Egypt, I have excavated at Amarna under Barry Kemp and in the Theban Necropolis (modern-day Luxor), where I remain actively involved in fieldwork. Currently, I am also Assistant Director of Durham University’s field project at Saïs with Professor Penny Wilson.

Research

My current research, funded by the British Academy, explores the New Kingdom Egyptian colonisation of Nubia by examining how Egyptian-style objects helped shape local social relations in the colony. For this project, I investigate how various foreign objects undergo material and symbolic “metamorphoses” to perform essentially local tasks, using a range of archaeological science techniques. Among the objects and materials analysed are kohl and other make-up substances, coffins and funerary masks, clay figurines, copper alloys, and gold.

Funded by the Michela Schiff Giorgini Foundation, I am also collaborating with colleagues at NYU, the British Museum, and the University of Neuchâtel to expand these results by exploring Kerma Period make-up recipes and other organic materials, as well as Napatan Period faience and copper alloys.

In Egypt, my current work focuses on the Nubian diaspora during the New Kingdom. This research is primarily based on epigraphic work in the late 18th Dynasty Theban tomb of Neferhotep (TT 49).

My research has a strong theoretical dimension, with a particular focus on postcolonial and decolonial theories as tools for building bottom-up interpretations of the ancient past through material culture. My research interests include the study of past forms of colonisation and alternatives to colonial imposition; social stratification and power; relations of production and consumption; and how inequalities shape the expression of identities through material culture.

More recently, my interest in decolonial theory has led me to explore the potential integration of academic knowledge systems and traditional Indigenous modes of thinking in the study of the archaeological past. I am currently developing this new research avenue in Brazil and Mozambique.

Prospective PhD students and postdocs

I am keen to supervise research students interested in all aspects of the social archaeology of ancient Egypt and Sudan. I particularly welcome projects that develop theoretical, critical perspectives and innovative methodologies in Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology, as well as those that integrate the ancient Nile valley and surrounding deserts into their broader African context. I also welcome enquiries from scholars interested in undertaking postdoctoral research in Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology at Durham.

• Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology
• Archaeology of Colonialism
• Material Culture Studies
• Postcolonial and Decolonial Theory
• State Formation and Expansion

• 2024: Prize “à la mémoire de Jean Leclant”, awarded by the Michela Schiff Giorgini Foundation, Switzerland:
• 2023: Prize “Aluno Eminente”, awarded by Colégio Pedro II, Brazil:
• 2017: Certificate of Appreciation, offered by the South Valley University, Qena, Egypt:

Book review

• Richard Bussmann. 2023. The archaeology of pharaonic Egypt: society and culture, 2700–1700 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 978-11070-303-81 hardback £100.
  
  Lemos, R. (2024). Richard Bussmann. 2023. The archaeology of pharaonic Egypt: society and culture, 2700–1700 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 978-11070-303-81 hardback £100. Antiquity, 98(399), 845-847. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.51
• Review of “Flooded pasts: UNESCO, Nubia, and the Recolonization of Archaeology”
  
  Lemos, R. (2024). Review of “Flooded pasts: UNESCO, Nubia, and the Recolonization of Archaeology”. Sudan Studies, 70, 69–71.
• Sarah M. Schellinger. 2022. Nubia: lost civilizations. London: Reaktion Books; 978-17891-465-92 hardback £15.
  
  Lemos, R. (2023). Sarah M. Schellinger. 2022. Nubia: lost civilizations. London: Reaktion Books; 978-17891-465-92 hardback £15. Antiquity, 97(393), 767-769. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2023.52
• Salomé Zurinaga Fernández-Toríbio: España en la Campaña de Salvamento de la UNESCO en Nubia: UJA Editorial, Jaén, 2021, 815 pp., ISBN 978-1-78969-649-3
  
  Lemos, R. (2022). Salomé Zurinaga Fernández-Toríbio: España en la Campaña de Salvamento de la UNESCO en Nubia: UJA Editorial, Jaén, 2021, 815 pp., ISBN 978-1-78969-649-3. African Archaeological Review, 39(2), 245-247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-022-09480-y
• Egyptian art for Brazilians
  
