Website: https://www.medievalhorn.com/
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3571-7509
X: https://twitter.com/Alebach04397513
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/notifications/?filter=all
ABOUT ME / Research and Teaching Themes
With nearly two decades of experience, I stand as an expert in teaching and research within the dynamic realms of History of entanglement, Archaeology, Art History, Museology, and Heritage Studies. My extensive background in these interconnected fields has honed a skill set that is both comprehensive and specialized, ensuring a robust understanding and innovative approach to the cultural disciplines I am passionate about. My professional journey is marked by a commitment to excellence and a continuous pursuit of knowledge, positioning me as a valuable asset to any academic or research-driven institution.
WORK EXPERIENCE
01/09/2024 – 30/06/2025 : Research Fellow, Université Grenoble Alpes (City: Grenoble | Country: France)
01/12/2023 – 30/11/2024 : Research Fellow, University of Oxford, City: Oxford | Country: United Kingdom
01/01/2023 – 30/06/2023 : Postdoc Fellow, I Tatti – The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, City: Firenze | Country: Italy
25/09/2020 – Current : Assistant Professor of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Debre Berhan University, City: Debre Berhan | Country: Ethiopia
01/09/2013 – 24/09/2020 : Lecturer in archaeological studies, Debre Berhan University, City: Debre Berhan | Country: Ethiopia
21/08/2011 – 30/08/2013 : Lecturer in archaeological studies, Mizan-Tepi University, City: Mizan Teferi | Country: Ethiopia
23/09/2007 – 15/08/2009 : Assistant lecturer, Mizan-Tepi University, City: Mizan Teferi | Country: Ethiopia
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
10/2016 – 24/09/2020 : PhD in Archaeology, Université De Toulouse – Jean Jaurès, City: Toulouse | Country: France
10/09/2009 – 28/07/2011 : Master of Arts in Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore, City: Mysore | Country: India
20/10/2004 – 06/07/2007 : Bachelor of Education in History, Bahir Dar University, City: Bahir Dar | Country: Ethiopia
21/01/2019 – 24/01/2019 : Certificate, Institut des Mondes Africains (IMAF), City: Paris | Country: France
Certificate, Government of Karnataka, Department of Archaeology, Museum and Heritage, City: Bangalore | Country: India
MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Associate Dean: Research and Project at the Internationalisation and Partnerships Directorate of Debre Berhan University
From January 2023 to September 2024.
Founder and current coordinator of the Forum for Medieval Studies in Ethiopia and the Horn (FMSEH) founded in October 2022.
Chairman of the Department of History and Heritage Management, Debre Berhan University.
It was held from November 2014 to November 2016 for two consecutive years.
PUBLICATIONS
2025 : Ethio-European Relations in the 16th Century: Monumental and artifactual testimonies. Reference: Under review. A chapter in a book entitle: The Hapsburgs in Tunis -16th century.
2025 : Developer-led Archaeology in Ethiopia: Reflection on the field. Reference: Journal of African Archaeological Review
2024 : Towards a history of metals and metallurgists in Ethiopia. Reference: Annales d’Éthiopie (No. 35)
2024 : Review of Mikael Muhlbauer, Bastions of the Cross: Medieval Rock-Cut Cruciform Churches of Tigray, Ethiopia, in 21: Inquiries into Art History, and the Visual/ Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte und visuellen Kultur 5, 4
2023 : La délicate valorisation des collections
2023 : A survey of the ruined ‘Church of Qirqos’, Kǝmǝrdǝngay, South Wollo: An overture to church archaeology in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia. Metal and metallurgists in Wollo and North Shewa Area (Amhara Regional State,
2022 : Ethiopia). Preliminary results of the survey conducted in Spring 2021. The ¨Shay Culture¨ Revisited: Recent Archaeological Fieldwork in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia
2020 : Interim remarks on newly discovered stelae in the Efrātā and Gǝdǝm woreda, North Shewa
2017 : Movable Heritage Preservation Practices in the Churches and Monasteries of the EOTC
2016 : Cultural Heritage Landscapes Development for Sustainable Tourism: the case of historic landscapes in Ankober District, Debre Berhan University Proceedings of the 2nd International Research Symposium, Vol.6, No 6.
2011 : Afro-Persian relation in the Ancient and Early Medieval Times: An Archaeological Perspective
2012 : Rock-cut Architectural Heritages in Ethiopia and India: A comparative study
2020 : Megaliths, Landscapes, and Society in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia: An Archaeological Research. Reference: Blog post
2023 : The Megalithic Monuments of the Shay Culture. Reference: Blog post
2020 : ARCHÉOLOGIE : Alebachew Belay BIRRU, Phd in archeology. Reference: Youtube
CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
13/01/2025 – 15/01/2025 : Medieval Africa and the Global World Jerusalem, Israel
Connected Pagans of Medieval Ethiopia: The Shay Culture in Focus
Link: https://iias.huji.ac.il/event/iias-workshop-medieval-africa-and-global-world
30/05/2024 – 31/05/2024 : Mountains and the Historian. Oxford, UK
“Pagan” and Christian Landscapes in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia (c. 6th to 19th c. CE): An Archaeological and Historical Overview’Write here the description…
Link: https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/d5bc7c22-c46b-4b4d-88c7-9f36bde1b9fc/
12/05/2024 – 18/05/2024 : The Red Corridor and the Wider Mediterranean Nairobi, Kenya
The Horn of Africa and the Red Sea to 1500: Mobility of Sacred Ideas and Objects
Link: https://globalcenters.columbia.edu/news/reexamining-mediterranean-histories-african-perspectives
22/05/2023 – 24/05/2023 : Devotional Objects: Materiality, Mobility and Anxiety (KNIR, Rome) Rome, Italy
The Circulation of Beads between Ethiopia and the Mediterranean World (10th -16th c. CE): Examples from Recent Archaeological Finds
Link: https://www.knir.it/en/evenementen/knir-colloquium-handling-devotional-objects-in-late-medieval-and-early-modern-worlds-materiality-mobility-anxiety/
22/08/2019 – 23/08/2022 : Centre français des études éthiopiennes seminar on historical archaeology Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Megalithic Landscapes in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia: Inferences of Recent Archaeological Fieldworks.
16/03/2021 – 16/03/2021 : Medieval Archaeology in the Horn of Africa Exeter, UK
Megalithic Landscapes in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia: Legacies of a Medieval ¨Pagan¨ Civilization.
Link: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/events/details/index.php?event=11419
[08/06/2019 – 10/08/2019 : Réécrire le passé colonial : enjeux contemporains des collections de musée, Paris, France
Megalithic heritages in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia: state of documentation and preservation
06/02/2019 – 07/02/2019 ] Monuments et documents de l’Afrique ancienne Paris, France
Megalithic Monuments in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia: accounts of two Archaeological fieldwork seasons.
Have been Organising
- Monthly seminar series of FMSEH on the Medieval history and archaeology of the Horn of Africa and their interactions with the Mediterranean World since January 2023 (https://www.medievalhorn.com/)
- Annual conferences of the FMSEH on multidisciplinary teams (https://www.medievalhorn.com/)
NETWORKS AND MEMBERSHIPS
[ 01/01/2022 – Current ] Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAFA) USA
[ 01/09/2016 – Current ] Centre français des études éthiopiennes (CFEE) France/Ethiopia
[ 01/12/2016 – Current ] Pôle Afrique – Histoire et archéologie africaines (TRACES) Université Toulouse II Jean-Jaurès
HONOURS AND AWARDS
[ 2011 ] Gold medal award Awarding institution: University of Mysore
[ 2011 ] Cash Prize Awarding institution: University of Mysore