I specialised in the archaeology of the early Medieval Carpathian Basin and Western Europe and archaeological theory with main interests in archaeology of identity, migrations and the use of scientific methods (isotopic and aDNA analyses). I participated in various Hungarian and international projects with strong focus of the aformentioned scientific methods, such as ‘Changing Societies and Identities. Mobility and Population Transformation in the Carpathian Basin of the 5th to 7th Century A.D.’ a joint Hungarian-German research on the interaction, dietary differentiation and daily lifestyles of (both vertical and horizontal) groups and ’Tracing Longobard Migration through DNA Analysis’ an international project lead by Prof. Patrick Geary (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ.) on the possible use of genetic analyses on early Medieval group movements.

I am currently employed by the HistoGenes - Integrating genetic, archaeological and historical perspectives on Eastern Central Europe ERC Synergy Grant, where my task will be creating and maintaining a comprehensive database and integrating the various datasets (archaeology, physical anthropology, isotopes, aDNA) into a cohesive historical narrative.

The early Medieval history of Europe is heavily defined by migrations of various sizes and directions, which played their role in the emergence of the predecessors of modern European countires after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The Carpathian Basin was affected by both the North-South migration of Germanics-speaking groups (Goths, Vandals, Gepids, Langobards, etc.) and the East-West migration of groups with steppe origins (Sarmatians, Huns, Avars, Magyars, etc.), as such this regions provides a unique oportunity to study the impact of both group- and individual-level mobility on material culture on the regional level, as well as the role of mobility in the life of the communities in the period.

The archaeology of identity is a multidisciplinary resaerch area of archaeology that focuses on the sudy of identities – meaning the statuses and roles that determine the individual’s relation to, and membership in, a community as well as to other individuals, which are essentially the elements of social cohesion and social organisation – and its formation as well as the various options for categorisation and the modes of display in various archaeological contexts (including both settlements objects and burials) and through material culture (combination of artefacts, decoration, etc.).

In the early Medieval Carpathian Basin, due to the low number or in certain cases total absence of written sources, the main sources of information about communities and their social structures are cemeteries and burials. The archaeology of death and burial studies both of the physical structure itself (the grave, the interred grave goods, etc.) as well as the social processes behind the funrerary ritual and their role in the life of the communities.

One of my main research topics is the early Medieval period of Western and Central Europe, between 400 and 800 CE, a period that last from the collapse of the Western Roman Empire until the emeergence of new 'barbarian' kingdoms and polities. In this period, Europe and the Carpathian Basin underwent significant demographic, social and cultural changes which serve as focal points of archaeological research in our region.