Elena Leghissa is a Research Associate at the Institute of Archaeology ZRC SAZU. Her research is focused on the Copper and Bronze Ages, primarily in the south-eastern Alpine and Adriatic regions, with particular emphasis on the pile-dwelling culture of the Ljubljansko barje. She is engaged in archaeometric analyses of prehistoric pottery and in the study of mobility and exchange in prehistory. In recent years, she has led and participated in several research and development projects, including the On-piles project, within which the interpretation centre Morostig – House of Nature and Piles was established, as well as a postdoctoral project dedicated to the dynamics of exchange and mobility in the Ljubljansko barje. A significant part of her work is also devoted to the interpretation and presentation of archaeological heritage to the wider public.
Research interests
Education
- B. Sc. in archaeology 2011, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
- Ph. D. in archaeology 2017, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
Periods of stay abroad
- 2023–2025: participation in archaeological research at the cave site Tina Jama in Italy, in collaboration with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, the Multidisciplinary Laboratory “Abdus Salam” International Centre for Theoretical Physics, and the Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio per il Friuli Venezia Giulia in Trieste (total of seven months)
- 2018–present: collaboration as a visiting researcher with the Multidisciplinary Laboratory “Abdus Salam” International Centre for Theoretical Physics (collaboration with Prof. Dr Federico Bernardini) and the University of Trieste (collaboration with Prof. Dr Manuela Montagnari Kokelj, Prof. Dr Angelo De Min, and Dr Matteo Velicogna)
- 2018–present: collaboration with the Budapest Neutron Centre (Budapest, Hungary) (collaboration with Dr Zsolt Kasztovszky and colleagues)
- 2016: two-month research training at the Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio per il Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Museo d'Antichità JJ Winckelmann in Trieste (Italy)
- 2016: one-week research training in Vukovar (Museum of Vučedol Culture, Vukovar Municipal Museum), Vinkovci (Vinkovci Municipal Museum), and Osijek (Museum of Slavonia) (Croatia)
- 2016: two-week research training at the Institut für Prähistorische Archäologie, Freie Universität Berlin (Germany)
Research interests
- Copper and Bronze Age archaeology in the south-eastern Alpine region
- Study of prehistoric ceramic finds
- Mobility and migration in the Copper and Bronze Ages
- Archaeometric studies of ceramic finds from the Stone, Copper, and Bronze Ages
- Pile-dwelling heritage of the Ljubljansko barje
- Material culture of prehistoric pile dwellings in the Ljubljansko barje
- Interpretation and presentation of pile-dwelling heritage
Selected publications
Archaeology of Copper and Bronze Age
- BERNARDINI, Federico, PIPAN, Michele, FORTE, Emauele, LEGHISSA, Elena, CALOSI, Massimo, FURLANI, Stefano, HUNTER BROKING, Samantha, LOIACONO, Roberta, MACOVAZ, Vanja, Trmun (north-eastern Italy): Multi-scale remote and ground-based sensing of a Bronze Age and post-Roman fortification, 2023, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 51 (2023) 104108. DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104108.
Archaeometric research
- BERNARDINI F., LEGHISSA E., PROKOP D., VELUŠČEK A., De MIN A., DREOSSI D., DONATO S., TUNIZ C., PRINCIVALLE F., MONTAGNARI KOKELJ M. 2019, X-ray computed microtomography of Late Copper Age decorated bowls with cross-shaped foots from central Slovenia and the Trieste Karst (North-Eastern Italy): technology and paste characterisation. In: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 11, 4711−4728.
Interpretation and presentation of the heritage of pile dwellings in the Ljubljansko barje
- VINAZZA, Manca, KOROŠEC, Paola, BRATUŠEK, Nina, MRKUN, Mina, RAMŠAK, Izidor, ŠPINDLER, Tadej, TULJAK, Ana, LEGHISSA, Elena, Izdelava keramičnih replik. − Palafittes: news 4, 2023, 64−69.
- LEGHISSA, Elena, ANDRIČ, Maja, TOLAR, Tjaša, TOŠKAN, Borut, VELUŠČEK, Anton, Morostig – o rekonstrukciji koliščarske naselbine iz 3. tisočletja pr. Kr. − In: Gaspari, Andrej, Novaković, Predrag (eds.). Arheologija v letu 2022: dediščina za javnost. Zbornik povzetkov. Strokovno srečanje Slovenskega arheološkega društva, Ljubljana 2023, 60.
- VINAZZA, Manca, KOROŠEC, Paola, BRATUŠEK, Nina, JANEŽIČ, Zvonka, RAMŠAK, Izidor, MRKUN, Mina, ŠPINDLER, Tadej, TULJAK, Ana, LEGHISSA, Elena, O izdelovanju keramičnih replik na Morostigu. − In: In: Gaspari, Andrej, Novaković, Predrag (eds.). Arheologija v letu 2022: dediščina za javnost. Zbornik povzetkov. Strokovno srečanje Slovenskega arheološkega društva, Ljubljana 2023, 61.
Selected projects
- PROGRAMME: Archaeological research (2015−2021) (research programme • January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2021)
- Bridging the GAP between Geological, Archaeological and Palynological studies (interdisciplinary project • January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2027)
- Exchange and mobility dynamics at Ljubljansko barje: Late Copper age pile-dwelling Špica in Ljubljana (postdoctoral research project • November 1, 2021 - June 30, 2024)
- Na-kolih - Interpretation of Biodiversity and Heritage of Pile Dwellings in the Ljubljana Marshes (July 1, 2019 - November 30, 2022)
Other
Teaching
- 2024–2028: co-supervisor of doctoral student Ines Nabernik Bošnjak (University of York, supervisor: Dr Lara González Carretero)
- 2025: invited lecture at the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, within the course Archaeology of the Metal Ages (theoretical and practical components)
- 2025: invited lecture at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Primorska, within the course Archaeology of the Neolithic and Eneolithic
- 2023→: member of the Expert Commission for Archaeological Research at the Ministry of Culture (SKAR)
- 2025: co-organisation of the scientific session Reflections of Vučedol Culture (EAA Beograd)
- 2024–2025: co-organisation of Open Days at the Tina Jama site
- 2024: co-organisation (with Manca Vinazza) of the round table Skills of Prehistoric Potters through the Lens of Archaeological Methodology, Ljubljana
- 2019–2022: Morostig – House of Nature and Piles – Result of the On-piles project – Interpretation of biodiversity and pile-dwelling heritage of the Ljubljansko barje
- 2015–2017:An Enormous Find - First Pile Dwellings discovery on Ljubljana Marsh (co-author: Dejan Veranič), various venues in Slovenia
- 2015: Impressions into the Past: Research of deocration on the pottery from Pile-Dwellings (co-authors: Igor Ravbar, Boštjan Laharnar), National Museum of Slovenia, Ljubljana