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Department of Archaeology

 

Biography

I conduct research on the Bronze Age Aegean. This research has focussed on examining the role of burials and mortuary rituals in Minoan and Mycenaean societies (2nd millennium BCE) through fieldwork and the study of past excavations in Greece and adjacent regions. I am currently engaged in a field project focussing on the excavation of Mycenaean tombs at Prosilio near Orchomenos in central Greece, a collaborative project between the British School at Athens and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Boeotia/Hellenic Ministry of Culture & Sports.

Research

  • Archaeology of the Bronze Age Aegean
  • Analysis of mortuary practices and of social complexity

I was the Principal Investigator of Lerna: the analysis, interpretation and publication of the Middle Bronze Age phase, a project researched by Dr Lindsay Spencer (2015–2018).

I have recently co-curated the Codebreakers and Groundbreakers exhibition in the Fitzwilliam Museum which attracted 45,000 visitors (https://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/calendar/whatson/codebreakers-and-groundbreakers).

Teaching and Supervisions

Teaching: 

I am involved in the teaching of the following courses:

  • Classics Paper 1A: Introduction to Greek & Roman Art & Archaeology
  • Classics Paper 1B: Mycenae – City of Legend?
  • Classics Paper D1: Aegean Prehistory (different code in archaeology)
Research supervision: 

I currently supervise students in a range of topics related to the archaeology of the Bronze Age Aegean. I am interested in supervising students who wish to study for an MPhil or a PhD in Classics or in Archaeology in the following topics:

  • Bronze Age Aegean art & archaeology
  • Mortuary archaeology & social complexity
  • Trade of antiquities in 19th century Europe
  • History & politics of Mediterranean archaeology

Current students

  • Jan Sienkiewicz (PhD, co-supervisor) – Ialysos on Rhodes: a study of chamber tombs and their assemblages (Biliotti excavations, 1868-71)
  • Rachel Phillips (PhD) – Mycenaean Art and Society in the Late Bronze Age Aegean

Past students

  • Ester Salgarella (PhD, 2018, second supersvisor) – Aegean Linear Script(s): rethinking the relationship between Linear A and Linear B; elected to a Junior Research Fellowship (St John’s College, Cambridge)
  • Sam Sharma (MPhil, 2017); Tombs and Society in Mycenaean Greece –moved to a full-time job in education.
  • Michael Loy (MPhil, 2016); Frogs Around the Pond: religious networks in the Saronic Gulf; continued to a fully-funded PhD.
  • Roeland Decorte (MPhil, 2013); Rethinking the Minoan Order: wealth, exchange and social complexity in Palatial Crete; continued to a fully-funded PhD.
  • Charles Sturge (MPhil, 2013); Inter-site Relations in the Palatial Argolid: revisiting the power dynamics of the Late Bronze Age; continued to a fully-funded PhD.

Other Professional Activities

  • Chair of the Mycenaean Studies Advisory Committee, ICS, London
  • Peer Review College, Arts and Humanities Research Council
  • Director of Archives and the Museum of Classical Archaeology
  • Member of the Cambridge Heritage Research Centre
  • Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Athens Archaeological Society
  • Life member of the Archaeological Institute of America
  • Editorial board member of Athens University Review of Archaeology (AURA) and Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici n.s. (SMEA)
  • Editor of Archaeological Reports (CUP) along with Dr Andrew Shapland: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/archaeological-reports

Job Titles

Associate Professor in Classics (Classical Art & Archaeology)
Director of Archives in the Faculty of Classics.
Fellow of Sidney Sussex College
Director of Studies in Classics and Archaeology at Sidney Sussex

General Info

Takes PhD students
Available for consultancy
Research Expertise / Fields of study: 
Museum Studies
Material Culture
Socio-Politics of the Past
Art and Iconography

Contact Details

ig298 [at] cam.ac.uk
01223 (3)38879

Affiliations

Person keywords: 
Aegean Art and Archaeology
Mortuary Archaeology
Social Complexity
Minoan Crete & Mycenaean Greece
Archaeological Legislation and the Trade of Antiquities
History & Politics of Mediterranean Archaeology
Subjects: 
Archaeology
Themes: 
Material Culture
Rethinking Complexity
Geographical areas: 
Aegean
Mediterranean
Periods of interest: 
Classical - Roman
Copper/Bronze Age
Iron Age
Other Prehistory