Roger Matthews (archaeologist)

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Roger John Matthews (born August 21, 1954 in Cardiff , Wales ) is a British archaeologist from the Near East . His research focus is on the prehistory and early history of Iran , Mesopotamia and Anatolia .

Life

Studies and academic teaching

Matthews received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1989 with the dissertation Clay sealings in early dynastic Mesopotamia: a functional and contextual approach.

From 1988 to 1995 he was director of the London- based British School of Archeology in Iraq . From 1996 to 2001 he was director of the British Institute of Archeology in Ankara . He then worked at the UCL Institute of Archeology at University College London from 2001 to 2011 . In January 2011 he moved to the Department of Archeology at the University of Reading , where he teaches as Professor of Near Eastern Archeology.

Matthews is co-editor of the journal Anatolian Studies . He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London .

Archaeological field research

Matthews researches mainly on the prehistory and early history of Iran, Mesopotamia and Anatolia. He looks at the early development of sedentarism and agriculture in the Middle East , especially in Iran and Iraq , complex societies and empires in the Middle East, as well as urbanization and the development of bureaucracy and trade in Mesopotamia and Iran. He is also interested in techniques and archaeological research approaches in relation to excavations and surveys as well as the history and philosophy of the discipline of Near Eastern archeology.

Within his research work, he focuses on archaeological field research. Among other things, he took part in excavations in Çatalhöyük in Turkey , in Abū Ṣalābīḫ in Iraq and in Tell Brak in Syria. He also led excavations in Djemdet Nasr in Iraq and a survey, Project Paphlagonia , in northern central Turkey.

Since 2007 he and his wife, the archaeologist Wendy Matthews, have been directing the Central Zagros Archaeological Project in Iran.

Publications (selection)

  • Cities, Seals and Writings: archaic seal impressions from Jemdet Nasr and Ur. (1993, Berlin: Gebr. Mann, ISBN 3-7861-1686-5 )
  • (Ed.): Ancient Anatolia: fifty years' work by the British Institute of Archeology at Ankara (1998, London: British Institute of Archeology at Ankara, ISBN 1-898249-11-3 )
  • The Early Prehistory of Mesopotamia: 500,000 to 4,500 BC (2000, Turnhout: Brepols, ISBN 2503507298 )
  • Secrets of the Dark Mound: Jemdet Nasr, 1926–1928 (2002, Warminster: Arys and Phillips for the British School of Archeology in Iraq, ISBN 0-85668-735-9 )
  • The Archeology of Mesopotamia: theories and approaches. (2003, London: Routledge , ISBN 0-415-25317-9 )
  • (Ed.): Excavations at Tell Brak. Vol. 4, Exploring an upper Mesopotamian regional center, 1994–1996 (2003, Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, ISBN 1-902937-16-3 )
  • with Claudia Glatz (Ed.): At Empire's Edge: Project Paphlagonia. Regional Survey in North-Central Turkey (2009, British Institute of Archeology at Ankara Monograph 44, ISBN 978-1-898249-23-8 )
  • with Wendy Matthews, Yaghoub Mohammadifar (Ed.): The earliest neolithic of Iran: 2008 excavations at Sheikh-e Abad and Jani: Central Zagros Archaeological Project (2013, British Institute of Persian Studies and Oxbow Books, Oxford, ISBN 978-1- 78297-223-5 )
  • with Hassan Fazeli Nashli (Ed.): The Neolithisation of Iran: the formation of new societies. (2013, British Association for Near Eastern Archeology and Oxbow Books, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-78297-190-0 )

Web links

  • Entry on the website of the University of Reading

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Clay sealings in early dynastic Mesopotamia: a functional and contextual approach , e-Thesis Online Service . British Library website
  2. ↑ Michael Balter: The Goddess and the Bull: Çatalhöyük: An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization (2016,)
  3. ↑ Entry in the directory of publications by Roger Matthews, British Library website
  4. ↑ a b Leading archaeologist joins the University of Reading , January 20, 2011, University of Reading website
  5. ^ Anatolian Studies , University of Cambridge website
  6. ↑ The British Institute for the Study of Iraq, Newsletter No. 28, Fall 2011
personal data
SURNAME Matthews, Roger
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Matthews, Roger John (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Near Eastern archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH August 21, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Cardiff , Wales