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William Bowden

Associate Professor in Roman Archaeology, Faculty of Arts

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Expertise Summary

My areas of expertise encompass the Roman period in Britain and Europe, with particular focus on the changes that occurred with the coming of the Romans and also on the end of the Roman Empire. I have published extensively on the end of Roman period and have also published the results of several major excavations. My current fieldwork is based at Caistor St Edmund in Norfolk, a town founded following the revolt of Boudica., which involves an extensive field survey, excavation, geoarchaeology and geophysical survey. I have carried out fieldwork in Italy, Jordan, Albania and the UK. I have a particular understanding and interest in of the archaeology of Albania, the relationship between archaeology and politics in Greece and the Balkans and the use of archaeology to construct national and regional identities. I have also carried out research on the way that identities were constructed in the past and this forms one of my principal research directions at present. I am also interested in the relationships between different interest groups involved in archaeology and in the involvement of community groups in archaeological projects. I place great emphasis on community involvement in my own projects and see the dissemination of information to the public as a key part of archaeological research.

Teaching Summary

I teach in the areas of Roman and late antique archaeology at UG and PG level. I also run active field projects in which students are involved and am interested in the development of on-line learning… read more

Research Summary

  • The Roman and late antique Mediterranean (with particular focus on Greece and the southern Balkans)
  • Roman and late antique urbanism
  • The Christianisation of urban and rural environments in late antiquity
  • The construction of identities in the Roman and post-Roman periods
  • The use of the past in the construction of modern identities

Current Projects

The Butrint Project (Albania) This is an interdisciplinary research project focused on the ancient and medieval town of Butrint on the coast of southern Albania. I have been involved with the project since its inception in 1994. My current role within the project is concerned with the publication of the 1994-2003 excavations of the Triconch Palace (a major late Roman town-house) and the publication of the excavations of a Roman villa and early Christian church at the site of Diaporit, where I directed excavations from 2000-2004. For further information on the project see The Butrint Foundation.

Caistor St Edmund Roman Town The Caistor Roman Town project is a new research initiative focused on the Roman town of Venta Icenorum, which was established in the territory of the Iceni in the aftermath of the Boudican revolt of AD 60-61. The research is intended to chart the effects of the town's foundation on its surrounding area and to examine the development and eventual decline of the settlement. The project is being developed in collaboration with South Norfolk Council and the Norfolk Archaeological Trust and one of its key aims is to use ongoing research to encourage wider recognition and public enjoyment of this important Roman site. For further information see www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/venta

Recent Publications

  • BOWDEN, W., 2011. "Alien settlers consisting of Romans": identity and built environment in the Julio-Claudian foundations of Epirus in the century after Actium. In: SWEETMAN, R. J., ed., Roman Colonies in the First Century of their Foundation Oxbow. 101-116
  • BOWDEN, W and HODGES, R, 2011. Butrint 3: Excavations At The Triconch Palace Oxford.
  • BOWDEN, W., 2011. Architectural innovation in the land of the Iceni: a new complex near Venta Icenorum (Norfolk) Journal of Roman Archaeology. 24, 382-388
  • W. BOWDEN and R. HODGES, 2011. 'Një periudhe akullnajore mbi Perandorinë Romake. In: S. KAMANI, ed., Butrinti ne shekuj Albanian Heritage Foundation. 118-42

I teach in the areas of Roman and late antique archaeology at UG and PG level. I also run active field projects in which students are involved and am interested in the development of on-line learning resources.

Past Research

Previous research includes work on the Samnite cemetery and 12th century abbey at San Vincenzo al Volturno (Italy), survey of the Basilica of the Forty Martyrs (Albania), and survey of the cathedral complex at Jerash (Jordan) (in collaboration with Prof. Beat Brenk (University of Rome, La Sapienza)). I have also worked extensively on the use of the past in constructing present identities in Greece and Albania.

Future Research

I am interested in developing research regarding the relationship between academia, government agencies responsible for archaeological heritage, and the different elements of the wider public who engage with archaeology. The latter include those who are involved with archaeology both willingly (for example as volunteers, visitors to sites, or viewers of television programmes), or unwillingly (for example as landowners or developers). I am also interested in exploring the inherent tensions between the protection and presentation of archaeological remains and the need to engage with different sectors of the public (such as metal detectorists and landowners) who have a direct impact on the archaeological record.