  Lemos, R. (2022). Egyptian art for Brazilians. Topoi Brazil, 23(49), 340-343. https://doi.org/10.1590/2237-101X02304916
• David Edwards (Ed.): The Archaeological Survey of Sudanese Nubia, 1963–69: The Pharaonic Sites: Archaeopress, Oxford, 2020, 468 pp., ISBN 978-1-78969-649-3
  
  Lemos, R. (2021). David Edwards (Ed.): The Archaeological Survey of Sudanese Nubia, 1963–69: The Pharaonic Sites: Archaeopress, Oxford, 2020, 468 pp., ISBN 978-1-78969-649-3. African Archaeological Review, 38(1), 171-173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-020-09418-2
• Can classical authors tell us about Africa’s ancient history?
  
  Lemos, R. (2020). Can classical authors tell us about Africa’s ancient history? Tempo, 26(2), 493-499. https://doi.org/10.1590/tem-1980-542x2020v260211
• Review of A. Manzo 2017, Eastern Sudan in its setting: The archaeology of a region far from the Nile valley
  
  Lemos, R. (2018). Review of A. Manzo 2017, Eastern Sudan in its setting: The archaeology of a region far from the Nile valley. Bryn Mawr Classical Review.
• Review of F. Anthony 2017, Foreigners in Ancient Egypt: Theban tomb paintings from the early 18th Dynasty
  
  Lemos, R. (2017). Review of F. Anthony 2017, Foreigners in Ancient Egypt: Theban tomb paintings from the early 18th Dynasty. Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections.
• Review of E. Goulding’s What did the poor take with them? An investigation into ancient Egyptian Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasty grave assemblages from Qau, Badari, Matmar and Gurob
  
  Lemos, R. (2015). Review of E. Goulding’s What did the poor take with them? An investigation into ancient Egyptian Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasty grave assemblages from Qau, Badari, Matmar and Gurob. Rosetta.

Chapter in book

• Circulação de objetos e experiências locais na colônica egípcia da Núbia durante o Reino Novo
  
  Lemos, R. (in press). Circulação de objetos e experiências locais na colônica egípcia da Núbia durante o Reino Novo. In Circuitos de informação na antiguidade: Perspectivas comparadas.
• Learning how to decolonize archaeology with African-Diasporic communities in Brazil
  
  Lemos, R. (in press). Learning how to decolonize archaeology with African-Diasporic communities in Brazil. In V. Vino (Ed.), a decolonial manual. Punctum Books.
• Beyond Cultural Entanglements: Experiencing the New Kingdom Colonization of Nubia ‘from Below’
  
  Lemos, R. (2024). Beyond Cultural Entanglements: Experiencing the New Kingdom Colonization of Nubia ‘from Below’. In S. Ashby & A. Brody (Eds.), New Perspectives on Ancient Nubia (pp. 53-94). Gorgias Press. https://doi.org/10.31826/9781463243432-007
• General introduction
  
  Budka, J., & Lemos, R. (2024). General introduction. In J. Budka & R. Lemos (Eds.), Landscape and resource management in Bronze Age Nubia: Archaeological perspectives on the exploitation of natural resources and the circulation of commodities in the Middle Nile (pp. 11-14). Harrassowitz Verlag.
• Nubian resources and materials between indigenous diversity and colonial impositions
  
  Lemos, R. (2024). Nubian resources and materials between indigenous diversity and colonial impositions. In J. Budka & R. Lemos (Eds.), Landscape and resource management in Bronze Age Nubia: Archaeological perspectives on the exploitation of natural resources and the circulation of commodities in the Middle Nile (pp. 201-206). Harrassowitz Verlag.
• Analisi strutturale e studio dei riutilizzi nelle tombe tebane 187 e -348-
  
  Di Giovanni, M., Santarelli, C., & Lemos, R. (2022). Analisi strutturale e studio dei riutilizzi nelle tombe tebane 187 e -348-. In S. Antonelli, V. La Salvia, M. C. Mancini, O. Menozzi, M. Moderato, & M. C. Somma (Eds.), Archaeologiae Una storia al plural: Studi in memoria di Sara Santoro (pp. 281-288). Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2x1npqm.28
• The shabti of Khnummose – Insights into 18th Dynasty colonial society in Nubia
  
