Cynthia Dunning Thierstein is Director of ArchaeoConcept and responsible for heritage management projects. She is an archaeologist, specialising in the Iron Age. She submitted her doctoral thesis in 2005 on the theme of the Early Iron Age in the Jura (University of Geneva). After her studies in Geneva and Marburg an der Lahn (Germany), she became assistant of Prehistory at the University of Geneva. From 1989 to 1998 she was director of the Schwab Museum in Biel and from 1998 to 2010 of the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern. Since her studies in the 1980s, Cynthia Dunning Thierstein has been interested in the theory of archaeology and its management. She set up a new organisation for the Archaeological Service in the Canton of Bern and developed this service to ensure efficient management of archaeology from the inventory to the mediation. Till 2011, Cynthia Dunning Thierstein was actively involved in the management of the Europae Archaeologiae Concilium, a non-governmental association bringing together archaeological managers from all over Europe, which organises colloquia and defines the issues of contemporary archaeology for this geographical region. In 2011, Cynthia Dunning Thierstein creates ArchaeoConcept. She is a member of numerous national and international associations (ICOMOS, ICOM, EAA, AS, AGUS, ARS). She was vice-president of the association Palafittes for the inscription of Pile dwellings around the Alps on the UNESCO World Heritage List and a member of the AS (Swiss Archaeology) committee until 2012. In 2012 she obtained her MAS in cultural management at the University of Basel. She is an ICOMOS-ICAHM expert.

Ellinor Dunning has worked as a scientific collaborator and project coordinator at ArchaeoConcept since 2015. In 2016, she completed a Master of Arts in Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Neuchâtel, writing her thesis on the relationships between audiences and institutions in projects to enhance archaeological sites in Switzerland. This work won her the Prix Jéquier.

Having also studied ethnology (BA at the University of Neuchâtel, 2012; Erasmus MA at the University of Halle an der Saale, Germany, 2015), she has a particular interest in critical heritage studies. Her interests include the mechanisms by which heritage and archaeological knowledge are produced, how this knowledge is transmitted and made accessible, and the plurality of vernacular and scientific discourses on the past.

She is committed to developing an inclusive and socially engaged archaeology, based on shared and co-constructed values. To this end, she is carrying out a number of projects, including the Les Salons archéologiques research-mediation project and the publication of the results of this participatory project in collaboration with Camille Aeschimann (2017–2021); the Émotions patrimoniales SNSF-AGORA scientific communication project, led by the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Neuchâtel in partnership with the Laténium, Parc et Musée d'archéologie de Neuchâtel (2017–2020); and Stories of migrations. From Past to Present (2025–2026).

Since 2016, she has also been involved in various projects to promote and manage archaeological heritage in Switzerland and abroad. For instance, in collaboration with Cynthia Dunning, she developed the management plan and UNESCO nomination dossier for 'The Cultural Landscape of the Central Region in the Emirate of Sharjah (UAE)'.

Camille Aeschimann holds a BA in Ethnology and Human Geography and an MA in Social Sciences, specialising in the Anthropology of Social Action, both from the University of Neuchâtel. Since 2018, she has worked at ArchaeoConcept as a scientific collaborator and project manager.

From 2018 to 2021, she was involved in designing and implementing the participatory project Les Salons archéologiques working alongside Ellinor Dunning. During this period, she also organised excursions and the fair for the annual conference of the European Association of Archaeologists in Bern in 2019. Since 2022, she has been leading a project with Leana Catalfamo to improve the accessibility of archaeological sites in Switzerland for all, including people with disabilities. In connection with this project, she worked with several colleagues to design a practical guide aimed at those responsible for enhancing the accessibility of archaeological sites in Switzerland. This guide, titled Guide en vue d'améliorer l'accessibilité des sites archéologiques, is set to be published in 2025. She also edited an international publication showcasing examples of good practice from around the world, which is also set to be published in 2025, by Springer.

Alongside her work at ArchaeoConcept, Camille Aeschimann led a national participatory project in French-speaking Switzerland raising awareness among young people of Switzerland's cultural and religious diversity. Since 2022, she has also managed and coordinated a foundation whose mission is to promote intercultural and interreligious dialogue through education, research, and art.

She enjoys designing and running projects at the intersection of the social sciences and archaeology, taking a people-centred approach.

Aurélia Basterrechea has been a scientific collaborator and project manager at ArchaeoConcept since 2017. She holds a Master’s degree in Museum Studies and a second Master’s in Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, both from the University of Neuchâtel. She is particularly interested in heritage interpretation and archaeological mediation, especially for younger audiences.

She has taken part in several excavation campaigns in Switzerland and abroad (notably in Kerma, Sudan), and has held various positions in museums (Sion, Liège, Biel) as well as within cantonal cultural organizations. She is also active in the associative field: secretary of the Valaisan Archaeological Association and president of ArchaeoTourism, she regularly contributes to projects that raise awareness of heritage and foster public engagement. Her role as General Secretary of the Valais Museum Association from 2020 to 2022 gave her a solid understanding of the museum network in Valais and its specificities.

At ArchaeoConcept, she has coordinated the Site of the Month project, developed educational trails and archaeological hikes, curated exhibitions, and has been involved in research on innovative methods of scientific communication, particularly through digital platforms. She recently co-edited the book New Ways of Communicating Archaeology in a Digital World (Springer, 2024).

Since 2024, she has also been working with the Cantonal Museums of Valais as an archaeology mediator, contributing to the development of an exhibition on the Neolithic stelae of Sion. In 2025, she takes on responsibility, together with the RAMHA association (Archaeological Research on the Wall [known as] of Hannibal), for the outreach component of the MAIA project (Merveilles Archéologiques Invisibles des Alpes), an Interreg project between Switzerland and Italy, in partnership with the Cantonal Office of Archaeology of Valais.

Leana Catalfamo is a research collaborator at ArchaeoConcept since August 2022. A graduate archaeologist from the universities of Neuchâtel and Basel, she has been involved in various excavation campaigns since 2010, both in Switzerland (cantons of BE, FR, JU, NE and VS) and abroad. From the sands of Sudan to the dust of Greek Euboea, the many campaigns she has carried out abroad are also opportunities for her to discover new sensitivities to cultural heritage.

Between 2020 and 2022 she worked for the archaeological service of the canton of Bern, then for the canton of Valais. Curious about human history and convinced of the importance of high-quality scientific communication for a public less familiar with archaeology, she worked as a guide in the museum institutions of the Laténium (NE), then the New Museum of Biel (BE), Augusta Raurica (BL) and since 2023 at the Vindonissa/Windisch site (AG), as a cultural mediator. She joins the team of the archaeological service of the canton of Fribourg for the medieval sector in February 2024.

In summer 2022, she took over the project to promote the archaeological site of the so-called Hannibal Wall from Aurelia Basterrechea, who is away on a trip. Since February 2023, she is also involved in the project on universal accessibility of archaeological sites.