Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World

Esma Demiryürek earned her B.A. in Law, with a Minor in Archaeology from Bilkent University in 2022. She was awarded an M.A., Archaeology in 2025, also from Bilkent, with a thesis on public archaeology at Ağlasun-Sagalassos. Her research interests include the politics of the past; archaeological ethnography; archaeological theory; the right to culture; anti-colonial, gender, and queer archaeological frameworks; community engagement in excavations; and the aftermath of public archaeology initiatives. Her fieldwork in Turkey includes working with the Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project and the Türkmen-Karahöyük Archaeological Project. In addition, she has also assisted the British Institute at Ankara with digital data management and interned as a lawyer with the Ankara Bar Association.