Dr. Michiel Dekoninck

Craving salt. Transforming flavours in the Roman north

I am a junior FWO postdoctoral researcher at UGent and VUB studying Roman archaeology in the Low Countries. In the project ‘Craving Salt’, I aim to optimise the identification of salt use by integrating archaeological evidence (salt consumption & fish sauce amphorae) and chemical proxies (strontium isotope analysis). This methodology aims to unravel the nuanced ways in which salt can function as a marker for status, identity, and adaptation within diverse social groups in the context of cultural integration

At UGent, I’m also part of the team working on updating chapters of the ‘Archaeological Research Balance’ published by the Flemish Heritage Agency. These chapters present an overview of archaeological research in Flanders

Background

PhD in Archaeology (2023), Ghent University, Belgium

Key Research Interests

Roman archaeology
Archaeology of salt
Material culture studies
Archaeology of food
Bioarchaeology

Main Publications

Dekoninck, Michiel, Koen Deforce, Joeri Kaal, Welmoed Out, Vince Van Thienen, Florian Buyse, Lucy Kubiak-Martens, Pieter Tack, Laszlo Vincze, Sylvia Lycke, and Wim De Clercq. 2024. “Fuelling the Roman Salt Industry : Developing a New Multiproxy Approach to Identify Peat Fuel from Archaeological Combustion Residue.” Journal of Archaeological Science 161
Dekoninck, Michiel, Eric Goemaere, Stijn Dewaele, Johan De Grave, Thierry Leduc, Dimitri Vandenberghe, and Wim De Clercq. 2022. “Geochemical and Mineralogical Characterisation of Vitrified Waste Material Discovered in Large Quantities on Roman Salt Production Sites along the Southern North Sea Coast.” Journal of Archaeological Science 146
Dekoninck, Michiel, Dante de Ruijsscher, and Wim De Clercq. 2022. “Heated Crafts on the Roman Shore : Revisiting the Debate on the Exploitation of Coastal Wetlands : The Case of Roman Aardenburg (Zeeland, the Netherlands).” Latomus 81 (4): 788–818.
Dekoninck, Michiel, and Wim De Clercq. 2022. “Settling the Salinaria? Evaluating Site Location Patterns of Iron Age and Roman Salt Production in Northern Gaul.” In Reframing the Roman Economy : New Perspectives on Habitual Economic Practices, edited by Dimitri Van Limbergen, Adeline Hoffelinck, and Devi Taelman, 267–303.