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The University of Southampton
Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute

Professor Simon Keay BA Archaeology University of London (UCL) 1977, PhD Archaeology University of London (UCL) 1982

Professor Emeritus of Roman Archaeology

Professor Simon Keay's photo

Professor Simon Keay is a Professor of Archaeology at the University of Southampton and a Fellow of the British Academy.

My main interests are the archaeology of ports, commerce, urbanism and cultural change in the early Roman Mediterranean, with a particular focus upon Italy and Iberia. I am also very interested in archaeological methodologies, particularly the application of non-destructive field techniques to archaeological sites. I have undertaken a number of field projects over the years, most recently the Ager Tarraconensis Survey, the Roman Towns in the Middle and Lower Tiber Valley, the Portus Project and the ERC Advanced Grant funded Roman Mediterranean Ports ( PortusLimen ) project.

Research interests

The archaeology of ports, commerce, urbanism and cultural change in the early Roman Mediterranean, with a particular focus upon Italy and Iberia. I am also very interested in archaeological methodologies, particularly the application of non-destructive field techniques to archaeological sites.

PhD Supervision

I have supervised many PhD studentships to completion in subjects ranging from the late Iron Age and Roman archaeology of the Iberian peninsula and Italy, ancient commerce, shipwrecks, geophysical survey, network analysis, early Islamic archaeology and archaeology and the law.

Research group

Classical and historical archaeology

Affiliate research groups

Classical Empires , British School of Rome

Research project(s)

Portus website

This website acts as a point of contact for the AHRC funded (2007-2014) Portus Project. It incorporates a range of information relating to the site of Portus, our ongoing research (aims and objectives, interim reports and publications), and other related news items, as well as hosting an active blog post.

Portus

The Portus Project is guided by two main objectives.  Firstly, it seeks to build a better understanding of Portus itself, as well as its relationship to Ostia, Rome, and the rest of the Mediterranean.  Secondly, it aims to develop techniques that will enhance the ways in which highly complex classical sites can be investigated and recorded, and evaluate the impact of those techniques.

Over the years, I have been Head of Department (twice), and fulfilled a range of other Departmental and Faculty roles. I was also Associate Dean for Research for the Faculty of Humanities (2014-2019)

I have been module coordinator on a range of Roman archaeology modules over the years, most recently, Living with the Romans.

Professor Simon Keay
Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Southampton
Avenue Campus, Highfield
Southampton
SO17 1BF
United Kingdom
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