Female scholars have played a key role in furthering our understanding of Roman archaeology (in Britain and abroad), but their contributions have often not been given due recognition.

Whilst many other periods of archaeology are restating the contributions of women, Roman archaeology lags behind.

This lecture will present the research that the two speakers have been undertaking in collaboration with a network of scholars on women working in Roman-Britain and in Roman provincial archaeology in the 19th and 20th centuries.

They look at biographies of individual women and the reasons why their work is not better known and why they have not received greater recognition. These are myriad but relate to their opportunities (and lack of), wealth, university and employment barriers, areas of study (for example, sites or finds), time periods and geography. Yet their contributions have shaped the discipline in which archaeologists work today.

Case studies of key scholars, themes and trends emerging, challenges and opportunities will be presented.

About the Speakers

Dr Jones is Keeper of Scottish History & Archaeology at National Museums Scotland. She was formerly Head of Archaeology and World Heritage at Historic Environment Scotland.

A graduate of Newcastle University and the University of Glasgow, her research focuses on the Roman army in Scotland; the history of Roman archaeology; and World Heritage (including the impacts of climate change). She is co-Chair of the International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies and a Visiting Professor at Heriot-Watt University.

Dr Ivleva is a Visiting Fellow at Newcastle University where she was a Marie Curie Research Fellow. Her research interests are in Roman provincial archaeology specialising in portable material culture, particularly personal adornments, Roman frontiers and Roman frontier communities.

Her publications include books such as Embracing the Provinces: Society and Material Culture of the Roman Frontier Regions, Un-Roman Sex: Gender, Sexuality and Lovemaking in Roman Provinces and Frontiers, and numerous papers on migration and mobility, family formations in the Roman army, and experimental archaeology.

Together, Drs Jones and Ivleva are collaborating on research into the historiography of Roman archaeology, with a focus on female archaeologists.