Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
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.
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.
Research interests
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 African languages
- Middle Egyptian language
Teaching
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.
Education/Academic qualification
Egyptology, PhD, Toponymy on the Periphery: Placenames of the Eastern Desert, Red Sea, and South Sinai, Macquarie University
Award Date: 1 Apr 2016
External positions
Assistant Professor - Research Centre for History & Culture
2020 → 2022
Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, Yale University
2018 → 2020
Postdoctoral Research Fellow (ERC Nomadic Empires Project), University of Oxford
2016 → 2018
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Sir Douglas Newbold Archival Project: The Archaeology and History of Eastern Sudan
Cooper, J. (Primary Chief Investigator) & Barker, G. (Associate Investigator)
20/09/24 → …
Project: Research
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FT23: Rescuing Pharaoh’s Gold Mines: Archaeological conservation in Eastern Sudan
Cooper, J. (Primary Chief Investigator) & Sowada, K. (Supervisor)
29/05/24 → 28/05/28
Project: Research
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Nomades et nomadismes au Sahara oriental (Égypte, Soudan, est libyen)
Cooper, J. (Partner Investigator), Crépy, M. (Partner Investigator) & Bourgeois, M. (Partner Investigator)
1/04/24 → …
Project: Research
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Research Outputs
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Atbai Enclosure Burials: monumentalism, pastoralism and environmental change in the mid‑Holocene East Nubian deserts
Cooper, J., Bourgeois, M., Crépy, M. & Gatto, M. C., Jun 2026, In: African Archaeological Review. 43, 2, p. 191-216 26 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
Pastoralists, travellers and miners in the Atbai Desert (Sudan): surveys and excavations at Khor Rafit
Cooper, J., Whiting, R., Czyżewska-Zalewska, E. & Rammutloa, K., 2026, In: Azania. 61, 1, p. 40-80 41 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile29 Downloads (Pure) -
Fuzzy boundaries or hard borders? Cultural groupings in Second Millennium BC Nubia from the view of linguistic evidence
Cooper, J., 2025, In: Old World: Journal of Ancient Africa and Eurasia. 5, 1, p. 1-30 30 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile43 Downloads (Pure) -
L'Empire égyptien, du mythe à la réalité
Translated title of the contribution :The Egyptian Empire, from myth to reality Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Naming and labelling cultures of the Middle Nile in the Second Millennium BCE – a discussion of cultural, linguistic, and geographic categories
Cooper, J., 2025, In: Old World: Journal of Ancient Africa and Eurasia. 5, 1, p. 1-10 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile13 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
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Zaghawa Community Association
Cooper, J. (Visiting researcher), Evans, T. (Visiting researcher) & Bassil, N. (Visiting researcher)
2 Jul 2025Activity: Visiting an external institution › Visiting an external non-academic institution
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Safeguarding Sudan's Ancient Art: Exploring the significance, documentation, and preservation of epigraphic and rock-art sites
Cooper, J. (Speaker)
18 Mar 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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The Kandaka today: The reception of ancient Sudanese queens in modern Sudan and the African Diaspora
Cooper, J. (Speaker) & Abbashar, A. (Invited speaker)
Apr 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Ancient nomadism in the Nile Basin: Seasonality & transhumance since the Neolithic
Cooper, J. (Speaker)
Jan 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Egypt and the Atbai: Nomads, gold, and the realities of a forgotten frontier
Cooper, J. (Speaker)
Jan 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
Press/Media
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Tens of thousands of artefacts looted from Sudan museum, says official
10/09/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Reports of massive looting at Sudan's National Museum
6/09/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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4,000-year-old rock art of boats and cattle unearthed in Sudan paint a picture of a green Sahara
5/06/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Prehistoric Rock Art Of Cattle And Boats Found In Sudan Support ‘Green Sahara’ Theory That This Desert Was Once A Grassland
15/05/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
Impacts
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UNESCO Meeting on the Cultural Heritage of Human Adaptations
Cooper, J. (Participant)
Impact: Culture impacts