After receiving approval and funding from the Research Council of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Make-Up of the City project is thrilled to be up and running! The VUB’s leading experts in history (Bart Lambert), archaeology (Dries Tys), chemistry (Christophe Snoeck and Philippe Claeys), and anatomy (Steven Provyn and Thyl Snoeck) are pleased to announce the hiring of two new PhD students specialised in osteoarchaeology (Veronica Jackson) and archaeological science (Rachèl Spros). Together, we will investigate the rich history of the picturesque city of Ieper. We’ll go beyond the fairly well-known events of the Great War and focus on the lesser-known medieval era. We want to find out who the people were that lived in the city hundreds of years ago, what did they do, where did they come from? And equally important: how did they cope with their everyday struggles? They too experienced deadly diseases like the plague, tuberculosis, leprosy and more. Something we can now, unfortunately, relate to during the Covid-19 pandemic. How did they manage in difficult times like that? We will combine history, archaeology, geochemistry and medicine to answer all these questions and more. The Make-Up of the City team is very proud to give the past a voice and we will keep you updated about all the discoveries that will be made. We shall bring you: The story of Ieper!
