I am a MSCA post-doctoral fellow with a particular interest in the archaeology of medieval sex work. My EU-funded project “A new look at prostitution in medieval Europe: Exploring the potential of ancient pathogen genomics with individuals buried in red light districts” (SEXWARC) is run in conjunction with the Department of Medieval Archaeology.
The archaeology of sex work has thus far mainly been limited to a description of the structural features of which brothels are constituted, but struggles to make meaningful observations when it comes to the people who have worked in these environments. SEXWARC aims to put female sex workers back at the center of our scientific work, by focusing on human remains and sediments as a new sources of information for the study of past prostitution. For this, recent advances in ancient DNA research will be applied to skeletal populations and sites from the medieval County of Flanders.

2025-Present MSCA post-doctoral fellow, Universität Tübingen
2017-2025 Post-doctoral researcher, Ghent University
2016-2017 Scientific collaborator, UCLouvain, Institut des civilisations, arts et lettres (INCAL), Group for early modern cultural analysis (GEMCA)
2013-2016 Ph.D., Ghent University

• Poulain, Maxime, Céline Bon, and Jessica Palmer. 2025. “Born in a Brothel: New Perspectives on Childcare with Medieval Sex Workers.” Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (accepted). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-025-02218-2
• Poulain, Maxime, Mathijs Speecke, Anton Ervynck, Jan Huyghe, Jan Moens, Marissa Ledger, Eva Vermeersch, Lieselotte Desnerck, An Lentacker, Wim Wouters, Wouter van der Meer, Koen Deforce, Toon De Meester, Nicolas Thomas, Marijn Stolk, Ina Vanden Berghe, Maaike Vandorpe, Alejandra Gutiérrez, Peter Vandenabeele, Wim De Clercq, and Bieke Hillewaert. 2025. “At the Apothecary: Life in an International District in 15th-Century Bruges.” Medieval Archaeology (accepted).
• Ledger, Marissa L., Maxime Poulain, and Koen Deforce. 2024. “Paleoparasitological Analysis of a 15th–16th c. CE Latrine from the Merchant Quarter of Bruges, Belgium : Evidence for Local and Exotic Parasite Infections.” Parasitology 151 (11): 1281–89. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182024001100.
• Heidbüchel, Natan, Maxime Poulain, and Wim De Clercq. 2024. “Shedding Some Light on Indoor Lighting in 15th-Century Flemish Urban Houses : An Experimental Archaeological Approach.” Medieval Archaeology 68 (2): 382–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/00766097.2024.2419279.
• Trachet, Jan, Maxime Poulain, Dante de Ruijsscher, Timothy Saey, and Wim De Clercq. 2024. “Marginal Mounds and Maritime Shepherding : A Landscape Archaeological Survey of a Late Medieval Sheep Mound in the Belgian Coastal Plain.” Journal of Wetland Archaeology, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/14732971.2024.2416266.
• Poulain, Maxime. 2023. “The Post-Medieval Period in Temperate Europe.” In Encyclopedia of Archaeology, Vol. 4, edited by Efthymia Nikita and Thilo Rehren, 2nd ed., 997–1008. London, UK: Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-90799-6.00125-7.
• Saussus, Lise, Maxime Poulain, and Wim De Clercq. 2023. “Early Modern Pewter from the Castle of Middelburg-in-Flanders (Belgium) : Uses, Material Composition and Ranges of Quality.” Post-Medieval Archaeology 57 (3): 338–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/00794236.2023.2285286.
• Poulain, Maxime. 2022. “Ocean-Liner Ceramics : A Red Star Line Assemblage in Antwerp, Belgium.” Historical Archaeology 56 (2): 274–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-021-00315-2.
• Poulain, Maxime, Marc Brion, and Arne Verbrugge, eds. 2022. “The Archaeology of Conflicts : Early Modern Military Encampments and Material Culture.” Oxford: BAR. https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407359618.
• Saussus, Lise, Yi‑Ting Hsu, Maxime Poulain, Marcos Martinón‑Torres, Nicolas Thomas, and Wim De Clercq. 2022. “Refining Silver at the Castle : The Rare Case of a Large Early Modern Cupel from Middelburg‑in‑Flanders, Belgium.” Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 14 (10). doi.org/10.1007/s12520-022-01655-7.

2025 Impact Award – European University Alliance ENLIGHT for ‘Lost Ports of the Zwin’ project
2024 Annual Award of the Society for Medieval Archaeology for the best novel interpretation, application of analytical method or presentation of new findings published in its journal (Heidbüchel et al. 2024).
2022 Science Communication Prize, Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, Belgium
2021 Finalist of the 2021 Heritage in Motion Award for the ‘Lost Ports of the Zwin’ project (Europa Nostra / European Museum Academy / Europeana)
2015 Laureate of the J.M. van Winter Stipend (University of Amsterdam)
2013 Nominated for the biannual Jacques A.E. Nenquin prize for the best MA thesis at Ghent University and the Free University of Brussels