  Auenmüller, J., & Lemos, R. (2021). The shabti of Khnummose – Insights into 18th Dynasty colonial society in Nubia. In Tomb 26 on Sai Island: A New Kingdom elite tomb and its relevance for Sai and beyond.
• Sudanese and Nubian archaeology: Scholarship past and present
  
  Lemos, R., & Tipper, S. (2021). Sudanese and Nubian archaeology: Scholarship past and present. In R. Lemos & S. Tipper (Eds.), Current Perspectives in Sudanese and Nubian Archaeology – A collection of papers presented at the 2018 Sudan Studies Research Conference, Cambridge.
• Material Culture and Colonization in Ancient Nubia: Evidence from the New Kingdom Cemeteries
  
  Lemos, R. (2020). Material Culture and Colonization in Ancient Nubia: Evidence from the New Kingdom Cemeteries. In Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology (pp. 1-25). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3307-1
• Materiality and cultural reproduction in non-elite cemeteries
  
  Lemos, R. (2018). Materiality and cultural reproduction in non-elite cemeteries. In É. Maynart, C. Velloza, & R. Lemos (Eds.), Perspectives on materiality in ancient Egypt: Agency, Cultural Reproduction and Change.
• Material culture and social interactions in New Kingdom non-elite cemeteries
  
  Lemos, R. (2017). Material culture and social interactions in New Kingdom non-elite cemeteries. In Current Research in Egyptology 2016: Proceedings of the Seventeenth Annual Symposium. Oxbow.
• 'Uma inundação no céu para os estrangeiros': o projeto de expansão da religião de Amarna na Núbia
  
  Pinheiro da Silva, R. C., & Lemos, R. (2015). ’Uma inundação no céu para os estrangeiros’: o projeto de expansão da religião de Amarna na Núbia. In SEMNA - Estudos de Egiptologia II.
• Amarna: pintando uma nova paisagem
  
  Lemos, R. (2014). Amarna: pintando uma nova paisagem. In SEMNA - Estudos de Egiptologia I.
• A paisagem de Amarna e sua diversidade
  
  Lemos, R. (2014). A paisagem de Amarna e sua diversidade. In O Egito antigo – Novas contribuições brasileiras. Multifoco.
• Introdução: panorama da Egiptologia no Brasil (1827-2014 e além)
  
  Lemos, R. (2014). Introdução: panorama da Egiptologia no Brasil (1827-2014 e além). In O Egito antigo - Novas contribuições brasileiras. Multifoco.
• O pensamento egípcio do Reino Novo e o período de Amarna
  
  Lemos, R. (2014). O pensamento egípcio do Reino Novo e o período de Amarna. In Diálogos com a História.
• Connections to the south: Religious connectivity and fragmentation in the Middle Nile valley during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1070 BCE)
  
  Lemos, R. (n.d.). Connections to the south: Religious connectivity and fragmentation in the Middle Nile valley during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1070 BCE). In Routledge Handbook of the Archaeology of Ancient Mediterranean Religions [Contracted by publisher]. Routledge.

Edited book

• Landscape and resource management in Bronze Age Nubia: Archaeological perspectives on the exploitation of natural resources and the circulation of commodities in the Middle Nile
  
  Budka, J., & Lemos, R. (Eds.). (2024). Landscape and resource management in Bronze Age Nubia: Archaeological perspectives on the exploitation of natural resources and the circulation of commodities in the Middle Nile. Harrassowitz Verlag. https://doi.org/10.13173/9783447121378
• Current Perspectives in Sudanese and Nubian Archaeology A Collection of Papers Presented at the 2018 Sudan Studies Research Conference, Cambridge
  
  Lemos, R., & Tipper, S. (Eds.). (2021). Current Perspectives in Sudanese and Nubian Archaeology A Collection of Papers Presented at the 2018 Sudan Studies Research Conference, Cambridge.
• Perspectives on materiality in ancient Egypt – Agency, cultural reproduction and change
  
  Maynart, É., Velloza, C., & Lemos, R. (Eds.). (2018). Perspectives on materiality in ancient Egypt – Agency, cultural reproduction and change.
• O Egito antigo - Novas contribuições brasileiras
  
  Lemos, R. (2014). O Egito antigo - Novas contribuições brasileiras. Multifoco.

