Elizabeth Fentress
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Barringer Fentress (born 30 October 1948) is a Roman archaeologist who specialises in Italy and North Africa.
(BA 1969 Latin), University College London
(MA 1974 Etruscan and Roman Archaeology), St Hugh's College, Oxford
(DPhil 1979 Roman Archaeology, The Economic Effects of the Roman Army on Southern Numidia).
She is currently Visiting Professor at University College London, and was formerly Visiting Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford (2010) and Mellon Professor at the American Academy in Rome
(1996–99).
She is President of the International Association of Classical Archaeology and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
. She set up Fasti Online in 2003, an international database of Mediterranean archaeological excavations.
She is married to James Fentress, an anthropologist and historian.
to history of the longue durée
in both the Italian peninsula
and the countries of North Africa. Her work has focused on social and economic aspects of Roman landscapes of all periods, with special regard to the interaction between Roman and non-Roman peoples at their points of contact in areas such as slave markets, the limes
, and urban areas. She is also a leader in the application of open-area, single-context stratigraphic excavation and intensive survey techniques, and she has directed or co-directed the following survey and excavation projects:
Fouilles de Setif 1977-1983 (1991)
(with Michael Brett) The Berbers (1996)
Romanization and the City, Creation, Transformations and Failures (2000)
(with A. Carandini, F. Cambi and M. Grazia Celuzza) Paesaggi d'Etruria tra l'Albegna et la Fiora (2002)
Cosa V: An intermittent town (2003)
(with M. Laird, S. Leone, C. Goodson) Walls and Memory: the Abbey of San Sebastiano at Alatri (2005)
(with R. Holod and A. Drine) An Island through time: Jerba Studies volume I (2009)
(with Hendrik Dey) The Spaces of European Monasticism (2011)
(with Patrice Cressier) La Céramique Islamique Maghrébine du haut Moyen Age (2011)
Biography
Fentress was educated at the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
(BA 1969 Latin), University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(MA 1974 Etruscan and Roman Archaeology), St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a fourteen and a half acre site on St Margaret's Road, to the North of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 as a women's college, and accepted its first male students in its centenary year in 1986...
(DPhil 1979 Roman Archaeology, The Economic Effects of the Roman Army on Southern Numidia).
She is currently Visiting Professor at University College London, and was formerly Visiting Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford (2010) and Mellon Professor at the American Academy in Rome
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
(1996–99).
She is President of the International Association of Classical Archaeology and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
. She set up Fasti Online in 2003, an international database of Mediterranean archaeological excavations.
She is married to James Fentress, an anthropologist and historian.
Scholarship
Her primary concentration has been on the application of archaeologyArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
to history of the longue durée
Longue durée
The longue durée , is an expression used by the French Annales School of historical writing to designate their approach to the study of history, which gives priority to long-term historical structures over events— what François Simiand called histoire événementielle, "eventual history"— the short...
in both the Italian peninsula
Italian Peninsula
The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is one of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe , spanning from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname Lo Stivale...
and the countries of North Africa. Her work has focused on social and economic aspects of Roman landscapes of all periods, with special regard to the interaction between Roman and non-Roman peoples at their points of contact in areas such as slave markets, the limes
Limes
A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...
, and urban areas. She is also a leader in the application of open-area, single-context stratigraphic excavation and intensive survey techniques, and she has directed or co-directed the following survey and excavation projects:
- Albegna Valley Survey, Italy (with M. Grazia Celuzza) 1979-84
- SetifSétifSétif |Colonia]]) is a town in northeastern Algeria. It is the capital of Sétif Province and it has a population of 239,195 inhabitants as of the 1998 census. Setif is located to the east of Algiers and is the second most important Wilaya after the country's capital. It is 1,096 meters above sea...
, Algeria (with A. Mohamedi) 1979-85 - CosaCosaCosa was a Latin colonia founded under Roman influence in southwestern Tuscany in 273 BC, perhaps on land confiscated from the Etruscans...
, Italy 1990-97 - Jerba, Tunisia (with R. Holod and A. Drine) 1996-2001
- VolubilisVolubilisVolubilis is an archaeological site in Morocco situated near Meknes between Fez and Rabat along the N13 road. The nearest town is Moulay Idriss. Volubilis features the best preserved Roman ruins in this part of northern Africa...
, Morocco (with G. Palumbo and H. Limane) 2000-5 - Villa MagnaVilla MagnaVilla Magna is the ancient name of a large imperial Roman villa near the modern town of Anagni, in Lazio, central Italy. The site lies in the Valle del Sacco some 65 km south of Rome, at the foot of the Monti Lepini, directly under the peak known as Monte Giuliano...
, Italy 2006-2010 - Utica, TunisiaUtica, TunisiaUtica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa...
(with N. Kallala, J. Quinn and A. Wilson) 2010-
Publications
Numidia and the Roman Army (1979)Fouilles de Setif 1977-1983 (1991)
(with Michael Brett) The Berbers (1996)
Romanization and the City, Creation, Transformations and Failures (2000)
(with A. Carandini, F. Cambi and M. Grazia Celuzza) Paesaggi d'Etruria tra l'Albegna et la Fiora (2002)
Cosa V: An intermittent town (2003)
(with M. Laird, S. Leone, C. Goodson) Walls and Memory: the Abbey of San Sebastiano at Alatri (2005)
(with R. Holod and A. Drine) An Island through time: Jerba Studies volume I (2009)
(with Hendrik Dey) The Spaces of European Monasticism (2011)
(with Patrice Cressier) La Céramique Islamique Maghrébine du haut Moyen Age (2011)