Patrick Ottaway, , is an English archaeologist and author.

Early life

Ottaway graduated from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, before undertaking a masters of

economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the Applied economics ...

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

. He received a

Doctorate 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 graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in archaeology from the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

in 1990; his thesis was titled 'Anglo-Scandinavian ironwork from 16-22 Coppergate, York : c.850-1100 A.D.' and was supervised by Tania Dickinson and Steve Roskams.

Career

Ottaway began his career in

Winchester, Hampshire Winchester (, ) is a cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen. It is south-west of ...

, where he was the assistant city archaeologist between 1976 and 1981. He became a senior project manager overseeing excavations in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. Until 2006, he was head of fieldwork at

York Archaeological Trust The York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited (YAT) is an educational charity, established in 1972 in the city of York, England, and trading under the York Archaeology brand since 2023. The charity presents archaeology to ...

. Ottaway was honorary editor of '' The Archaeological Journal'' between 2007 and 2012. Between 2010 and 2018, he was chairman of the York Archaeological Forum, working with

City of York Council City of York Council is the local authority for the city of York, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. York has had a city council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1996 the council has be ...

on its archaeological and historical environment policies. He was chairman of the

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 ...

Yorkshire Group between 1997 and 2001. He is 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 ...

and a member of the

Chartered Institute for Archaeologists Chartered may refer to: * Charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiorit ...

. Ottaway has appeared in the British archaeology programme ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4, Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned in 2022 on online platforms YouTube and Patreon. Created by television produce ...

'' and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's '' Timewatch'' episode titled "The Mystery of the Headless Roman". In 2023, he appeared in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series ''

Secrets of the Dead ''Secrets of the Dead'', produced by WNET 13 New York, is an ongoing PBS television series which began in 2000. The show generally follows an investigator or team of investigators exploring what modern science can tell viewers about some of t ...

'', in the episode "Headless Romans". In 1996, he published ''Romans on the Yorkshire Coast.'' Three years later, in collaboration with fellow archaeologist Richard Hall, he published ''2000 Years of York''. In 2018, his book ''Winchester: An Archaeological Assessment'' was reviewed by ''

Current Archaeology ''Current Archaeology'' is a British monthly archaeology magazine. Summary ''Current Archaeology'' describes itself as the "United Kingdom's best selling archaeology magazine", a claim substantiated by British Archaeological Jobs and Resources o ...

''. As of 2024, Ottway is manager of PJO Archaeology in York.

Selected works

Some of the works authored by Ottaway: * ''Archaeology in British Towns'' (1992) * ''Romans on the Yorkshire Coast'' (1996) * ''2000 Years of York'' (with Richard Hall; 1999) * ''Winchester: An Archaeological Assessment'' (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottaway, Patrick Living people Archaeologists from Hampshire Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of York Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Year of birth missing (living people)