Biography
Julien Cooper is an Egyptologist, Nubiologist and archaeologist, with a focus on the archaeology of the Eastern Desert (Atbai) and the history of its nomadic peoples. He is the director of the 'Atbai Survey Project', a fieldwork program surveying the vast deserts between the Nile and the Red Sea. These surveys aim to shed new light on the varied heritage of this desert, from neolithic rock art to ancient Egyptian trade routes and medieval goldmines. Julien is recently a recipient of an ARC Future Fellowship "Rescuing Pharaoh’s Gold Mines: Archaeological conservation in Eastern Sudan". Please follow our updates (in English, Arabic, and Bidhaawyeet/Beja) on X and Facebook.

Julien completed his PhD in Egyptology at Macquarie University (2016), thereafter holding postdoctoral fellowships at Oxford (ERC Fellow) and Yale universities, as well as an Assistant Professor position at United International College-Bejing Normal University (Zhuhai) from 2020-2022.

Learn about my research in this podcast from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. His open access publications may be accessed here.

Julien's research interests centre on the study of Egypt & Nubia and the networks of connections across Northeast Africa, and include:
- Nomads in Northeast Africa
- Survey archaeology and rock art studies
- Heritage & Conservation
- History of Nubia
- The foreign connections of the ancient Egyptian state
- Egyptian Epigraphy and rock inscriptions
- Language contact and Africa languages
- Middle Egyptian language

Julien has taught widely on Egyptian and Nubian history, language, and archaeology as well as world history subjects (world religions, migration). His teaching experience includes teaching at Macquarie, Yale, and Beijing Normal universities.