Postgraduate research project M/F : Protohistoric archaeology: fortified Iron Age settlements in Occitania (Occidunum project): inventory and database.

The main mission of the post-doctoral fellow will be to participate in the inventory and architectural study/interpretation of Iron Age fortified sites in Occitania, in conjunction with the members of the Occidunum research project (see below), and to contribute to the exploitation of data from geophysics and LiDAR missions.
The Key Challenge database was created in 2023 and must now be populated. The candidate will have to participate in data entry and manage the database on a daily basis.
A good knowledge of Iron Age habitats in Western Europe, and more particularly in Occitania, is therefore important. Expertise in the use of archaeological, remote sensing and geophysical data, as well as knowledge of protohistoric settlement and architecture, will be required.
The person recruited will participate in the implementation of intervention protocols associating archaeologists and geophysicists/geomaticians and will be able to benefit from training in geophysics provided by GET, a member of the Sciences du Passé key challenge and the Occidunum project. He or she will be able to provide his or her expertise to the teams during geophysical surveys and on questions of interpretation of the data obtained, and will take responsibility for at least one operation planned in the project.
The database will be developed in consultation with the project members on content, terminology and typological issues. The post-doctoral fellow will also be responsible for designing the digital support for this database, in collaboration with the competent members of the project's partner units and possibly with the support of external partners. Finally, the person recruited will have to be able to participate in the scientific exploitation of the data as well as in their development for the general public. This last mission, of link with society, will be done in collaboration with other structures (associations, museums, etc.) involved in this type of activity.
The skills required of the post-doctoral student will therefore be multiple: a good command of databases, a thorough knowledge of the problems concerning protohistoric habitat and its architecture in Occitania and, if possible, experience in the field of archaeological reconnaissance of architectural remains.

The main activities of the post-graduate will be to :
- Enrich archaeological database currently being constituted on Iron Age fortified settlements in Occitania
- Analysing the archaeological data, cross-referencing it with data from geophysical surveys
- Write site presentation notes for a general public version of the database
- To ensure a scientific watch on the fortified occupations of the Iron Age
- Write one or more scientific articles
- Participate in scientific events
- Prepare and lead actions to promote the Occidunum project to the general public
- Maintain the Occidunum project page on the Sciences du Passé key challenge website

This postgraduate fellowship is part of the Occidunum project, financed within the framework of the Occitanie Region's key challenge "Sciences of the Past". This project brings together research teams from Montpellier, Toulouse and Perpignan, notably from the ASM (UMR5140) and TRACES (UMR5608) laboratories.
The post-doctoral contract will take place within the ASM unit, a CNRS-Paul Valéry University Montpellier 3-Ministry of Culture joint research unit, located on the campus of the Paul Valéry University in Montpellier, Saint Charles 2 site. ASM is one of the main archaeological research laboratories working on Mediterranean societies from prehistory to the end of Antiquity. The unit has various technical platforms, including the geomatics and spatial archaeology platform, with which the post-doctoral fellow will be able to interact.