Carl is an archaeologist and curator specializing on cross-cultural interactions in north Africa, western Asia, and the Mediterranean during the Bronze Age. He earned his BA in Egyptology from the University of Cambridge and PhD in Mediterranean and western Asian archaeology from University College London. He previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown University.
Carl’s research focuses on the materiality of objects and the body, and how these can offer glimpses into the past experiences of ancient peoples, particularly across cultural boundaries. (See for example his co-edited volume Tracing Gestures, The Art and Archaeology of Bodily Communication). His current research and publications focus on the material culture—such as board games, cosmetics, furniture, and pottery—of the Middle Bronze Age kingdom of Kerma (Kush) in modern Sudan, and how these object typologies reveal complex interactions with other royal and elite centers across north Africa and western Asia. Currently he is working on a grant funded project on Nubian kohl cosmetics as well as a paper on Kerma painted pottery and skeuomorphic traditions. He is more broadly interested in ancient diplomacy, models of African statehood, phenomenology of architecture, and the roles of games in human societies.
At ISAW Carl has been working as a curator with the exhibitions team since 2023, crafting accessible and engaging stories about the ancient world. He is passionate about museum research, education, and outreach, and is currently exploring concepts of authenticity and the ethics of using antiquities forgeries, replicas, and casts in museums. He has co-edited Teaching Ancient Egypt in Museums: Pedagogies in Practice, which delves into ethical best practices for engaging learners about ancient Egypt using museum objects, through co-authored essays that reflect on the teaching experiences and techniques of museum educators, scholars, docents, artists, and students from all across the world. He is currently working on a follow up volume that expands to teaching about ancient western Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean in museums.