Martin John Millett, (born 30 September 1955) is a British archaeologist and academic. From 2001 to 2022, he was the Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and a professorial fellow of

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

. Since 2021, he has been the president of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

Early life and education

Millett was born on 30 September 1955. He was educated at Weydon County Secondary School, a state school in

Wrecclesham Wrecclesham is a village on the southern outskirts of the town of Farnham in Surrey, England. Its local government district is the Waverley, Surrey, Borough of Waverley. History It was once in the estate of Henry of Blois, Henry of Westminster ...

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

, and Farnham College, a

sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

in Farnham,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. He went on to study at the Institute of Archaeology,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. He then undertook postgraduate studies at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, completing his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(DPhil) degree in 1980. His

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

was titled ''A comparative study of some contemporaneous pottery assemblages from Roman Britain''.

Academic career

Millett was the assistant

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of archaeology at the Hampshire County Museums from 1980 to 1981. He then began his academic career, and joined

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

in 1981. He was a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

from 1981 to 1991, and senior lecturer from 1991 to 1995. He was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Archaeology between 1995 and 1998. Millett then moved to the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

where he was Professor of Archaeology from 1999 to 2001. In 2001, he joined the

as the Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology. The appointment was accompanied by a

Fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

. In 2012, he was appointed head of the School of Arts and Humanities at Cambridge. Millett excavated a Roman-period site in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

(with Peter Halkon). He is the director of the Roman Towns Project (with Simon Keay and the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is a British interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture established in Rome. Historical and archaeological study are at the core of its activities. History The British Sc ...

), and also the director of the Greek Colonization and Archaeology of European Development project. Millett has profoundly changed

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

archaeology by implementing and calling for new approaches to the excavated materials. Outside his university work Millett holds a number of appointments. He is a vice-president of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

with responsibility for the British Academy Sponsored Institutes and Societies. He has held three senior positions at the

: he was director from 2001 to 2007, treasurer from 2007 to 2011, and its president since 2021. He is a member of the Antiquity Trust, which supports the publication of the archaeology journal Antiquity.

Honours

On 3 May 1984, Millett was elected

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA). In 2006, he was elected

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

(FBA). In 2021, he was elected member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

Select bibliography

*1980: The Roman Riverside Wall and Monumental Arch in London - Excavations at Baynard's Castle, Upper Thames Street, London, 1974-76. (With Charles Hill and T. F. C. Blagg. London: London and Middlesex Archaeological Society). . *1986: Excavations on the Romano-British Small Town at Neatham, Hampshire, 1969-1979. (With David Graham. Southampton: Hampshire Field Club). . *1990: The Romanization of Britain: an essay in archaeological interpretation (Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

) (Paperback edition issued 1992). . *1995: Roman Britain (UK;

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

Batsford Batsford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswold (district), Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. The village is about north-west of Moreton-in-Marsh. There is a falconry centre close to the village ...

) (Second edition 2005). . *1995 (with J. M. Carreté and S. J. Keay
A Roman Provincial Capital and its Hinterland: the survey of the territory of Tarragona
1985-1990 (Ann Arbor, Michigan:

Journal of Roman Archaeology The ''Journal of Roman Archaeology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the archaeology of the Roman Empire. It was established in 1988 under the publisher and editor-in-chief J. H. Humphrey. The journal was originally published by the ...

Supplementary Series no. 15) *1995 (edited with J. Metzler, N. Roymans and J. Slofstra) Integration in the Early Roman West: the role of culture and ideology (Dossiers d'Archéologie du Musée National d'Histoire et d'Art IV (IVth Archaeological Papers of the National Museum of History and Art, Luxembourg). . *1999 (with P. Halkon) Rural Settlement and Industry: studies in the Iron Age and Roman archaeology of lowland East Yorkshire ( Yorkshire Archaeological Society Roman Antiquities Section monograph no. 4). . *2001 (edited with J. Pearce and M. Struck) Burial Practice in the Roman World: contextual studies (Oxford:

Oxbow Books Casemate Publishers is a publishing company based in the Philadelphia suburbs that specializes in producing printed military history books. They have published over 500 titles on military history. Many of their books are memoirs and historical o ...

). . *2001 (edited with S. T. James) Britons and Romans: advancing an archaeological agenda (York:

Council for British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and fut ...

Research Report 125). . . *Shiptonthorpe, East Yorkshire: archaeological studies of a Romano-British roadside settlement (Yorkshire Archaeological Society Roman Antiquities Section monograph). . *2005 (with S. Keay, L. Paroli, and K. Strutt) Portus: An Archaeological Survey of the Port of Imperial Rome (British School at Rome Monograph) Right. . *2013: Ocriculum (Otricoli, Umbria) - An Archaeological Survey of the Roman Town. (With Sophie Hay and SJ Keay. The British School at Rome). . *2014: AD 410: The History and Archaeology of Late and Post-Roman Britain. (With Neil Faulkner et al. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies). . *2015: Hayton, East Yorkshire - Archaeological Studies of the Iron Age and Roman Landscapes. Volume 1 (With P. Halkon and Helen Woodhouse. Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Roman Antiquities Section). . *2016: Cartimandua's capital? The late Iron Age royal site at Stanwick, North Yorkshire, fieldwork and analysis 1981–2011. (With Colin Haselgrove, et al.

). . *2020: Isurium Brigantum - An Archaeological Survey of Roman Aldborough. (With Rose Ferraby. Society of Antiquaries of London). . *2023: Interamna Lirenas - A Roman Town in Central Italy Revealed. (With Alessandro Launaro. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research). . A full bibliography is available at the Archaeological Data Servic
page
for Millett.

References

External links

Museum of Classical Archaeology biography

British Academy biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millett, Martin Living people 1955 births Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Academics of Durham University British archaeologists Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Members of Academia Europaea Laurence Professors of Classical Archaeology Alumni of University College London Academics of the University of Southampton