Lara Bampfield

Biography

I am a Research Associate in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford, specialising in Mesopotamian cylinder seals and digital approaches to ancient material culture. My research examines imagery and inscriptions on Old Babylonian and Kassite seals, combining archaeological and art-historical interpretation with digital imaging, structured annotation and computer vision. I am particularly interested in how these methods can reveal patterns across collections and make ancient objects more accessible for research.

My work on SIANE brings together museum documentation, digital unwrapping and 3D modelling, with images and metadata integrated into the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. I also manage archaeological data for the Northern Tokat Upper Land Survey in Türkiye and co-edit Digital Documentation on a Roll with Elizabeth Knott.

From 2025 to 2026, I worked on the Tutankhamun Spatial Archive at Oxford’s Griffith Institute, organising and cross-referencing Howard Carter’s excavation records for a digital research resource. My wider experience includes university teaching, archaeological fieldwork in Iraq, Türkiye, Italy and Jordan, and public engagement through documentary and publishing projects.

Current Projects

SIANE (Seals and their Impressions in the Ancient Near East): digital documentation of cylinder seals in international museum collections, using high-resolution imaging, digital unwrapping, 3D modelling and structured annotation, with outputs integrated into the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative.

Northern Tokat Upper Land Survey (N-TULS), Türkiye: archaeological data management linking site, survey, finds, photographic and spatial records. Current work includes post-season archive validation and the integration of GIS and tabular data.

Digital Documentation on a Roll: co-editing, with Elizabeth Knott, a forthcoming Archaeopress volume on digital unwrapping techniques and technologies for ancient artefacts, and contributing research on cylinder seals, SIANE and artificial intelligence.

Courses Taught

Assyriology tutorials, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford (2022–2023 and 2024–2025), covering the history and culture of ancient Mesopotamia.

Educational Background

2021–2026: DPhil research in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford.

Thesis: Change and Continuity in Old Babylonian (1894–1595 B.C.) to Kassite (1595–1155 B.C.) Period Cylinder Seals: Harnessing the Power of Digital Humanities. Supervisors: Jacob Dahl and Paul Collins.

2019–2021: MRes in Cuneiform and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, University of Birmingham (Distinction).
2015–2019: BA in Art History with Honors and BA in French Literature, University of Iowa (both cum laude).

Research Interests

Mesopotamian cylinder seals and glyptic imagery; Old Babylonian and Kassite material culture; relationships between text and image; digital documentation and 3D modelling; image annotation and computer vision; archaeological data management and digital archives; access to cultural heritage.

Recent Publications

Bampfield, L., Dahl, J. L., Dutta, A. and Zisserman, A. (2026). “Visual Analysis of Cylinder Seal Impressions and Unwrappings: Annotation and Automation.” Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin 2026(2). https://cdli.earth/articles/cdlb/2026-2
Bampfield, L. and Young, D. (2024). “The SIANE Device: Advancing Digital Documentation of Ancient Near Eastern Cylinder Seals.” OpenDANES. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14313640
Bampfield, L. (2024). “From Stone to Screen: Documenting Cylinder Seals with Modern Digital Techniques.” British Museum Middle East Newsletter 9.
Wagensonner, K., Pagé-Perron, É., Barber, J., Fernandes Pedroso, G. and Bampfield, L. (2024). “User Guides: Images Acquisition and Processing.” Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. https://cdli.earth/docs/images-acquisition-and-processing

Forthcoming

Bampfield, L. and Knott, E. (eds.). Digital Documentation on a Roll: Recent Advances in Digital Unwrapping Techniques and Technologies Used for Ancient Artefacts. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Bampfield, L. and Young, D. “SIANE: Enhancing Visual Documentation of Ancient Near Eastern Cylinder Seals via 3D Modelling and Digital Unwrapping.” In Digital Documentation on a Roll, edited by L. Bampfield and E. Knott. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Bampfield, L. “Cylinder Seals and Artificial Intelligence Applications of Digital Unwrappings and 3D Models.” In Digital Documentation on a Roll, edited by L. Bampfield and E. Knott. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Bampfield, L. “Cut & Tag – Rinse and Repeat: Cylinder Seals and the Digital Annotation of Glyptic Artefacts.” Proceedings of Slow Sumer: Repair, Reuse and Recycling and Southern Mesopotamian Society, edited by L. Romano. Studi Semitici.