Current Research Postgraduates

Dr Robert Witcher, BA (Hons) MA PhD

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 33 41148

Member of the Centre for Roman Cultural Studies

Member of the Centre for the Study of the Ancient Mediterranean and the Near East

Contact Dr Robert Witcher (email at r.e.witcher@durham.ac.uk)

BIOGRAPHY

Career

Reviews/Deputy Editor of Antiquity, 2013-
Senior Lecturer in Classical Archaeology, Durham University, UK 2009-
Lecturer in Classical Archaeology, Durham University, UK 2004-2009
Temporary Lecturer University of Southampton, UK 2003-4
Leverhulme Research Fellow The British School at Rome, Italy 1999-2002

RESEARCH

My twin research interests are Roman archaeology and landscape archaeology.

Roman archaeology

My interest in Roman archaeology extends from the core of the Empire (Italy) to the imperial periphery (Britain). I am currently working on the countryside, economy and demography of Italy c.500BC to AD300. In particular, I am interested in the similarities and differences between areas such as the hinterland of Rome (the suburbium) and more peripheral landscapes such as the Biferno valley in the Molise. I am also interested in developing economic and agrarian approaches to the rural landscapes of Roman Italy in order to encompass complementary issues such as social organization, consumption and embodied experience. More generally, I am interested to locate the archaeology of Roman Italy within its broader Mediterranean context. Recent research has included the development of modelling approaches to assess the size and composition of ancient populations and agricultural output which involves integrating historical and archaeological evidence with technologies such as GIS. I am currently exploring the Roman peasant in the context of revisionist ideas about the Roman economy, agriculture, health and identity.

Landscape archaeology

All aspects of the theory and practice of landscape archaeology interest me, from sampling patterns and statistical analysis to phenomenology and experiential surveying. I am particularly interested in how varied theories and methods can be usefully combined to enhance our understanding of past landscapes.

My doctoral research (Modelling Roman Imperialism: Landscape and Settlement Change in Italy) evaluated field surveys across peninsular Italy in order to characterize regional settlement and landscape organization in the context of imperial dialogues. This revealed marked settlement diversity across Italy and emphasized the need for a range of interpretative models at a series of spatial and temporal scales. After completing my thesis, I had the opportunity to participate in the restudy of one of the pioneering Italian (and Mediterranean) field surveys – the South Etruria Survey. As part of the Tiber Valley Project, based at the British School at Rome, I have been studying the impact of the emergence and transformation of the City of Rome on its northern hinterland from 1000 BC to AD 1000. As well as the rural landscapes of the pre-Roman and Roman periods, I am particularly interested in the historiography and methodologies of survey work.

I have published on phenomenology, computer techniques including GIS, comparative survey techniques and theoretical contributions, as well as articles on the landscape of pre-Roman and Roman Italy.

Beyond the Mediterranean, I have recently completed an AHRC-funded project which brought together my interests in Roman and landscape archaeology. Along with Durham colleagues, I explored the post-Roman history of Hadrian's Wall and the history of its study and visual representation from the writings of the Venerable Bede through to the age of the internet. In particular I focused on the the social and cultural history of this iconic monument in terms of its wider landscape using a range of theoretical ideas such as representation, embodiment and experience. An online exhibition based on visitor surveys can be found here. Following on from this research, I am currently working on the idea of globalization and Roman archaeology, both in the past and in relation to heritage monuments such as Hadrian's Wall in the present.

Research postgraduates

I currently supervise research students working on varied aspects of Roman and landscape archaeology from Scotland to the Mediterranean, making use of techniques such as GIS, aerial photography and palaeopathology to develop innovative new approaches to monuments such as the Antonine Wall and to understand topics such as religion, burial and settlement in the ancient world. If you are interested in undertaking postgraduate research, please feel free to contact me to discuss your ideas.

Supervises

Selected Publications

1: Witcher, R.E. (2012). 'That From A Long Way Off Look Like Farms': The Classification of Roman Rural Sites. In Comparative Issues in the Archaeology of the Roman Rural Landscape. Site Classification Between Survey, Excavation and Historical Categories. Attema, P.A.J. & Schörner, G. Journal of Roman Archaeology. JRA Supplementary Series 88: 11-30.
2: Witcher, R.E. & Craven, M. (2012). ‘Much That Has Long Been Hidden’ Reconstructing the Survey Methodology. In Veii. The Historical Topography of the Ancient City. A Restudy of John Ward-Perkins’s Survey. Cascino, R., Di Giuseppe, H. & Patterson, H.L. London: British School at Rome. 9-24.
3: Hingley, R., Witcher, R.E. & Nesbitt, C. (2012). Life of an Ancient Monument: Hadrian's Wall in History. Antiquity 86(333): 760-771.
4: Witcher, R.E. (2011). Missing persons? Models of Mediterranean Regional Survey and Ancient Populations. In Settlement, Urbanization and Population. Bowman, A. & Wilson, A. Oxford Oxford University Press. Oxford Studies in the Roman Economy 2: 36-75.
5: Witcher, R.E. (2010). The Fabulous Tales of the Common People, Part 2: Encountering Hadrian’s Wall. Public Archaeology 9(4): 211-238.
6: Witcher, R.E. (2010). The Fabulous Tales of the Common People, Part 1: Representing Hadrian’s Wall. Public Archaeology 9(3): 126-152.
7: Goodchild, H. & Witcher, R.E. (2010). Modelling the Agricultural Landscapes of Republican Italy. In Agricoltura e scambi nell’Italia tardo repubblicana. Carlsen, J. & Lo Cascio, E. Rome & Bari: Edipuglia. 187-220.
8: Witcher, R.E., Tolia-Kelly, D.P. & Hingley, R. (2010). Archaeologies of Landscape. Excavating the Materialities of Hadrian's Wall. Journal of Material Culture 15(1): 105-128.
9: Kay, S.J. & Witcher, R.E. (2010). Predictive Modelling of Roman Settlement in the Middle Tiber Valley. Archeologia e Calcolatori 20(2009): 277-290.
10: Witcher, R.E. (2009). The Countryside. In A Companion to Ancient History. Erskine, A. Oxford: Blackwell. 462-473.
11: Witcher, R.E. (2008). (Re)surveying Mediterranean Rural Landscapes: GIS and Legacy Survey Data. Internet Archaeology 24.
12: Witcher, R.E. (2008). Regional Field Survey and the Demography of Roman Italy. In People, Land and Politics. Demographic Developments and the Transformation of Roman Italy, 300BC-AD14. de Ligt, L. & Northwood, S. Leiden: Brill. 303: 273-303.
13: Witcher, R.E. (2008). The Middle Tiber Valley in the Imperial Period. In Mercator Placidissimus. The Tiber Valley in Antiquity. New Research in the Upper and Middle River Valley. Coarelli, F. & Patterson, H. Rome: Quasar. 467-486.
15: Witcher, R.E. (2006). Agrarian spaces in Roman Italy: society, economy and Mediterranean agriculture. Arqueología espacial (Paisajes agrarios) 26: 341-359.
16: Witcher, R.E. (2006). Broken Pots and Meaningless Dots? Surveying the Rural Landscapes of Roman Italy. Papers of the British School at Rome 74: 39-72.
17: Witcher, R.E. (2006). Settlement and Society in Early Imperial Etruria. Journal of Roman Studies 96: 88-123.
20: Witcher, R.E. (2005). The Extended Metropolis: Urbs, Suburbium and Population. Journal of Roman Archaeology 18: 120-138.

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Research Groups

Landscapes of Complex Society Research Group
North East Research Group