Vanessa Muros
Director of the Experimental and Archaeological Sciences Lab (EASL)
Fowler A419
Education
PhD, Dept. of History, Archaeology and Cultural Resources Management, University of Peloponnese, 2021
MSc Conservation for Archaeology and Museums,Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 1999
MA Archaeology,Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 1997
BA Archaeological Studies and Anthropology,Boston University, 1996
Areas of Interest
Archaeological conservation; deterioration and preservation of archaeological materials in situ; technical studies of cultural heritage materials; ancient glass and metals.
Profile
Vanessa Muros holds a BA and MA in archaeology and an MSc in the conservation of archaeological and ethnographic objects. She recently completed her PhD which focused on the technology of Late Bronze Age vitreous materials in the eastern Mediterranean. During her conservation graduate studies Vanessa interned in the Metals Conservation Section at the British Museum and worked as a conservator on sites in Jordan and Turkey. After graduating, she was awarded the Andrew W. Mellon Conservation Fellowship in Objects Conservation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She then went on to work as Assistant Conservator at the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago in 2000. In 2005, she joined the staff of the UCLA/Getty Conservation Program where she was manager of the Conservation Training Labs at the Getty Villa and lecturer. In the summer of 2019 Vanessa became the Director of the Experimental and Archaeological Sciences Laboratory (EASL) at the Cotsen Institute. In addition to working at various museums and educational institutions, she has also worked as an archaeological conservator on numerous excavations. Her current field work includes projects in Greece and Peru.
Publications
Bongers, J., V. Muros, C. O’Shea, J. Gomez Mejia, C.A. Cooke, M. Young, and H. Barnard. 2022. Painting personhood: Red pigment practices in southern Peru. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. 49.
Price, R., V. Muros, and H. Barnard. 2021. Considerations in the technical analysis of ancient Egyptian material remains: Destructive and non-destructive methods. In: Koons, M. and C. Arbuckle MacLeod (eds). The Egyptian Mummies and Coffins of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado, 139-169.
Zacharias, N., E. Palamara, R. Kordali and V. Muros. 2020. Archaeological glass corrosion studies: Composition, environment and content. Scientific Culture. 6(3): 53-67. [PDF]
Muros, V. and N. Zacharias. 2019. Lines, spots and trails: a microscopic and mineralogical study of antimonate-opacified glass beads from Lofkënd, Albania Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 11(5): 1769-1782.[PDF]
Muros, V., N. Little, Y. Lin, and P. Boehnke. 2017. Down in the dumps: Analysis of glass production debris from Petrie's excavations at Amarna. In: Owczarek, N., M. Gleeson and L. Grant. Engaging Conservation: Collaboration Across Disciplines. London: Archetype Books.
Muros, V. and D.A. Scott. 2016. The occurrence of brochantite on archaeological bronzes: A case study from Lofkënd, Albania. Studies in Conservation, 1-13. [PDF]
Muros, V., H. White and Ö. Gençay-Üstün. 2016. The use of CopyFlex food-grade, silicone rubber for making impressions of archaeological objects.Object Specialty Group Postprints. Vol. 22. Proceedings of the Objects Specialty Group Session at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Institute for the Conservation, May 13-16, 2015, Miami, FL. Washington DC: AIC, 181-204. [PDF]
Muros, V. 2014. Conservation at the Lofkënd Archaeological Project, 2004-2008. In: Papadopoulos, J.K., S.P. Morris, L. Bejko and L. Schepartz. The excavation of the prehistoric burial tumulus at Lofkënd, Albania, Vol. 1 and 2. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 122-138 (Vol. 1-text) and 915-921 (Vol. 2-illustrations). [PDF]
Muros, V. 2014. Textiles and other mineralized organic remains at Lofkënd. In: Papadopoulos, J.K., S.P. Morris, L. Bejko and L. Schepartz. The excavation of the prehistoric burial tumulus at Lofkënd, Albania, Vol. 1 and 2. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press. 411-424 (Vol. 1-text) and 1043-1057 (Vol. 2-illustrations). [PDF]
Muros, V. and D.A. Scott. 2014. Analytical studies of the metal artifacts from Lofkënd. In: Papadopoulos, J.K., S.P. Morris, L. Bejko and L. Schepartz. The excavation of the prehistoric burial tumulus at Lofkënd, Albania, Vol. 1 and 2. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press. 389-410 (Vol. 1-text) and 1033-1042 (Vol. 2-illustrations). [PDF]
A full list of publications, as well as links to PDF versions of the publications, can be found on my academia.edu page and my personal website.
Presentations
Jacobs, I. and V. Muros. 2020. Public outreach and the Community Museum. Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, April 2020. Austin, TX.
Muros, V., E. Rezes, L. Li, and E. Bowen. 2020. Preservation and Conservation Education at the Corral Redondo Archaeological Project. Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, April 2020. Austin, TX.
Muros, V. 2019. Preservation, Education and Outreach: Conservation at the Corral Redondo Project. Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, April 12-14, 2015. Albuquerque, NM.
Muros, V., N. Little, Y. Lin and P. Boehnke. 2016. Down in the dumps: Analysis of glass production debris from Petrie’s excavations at Amarna. "Engaging Conservation: Collaboration Across Disciplines" Symposium, Penn Museum, Oct. 6-8, 2016, Philadelphia, PA.
Muros, V., H. White and Ö. Gençay-Üstün. 2015. The use of CopyFlex food-grade, silicone rubber for making impressions of archaeological objects. 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Institute for the Conservation, May 13-16, 2015, Miami, FL.
Muros, V., N. Zacharias, W. Shelley and I. Kakoulli. 2015. The technology and trade of glass in SE Europe: Analysis of 12th-9th c. BC glass from Lofkënd and Methone. Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, April 15-19, 2015. San Francisco, CA.
A full list of conference presentations, as well as links to PDF versions to some of the presentations, can be found on my academia.edu page and my personal website.
Awards
2022 Conservation Grant, Samuel H. Kress Foundation
Project: Condition Survey and Rehousing of the Archaeological Collections at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA
2022 Holly Maxson Conservation Grant, Foundation, American Institute for Conservation
Project: The Preservation of Object Collections: An Undergraduate Educational Initiative
2022 Kathleen and David Boochever Endowment Fund for Fieldwork and Scientific Analysis, Archaeological Institute of America
Project: Testing the Efficacy of Low Tech Methods for the Identification of Pottery Residues in the Field
2017 Antiquities Endowment Fund, American Research Center in Egypt
Project: The Analysis of Glass Production Debris from Petrie's Excavations at Amarna
2017 UCLA Non-Senate Faculty Curriculum Development Award
2016 Wiener Laboratory Research Associate Fellowship, American School of Classical Studies, Athens
Project: The Technology and Trade of Late Bronze Age Glass from Kefalonia
2015 Grant from the John Anson Kittredge Fund
Project: The Technology of Late Bronze Age Glass from Greece and Albania