Forthcoming Postdoctoral Position: Wax Tablets, Latin Palaeography, and Manuscript Cultures

We are pleased to announce that the ERC project TabulaRasa welcomes applications for a two-year postdoctoral position in Palaeography at the University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’. To help prospective candidates prepare, and to facilitate the circulation of the opportunity through academic networks, we are publishing below an informal factsheet about the position.

The official call for applications, which constitutes the only legally binding version of the advertisement, is available at the webpage https://www.unior.it/it/bandi-e-concorsi/bando-selezione-un-contratto-di-ricerca-nellambito-del-progetto-erc-cog-tabularasa. The deadline for submitting applications is September 14, 2026.

View/download the informal factsheet in PDF format: https://tabularasa.hypotheses.org/files/2026/08/Postdoc-RA4-informal-factsheet_20260803.pdf

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This position offers the opportunity to investigate how erasable writing technologies transformed the history of manuscript culture, combining palaeography, manuscript studies, and experimental research within an ERC-funded international team. The advertised position focuses on the study of the palaeography of writing on wax in Latin script.

We are looking for an enthusiastic researcher who enjoys combining traditional palaeographical expertise with curiosity for material culture, interdisciplinary collaboration, and experimental approaches to historical research.

The project

TabulaRasa investigates the impact of erasable writing technologies, especially wax tablets, on the development of manuscript cultures from Late Antiquity to the early modern period. The project brings together codicology, palaeography, material analysis and experimentation to address fundamental questions about writing technologies.

The successful candidate will investigate the palaeography of writing on wax and its relationship with alternative writing technologies, combining the examination of original manuscripts with experimental replication (in order to get an idea of the overall approach, please have a look at the report on the Ephemeral Writings workshop of May 2025). 

The position involves close collaboration with Prof. Marc Smith (Paris), partner of the project, and the Cologne research unit. It offers excellent opportunities for international networking, research travel, collaboration with leading scholars in manuscript studies, and the development of an original research profile within a highly visible ERC-funded research environment.

Further information about the project, its research questions, and ongoing activities is available on the project website: https://tabularasa.hypotheses.org

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will:

• conduct original research on the palaeography of writing on wax from Late Antiquity to the early modern period;
• examine original wax tablets and other primary sources in libraries and archives;
• participate in experimental and replication research carried out within the project;
• contribute to the project’s digital database and technical glossary;
• publish research results both independently and collaboratively with other members of the team;
• contribute to the organisation of conferences, workshops, and other project activities.

Candidate profile

Applicants should have:

• a PhD in a relevant discipline (or have successfully completed all doctoral requirements before the contract begins; the dissertation does not need to have been published);
• strong expertise in Latin palaeography;
• good knowledge of English (spoken and written);
• good knowledge of Latin;
• willingness to work as part of a team.

Knowledge of German is highly desirable, as many surviving medieval and early modern wax tablets contain texts in German. Experience with medieval German palaeography would therefore be an advantage, although it is not a formal requirement.

Working environment

The project team is international and English-speaking. Knowledge of Italian is not required. 

The position is based at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies. The successful candidate should be willing to spend time in Naples on a regular basis; the exact arrangements can be agreed with the PI and allow for considerable flexibility, particularly for candidates from abroad.

Contract

• Duration: two years (contratto di ricerca ex legge 240/2010 art. 22).
• Expected starting date: November or December 2026 (a later start, up to approximately January 2027, may be agreed where appropriate).
• Selection procedure: evaluation of qualifications and interview.

The gross annual salary is €40,000. Researchers transferring their tax residence to Italy will benefit from the favourable tax regime currently available for eligible international hires, resulting in a substantially higher net salary than would otherwise apply (subject to the relevant legislation).

Application procedure

The application procedure is described in the official call for applications. Potential candidates, especially those from abroad, should not be discouraged by the bureaucratic and at times seemingly obscure language.

Basically, the application must be submitted either via PEC (a type of certified email used in Italy) or by registered mail containing the documents in PDF format saved on a USB flash drive. In addition to the two forms (Annex 1 and Annex 2) available on the official call’s webpage, the required documents basically consist of:

• A CV (although the call mentions the ‘European format’, standard academic CVs that do not strictly adhere to Europass are also accepted);
• A ‘proposta progettuale’ (meaning a motivation letter written according to the guidelines set out in the call);
• Two publications (one of which may be the PhD dissertation, if desired);
• The PhD certificate (or, in Annex 1, a declaration stating that you are in the final stage of your PhD, for those who have not yet obtained the degree; the PhD title must be acquired within 6 months).

Furthermore, a list of the documents the applicant is attaching. A tax code (codice fiscale) is required only for Italian applicants; for all others, a copy of an ID document/passport is sufficient.

For any clarification, just drop a line.

Researchers interested in the position are welcome to contact Prof. Michele Cammarosano informally for further info.

Please feel free to circulate this announcement to colleagues, postdoctoral researchers, and advanced PhD candidates who may be interested.

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