Michael Gordon Fulford, (born October 1948) is a British archaeologist and academic, specialising in the

British Iron Age The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ire ...

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

and

landscape archaeology Landscape archaeology, previously known as total archaeology is a sub-discipline of archaeology and archaeological theory. It studies the ways in which people in the past constructed and used the environment around them. It is also known as archae ...

. He has been Professor of

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

since 1993.

Early life and education

Fulford was born in October 1948 in Hampshire, England. He was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, then an all-boys

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

. He studied Archaeology and Latin at Southampton University, 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 ...

(BA) degree in 1970 and a

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 ...

(PhD) degree in 1975.''Romanitas: essays on Roman archaeology in honour of Sheppard Frere'', ed. R.J.A. Wilson. Oxford: Oxbow, 2006. p. xxi. 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 "New Forest Roman Pottery".

Academic career

Between 1971 and 1974, he was employed as the personal research assistant of Professor Sir

Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe (born 10 December 1939), usually known as Sir Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been ...

; first at 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 ...

, then at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. He joined the

as 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 ...

in archaeology in 1974, and promoted to reader in 1985. He received a personal chair in 1988 and was made Professor of Archaeology in 1993. He has also been Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Social Sciences and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (1998–2004). Pevensey Castle and surrounding village

He served on both the Council and the Executive and Research Committees 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 ...

.''Visions of antiquity: the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1707–2007'', ed. Susan Pearce. London: Society of Antiquaries of London, 2007. p. 436. . He is currently the Honorary Treasurer 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 ...

.Officers of the Academy

. Retrieved 18 January 2010 Between 1994 and 1998, he was editor for the academic journal ''

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

''. Fulford served as the President of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies from 2005 to 2008, and is an honorary vice-president of the society. For the period between 2003 and 2007, he was granted the Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship. Fulford has served as chairman of the Roman Research Trust since 2009. Fulford has published widely on subjects relating to Romano-British and Roman archaeology, especially with regards to the dynamics of towns,

and the economy. He is probably best known for a series of digs conducted since 1974 at the site of the former Iron Age and Romano-British town of Silchester ( Calleva Atrebatum), Hampshire. Fulford was appointed a Commissioner of English Heritage (now

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

) in 2014.

Honours

Fulford was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 '' New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...

. In 1977, Fulford was elected a

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 1994, he was elected a

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 2013, a supplement of the

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 ...

was published in Fulford's honour. Fulford won the 2015 Archaeologist of the Year award at the ''Current Archaeology'' Awards, as voted for by the general public: the awards were announced on 27 February 2015 as part of the annual ''Current Archaeology Live!'' conference.''Current Archaeology'' Press Release
Retrieved 9 March 2015.

Selected writing

* (2015), with N. Holbrook. ''The Towns of Roman Britain. The Contribution of Commercial Archaeology since 1990.'' Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. Britannia monograph series 27. London. *(2013), with E. Durham. '' Seeing Red: New Economic and Social Perspectives on Gallo-Roman Terra Sigillata.'' University of London, Institute of Classical Studies, London. *(2011), with A. Clarke. ''Silchester: City in Transition. The Mid-Roman Occupation of Insula IX c. A.D. 125-250/300. A report on excavations undertaken since 1997.'' Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. Britannia monograph series 25. London. *(2006), with A. Clarke and H. Eckardt. ''Life and Labour in Late Roman Silchester: Excavations in Insula IX from 1997.'' Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. Britannia monograph series 22. London. *(2006), with A.B. Powell, R. Entwhistle, F. Raymond. ''Iron Age and Romano-British Settlements and Landscapes of Salisbury Plain.''Wessex Archaeology Monograph 20. Wessex Archaeology. Salisbury. *(2000), with Jane Timby. ''Late Iron Age and Roman Silchester: Excavations on the Site of the Forum-Basilica, 1977, 1980–86.'' Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. *(1989) ''The Silchester Amphitheatre: Excavations of 1979–85''. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. Britannia monograph series 10. London. *(1984), with Mark Corney. ''Silchester: excavations on the defences, 1974–80''. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. Britannia monograph series. London. *(1975). ''New Forest Roman pottery: manufacture and distribution, with a corpus of the pottery types''. Oxford.

References

External links

Michael Fulford's webpage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulford, Michael 1948 births Archaeologists from Hampshire Living people Academics of the University of Reading Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the British Academy Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at St Edward's School, Oxford Alumni of the University of Southampton Presidents of The Roman Society