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William Cavanagh
Emeritus Professor of Aegean Archaeology, Faculty of Arts
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Research Summary
My research has focused on three main strands: the archaeology of Laconia, the archaeology of death and mathematical applications in archaeology.
I am, with Steve Hodkinson and Chrysanthi Gallou, a co-director of the international Centre for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies.
Major projects in the past have been the Laconia Survey, the Laconia Rural Sites Project and most recenty the Kouphovouno Project, a major prehistoric site just south of Sparta in the Peloponnese whose excavation has produced important remains from the Middle Neolithic, Late Neolithic, Early Bronze Age and Middle Bronze Age (c. 5800-1700 BC).
Past Research
Collaborations with colleagues in the School of Mathematical Sciences included work on modelling the structural mechanics of prehistoric corbelled buildings and applications of the Bayesian approach to archaeology.
Future Research
Currently I am concentrating on preparing the Kouphovouno Project for final publication. This will integrate all aspects of the results of the excavations: (i) a stratigraphic sequence for the Neolithic and Early Bronze periods, (ii) domestic architecture, (iii) environmental evidence, (iv) funerary data, (v) ceramic and lithic technologies, (vi) geomorphology and tell formation, (vii) the relationship between surface artefact distribution and subsurface remains.