Journal Article

• Lids, chalices, and porridge: The role of performance in Nubian pottery and cuisine
  
  Walsh, C., & Lemos, R. (in press). Lids, chalices, and porridge: The role of performance in Nubian pottery and cuisine. Dotawo: A Journal for Nubian Studies.
• Decolonising ancient Egypt?
  
  Lemos, R. (in press). Decolonising ancient Egypt? Antiquity.
• Revisiting the Old Kingdom at Thebes: Extracting meaning from highly fragmentary evidence
  
  Lemos, R., Carniel, M. V., & von Seehausen, P. (2026). Revisiting the Old Kingdom at Thebes: Extracting meaning from highly fragmentary evidence. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 61(1). https://doi.org/10.5913/jarce.61.2025.a003
• Bronze Age make-up recipes from Sudanese Lower Nubia point to a greater diversity across cultural borders in ancient Northeast Africa
  
  Lemos, R., Zaggia, C., Fulcher, K., Lidén, E., Werkström, L., Hocker, E., Bergquist, J., & Martinón-Torres, M. (2025). Bronze Age make-up recipes from Sudanese Lower Nubia point to a greater diversity across cultural borders in ancient Northeast Africa. PLoS One, 20(9), Article e0330205. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0330205
• How can archaeology help shape decolonial futures?
  
  Lemos, R., Mbeki, L., Owoseni, B., Rai, N., & Moffett, A. (2025). How can archaeology help shape decolonial futures? Antiquity, 99(404), 291-302. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.29
• Preserving Heritage Amid War: A Protocol for Recording and Disseminating the Tomb of Djehutyhotep at the Sudan National Museum
  
  Lemos, R., Linarello, S., Abdllatief, I., & Capuchio, V. (2025). Preserving Heritage Amid War: A Protocol for Recording and Disseminating the Tomb of Djehutyhotep at the Sudan National Museum. African Archaeological Review, 42(1), 53-72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-024-09604-6
• Making plundered spaces sacred again: Fragmentation, reorganisation and respect in reused Theban tombs
  
  Lemos, R. (2025). Making plundered spaces sacred again: Fragmentation, reorganisation and respect in reused Theban tombs. Antiquity, 99(403), 135-149. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.159
• Bronze age supply chains between ancient Egypt and Nubia revealed by lead isotope analysis of kohl samples
  
  Lemos, R., Tichindelean, M., Kochergina, Y. V., Zaggia, C., Werkström, L., Hocker, E., & Martinón-Torres, M. (2024). Bronze age supply chains between ancient Egypt and Nubia revealed by lead isotope analysis of kohl samples. Scientific Reports, 14(1), Article 27488. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79162-z
• Egyptian Art in Colonized Nubia: Representing Power and Social Structure in the New Kingdom Tombs of Djehutyhotep, Hekanefer and Pennut
  
  Lemos, R. (2024). Egyptian Art in Colonized Nubia: Representing Power and Social Structure in the New Kingdom Tombs of Djehutyhotep, Hekanefer and Pennut. Arts, 13(4), Article 118. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13040118
• Reshaping Egyptian funerary ritual in colonized Nubia? Organic characterization of unguents from mortuary contexts of the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BCE)
  
  Lemos, R., Fulcher, K., Abdllatief, I., Werkström, L., & Hocker, E. (2023). Reshaping Egyptian funerary ritual in colonized Nubia? Organic characterization of unguents from mortuary contexts of the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BCE). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 15(6), Article 73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01769-6
• Can We Decolonize the Ancient Past? Bridging Postcolonial and Decolonial Theory in Sudanese and Nubian Archaeology
  
  Lemos, R. (2023). Can We Decolonize the Ancient Past? Bridging Postcolonial and Decolonial Theory in Sudanese and Nubian Archaeology. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 33(1), 19-37. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774322000178
• Object metamorphosis in colonial contexts: maintaining diversity through global commodities in New Kingdom Nubia (1550–1070 BCE)
  
