Profile

I’m Polish, three years ago I got a scholarship from European Union and moved to Bristol. I have been interested in archaeology since I read a book about ancient Egypt many years ago. I am curious about the world, I love to travel, discover new places, and watch and photograph wildlife, especially birds. I come from a small town surrounded by many lakes, I love kayaking, walking and cycling. I love to be high in the mountains, I hiked and climbed in the Alps, Carpathians and Brecon Beacons, now I am preparing a trip to Nepal to finally see the Himalayas.

I have a PhD in archaeology, I moved to University of Bristol to learn how to work in a lab and start my own research in the field of isotopic geochemistry. In short, I can now study human mobility and diet in the past by analysing the chemical composition of tooth enamel. This is possible because what we eat and where we live leaves a chemical mark in our bones and teeth. To collect samples I travel to museum and universities around the world. I analyse the samples in special clean laboratories, and use advanced machines called mass spectrometers to look for different types (isotopes) of such elements as strontium, carbon and nitrogen.

I wake up and have a tasty vegetarian breakfast. I take my headphones and I walk to work or I take a ferry. I get to work at 9.30am, I have to put on special clothes to get into the clean lab where I analyse my samples. The lab is located in the basement of a beautiful historic building. If I am not in the lab I teach students, have meetings with colleagues and students, or visit a library. Around 1pm I have lunch with colleagues, then I have a coffee and I go back to lab, classroom or my office. I go home at 6 pm, I usually do shopping on the way back, sometimes I go out with friends and come back home later.