  • BOWDEN, W., 2011. "Alien settlers consisting of Romans": identity and built environment in the Julio-Claudian foundations of Epirus in the century after Actium. In: SWEETMAN, R. J., ed., Roman Colonies in the First Century of their Foundation Oxbow. 101-116
  • BOWDEN, W and HODGES, R, 2011. Butrint 3: Excavations At The Triconch Palace Oxford.
  • BOWDEN, W., 2011. Architectural innovation in the land of the Iceni: a new complex near Venta Icenorum (Norfolk) Journal of Roman Archaeology. 24, 382-388
  • W. BOWDEN and R. HODGES, 2011. 'Një periudhe akullnajore mbi Perandorinë Romake. In: S. KAMANI, ed., Butrinti ne shekuj Albanian Heritage Foundation. 118-42
  • BOWDEN, W., 2010. Early Byzantine urban decline in the southern Balkans Acta Byzantina Fennica. 3, 67-80
  • BOWDEN, W., 2010. El siglo IV. In: BISPHAM, E., ed., Europa Romana Barcelona: Critica. 298-333 (In Press.)
  • BESCOBY, D., BOWDEN, W. and CHROSTON, P. N., 2009. Magnetic survey at Venta Icenorum, Caistor St Edmund: Survey strategies and initial results Archaeological Prospection. VOL 16(NUMBER 4), 287-291
  • BOWDEN, W., 2009. Christian Archaeology and the Archaeology of Medieval Greece. In: BINTLIFF, J and STOGER, H., eds., Post-Medieval and Medieval Greece: The Corfu Papers Oxford: BAR. 93-100
  • BOWDEN, W., 2008. Cristianizzazione e status sociale nell' Epirus Vetus tardoantico: le evidenze archeologiche Antichità Altoadriatiche. 66, 301-332
  • BOWDEN, W. and BESCOBY D., 2008. The plan of Venta Icenorum (Caistor-by-Norwich): interpreting a new geophysical survey Journal of Roman Archaeology. 21, 325-334
  • BOWDEN, W., 2008. Thesprotia in the context of Roman and late antique Epirus. In: B. FORSEN, ed., Thesprotia Expedition I: Towards a Regional Survey Finnish School at Athens. 167-184
  • BOWDEN, W.A., 2008. The fourth century. In: BISPHAM, E., ed., Roman Europe Oxford : Oxford University Press. 265-298
  • BOWDEN, W., 2008. A new Roman site near Caistor St. Edmund The Bulletin of the Norfolk Archaeological and Historical Research Group. 17, 9-18
  • BOWDEN, W and GRUBER, S., 2007. The New Abbey: the early medieval borgo and the twelfth-century monastery. In: K. BOWES, K. FRANCIS AND R. HODGES, ed., Between Text and Territory: Survey and Excavations in the Terra of San Vincenzo al Volturno London: British School at Rome. 135-186
  • BOWDEN, W., 2007. Nicopolis: the ideology of the late antique city. In: ZACHOS, K., ed., Nicopolis II. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Nicopolis Preveza: Actia Nicopolis Foundation. 135-149
  • BOWDEN, W., 2007. The Venafro aqueduct. In: K. BOWES, K. FRANCIS AND R. HODGES, ed., Between Text and Territory: Survey and Excavations in the Terra of San Vincenzo al Volturno London: British School at Rome. 313-319
  • BOWDEN W. ET AL., 2007. The Samnite cemetery and the origins of the Samnite vicus. In: K. BOWES, K. FRANCIS AND R. HODGES, ed., Between Text and Territory: Survey and Excavations in the Terra of San Vincenzo al Volturno London: British School at Rome. 49-92.
  • BOWDEN, W and MITCHELL J., 2007. The Triconch Palace at Butrint: the Life and Death of a Late Roman Domus. In: L. LAVAN, L. ÖZGENEL AND A. SARANTIS, ed., Housing in Late Antiquity From Palaces to Shops Leiden: Brill. 455-474
  • BOWDEN, W. GUTTERIDGE, A. MACHADO, C., ed., 2006. Social and Political Life in Late Antiquity Leiden ; Boston: Brill.
  • BOWDEN, W.A., 2006. Procopius' Buildings and the late antique fortifications of Albania. In: BEJKO, L. and HODGES, R., eds., New Directions in Albanian Archaeology: a Festschrift for Muzafer Korkuti Tiranë : International Center for Albanian Archaeology. 223-232
  • BOWDEN, W.A., 2006. Crete and Epirus: architectural interaction in late antiquity, in A. Di Vita (ed.) III/1. Athens, Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene: . In: Creta romana e protobizantina. 787-800