  Lemos, R. (2023). Object metamorphosis in colonial contexts: maintaining diversity through global commodities in New Kingdom Nubia (1550–1070 BCE). World Archaeology, 55(5), 494-507. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2024.2425285
• Where has the archaeology of colonialism taken us? Some thoughts on where we stand and where we should go next
  
  Lemos, R. (2023). Where has the archaeology of colonialism taken us? Some thoughts on where we stand and where we should go next. Archaeological Review from Cambridge, 38(1), 163-174. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.104450
• Introdução ao Dossiê A Antiguidade do Nordeste Africano
  
  Frizzo, F., João, M. T. D., & Lemos, R. (2022). Introdução ao Dossiê A Antiguidade do Nordeste Africano. Mare Nostrum, 13(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2177-4218.v13i1p1-7
• Funerary uses and reuses of Theban rock-cut architecture between the 9th century BC and the Ptolemaic period: planimetric re-functionalization of tombs at the Neferhotep Complex (Luxor-Egypt)
  
  Menozzi, O., Carniel, M. V., & Lemos, R. (2021). Funerary uses and reuses of Theban rock-cut architecture between the 9th century BC and the Ptolemaic period: planimetric re-functionalization of tombs at the Neferhotep Complex (Luxor-Egypt). Frankfurter Elektronische Rundschau Zur Altertumskunde, 45, 1-45. https://doi.org/10.21248/fera.45.310
• Alternatives to colonization and marginal identities in New Kingdom colonial Nubia (1550–1070 BCE)
  
  Lemos, R., & Budka, J. (2021). Alternatives to colonization and marginal identities in New Kingdom colonial Nubia (1550–1070 BCE). World Archaeology, 53(3), 401-418. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2021.1999853
• Heart scarabs and other heart-related objects in New Kingdom Nubia
  
  Lemos , R. (2021). Heart scarabs and other heart-related objects in New Kingdom Nubia. Sudan & Nubia, 25, 252-269. https://doi.org/10.32028/sudan_and_nubia_25_pp252-269
• A New Fragment from the Amarna Royal Tomb
  
  Lemos, R. (2020). A New Fragment from the Amarna Royal Tomb. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 106(1-2), 249-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/0307513320963283
• Potes, Pratos e Contatos Culturais
  
  Lemos, R., & Frizzo, F. (2019). Potes, Pratos e Contatos Culturais. Mare Nostrum, 10(1), 93-114. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2177-4218.v10i1p93-114
• Entangled temporalities in the theban necropolis: A materiality and heritage approach to the excavation of theban tomb 187
  
  Lemos, R., Von Seehausen, P. L., Di Giovanni, M., Giobbe, M., Menozzi, O., & Brancaglion, A. (2017). Entangled temporalities in the theban necropolis: A materiality and heritage approach to the excavation of theban tomb 187. Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, 5(2), 178-197. https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.5.2.0178
• O ritual como materialização de projetos políticos: uma comparação das representações rituais em tumbas de Amarna e Tebas
  
  Pereyra, M. V., Lemos, R., & Manzi, L. (2015). O ritual como materialização de projetos políticos: uma comparação das representações rituais em tumbas de Amarna e Tebas. Nearco.
• Práticas mortuárias no Egito e na Núbia sob o Reino Novo egípcio: avaliando o emaranhamento cultural na África antiga
  
  Lemos, R., & Vieira, F. (2014). Práticas mortuárias no Egito e na Núbia sob o Reino Novo egípcio: avaliando o emaranhamento cultural na África antiga. Revista de Ciências Humanas.
• Archaeology, religion, ritual and ancient Egypt: some discussions on the Amarna Period (c. 1350-1330 BC)
  
  Lemos, R. (2012). Archaeology, religion, ritual and ancient Egypt: some discussions on the Amarna Period (c. 1350-1330 BC). Hathor - Studies of Egyptology.
• A religiosidade dos construtores de tumbas no Egito antigo: a Vila dos Trabalhadores em Amarna e a vila de Deir el-Medina
  
  Lemos, R. (2012). A religiosidade dos construtores de tumbas no Egito antigo: a Vila dos Trabalhadores em Amarna e a vila de Deir el-Medina. Nearco.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

• The threat to Sudan’s cultural heritage
  
  Lemos, R. (2025). The threat to Sudan’s cultural heritage. Apollo Magazine.