  • HODGES, R., BOWDEN, W.A. and LAKO, K., eds., 2005. Byzantine Butrint: excavations and surveys 1994-1999 Oxford: Oxbow Books.
  • BOWDEN, W. and HODGES, R., 2005. Butrinto nell'Eta Tardo Antica. In: DELOGU, P. and BROGIOLO, G.P., eds., L'Adriatico dalla Tarda Antichità all'Età Carolingia. Atti del convegno Brescia 11-13 ottobre 2001. All'Insegna del Giglio. 7-47
  • BOWDEN, W.A., 2005. Review of C. Kosso É The Archaeology of Public Policy in Late Roman Greece Journal of Roman Studies. XCV, 328-329
  • BOWDEN, W.A. and PËRZHITA, L., 2004. Archaeology in the landscape of Roman Epirus: preliminary report on the Diaporit excavations, 2002-3 Journal of Roman Archaeology. 17(Fascicule 1), 413-433
  • BOWDEN, W.A., LAVAN, L. and MACHADO, C., eds., 2004. Recent Research on the Late Antique Countryside Leiden : Brill.
  • BOWDEN,W.A. and HODGES,R., 2004. Balkan Ghosts? Nationalism and the question of rural continuity in Albania. In: CHRISTIE, N., ed., Landscapes of Change: Rural evolutions in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages Aldershot : Ashgate. 195-222
  • BOWDEN, W.A., ANDREWS, R., GILKES, O. and MARTIN, S., 2004. The late antique and medieval fortifications of Butrint. In: BOWDEN, W.A., HODGES, R. and LAKO, K., eds., Byzantine Butrint: Excavations and Surveys 1994-99 Oxford : Oxbow Books. 126-50
  • BOWDEN, W.A., 2004. Trial excavations within the city. In: BOWDEN, W.A., HODGES, R. and LAKO, K., eds., Byzantine Butrint: Excavations and Surveys 1994-99 Oxford : Oxbow Books. 219-223
  • BOWDEN, W.A., 2004. The Christian topography of Butrint. In: BOWDEN, W.A., HODGES, R. and LAKO, K., eds., Byzantine Butrint: Excavations and Surveys 1994-99 Oxford : Oxbow Books. 104-25
  • BOWDEN, W.A., HODGES, R., GILKES, O. and LAKO, K., 2004. Introduction. In: BOWDEN, W.A., HODGES, R. and LAKO, K., eds., Byzantine Butrint: Excavations and Surveys 1994-99 Oxford : Oxbow Books. 1-19
  • BOWDEN, W.A. and PERZHITA, L., 2004. The Baptistery. In: BOWDEN, W.A., HODGES, R. and LAKO, K., eds., Byzantine Butrint: Excavations and Surveys 1994-99 Oxford : Oxbow Books. 176-201
  • BOWDEN, W.A., HODGES, R., GILKES, O., LAKO, K. and PERZHITA, L., 2004. Butrinto: l'archeologia di una citta marittima In: L'Archeologia dell'Adriatico dalla Preistoria al Medioevo. 583-98
  • BOWDEN, W.A. and LAVAN, L., 2004. The late antique countryside: an introduction In: Recent Research on the Late Antique Countryside. xvii-xxvi
  • BOWDEN, W.A., 2003. Epirus Vetus: the archaeology of a Late Antique Province London: Duckworth.
  • BOWDEN, W.A. and LAVAN, L., eds., 2003. Theory and practice in late antique archaeology Leiden: Brill.
  • BOWDEN, W.A., 2003. The construction of identities in post-Roman Albania In: Theory and Practice in Late Antique Archaeology. 57-77
  • BOWDEN, W.A., HODGES, R. and LAKO, K., 2002. Roman and late antique Butrint: excavations and survey 2000-2001 Journal of Roman Archaeology. 15, 151-80
  • BOWDEN,W.A., 2001. A new urban elite? Church builders and church building in late-antique Epirus. In: Recent Research in Late-Antique Urbanism Rhode Island, Journal of Roman Archaeology. 61-72
  • BOWDEN, W.A., HODGES, R., GILKES, O., LAKO, K. and PERZHITA, L., 2001. The Butrint Project Antiquity. 75(287), 25-26
  • BOWDEN, W.A., HODGES, R., GILKES, O. and LAKO, K., 2000. Late Roman Butrint, Albania:survey and excavations 1994-98 Archeologia Medievale. XXVII, 241-257
  • BOWDEN,W.A. and HODGES,R., eds., 1998. The Sixth Century: Production, Distribution and Demand Brill Academic, Leiden.

Department of Archaeology

University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

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