Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020) was a British

ancient historian Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and academic. He was the son of Margaret Isabel (Goodlet) and historian and archaeologist

Eric Birley Eric Barff Birley, Eric Birley Eric Barff Birley, Vindolanda Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort ('' castrum'') just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it originally pre-dated.British windo- 'fair, white, blessed', landa 'enclosure/meadow/prairie/grassy plain' (the modern Welsh word ...

where Anthony and his brother, Robin, began to excavate the site. The brothers took part in many of the excavations there. From 1950 to 1955, Anthony studied at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...

, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

in Bristol, England. He studied

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, graduating with a first-class

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) degree in 1960. He remained at the University of Oxford, and completed his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(PhD) degree in 1966: his

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was titled "The Roman high command from the death of Hadrian to the death of Caracalla, with particular attention to the Danubian wars of M. Aurelius and Commodus".

Career

Birley remained at the University of Oxford with a Craven Fellowship from 1960 to 1962, and was then a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. He moved to the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

as a lecturer, and was later promoted to

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

. He was the Professor of Ancient History at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

(1974–1990) and additionally at the

University of Düsseldorf A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

(1990–2002). He was an Honorary Professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

. He was elected as

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FSA) in 1969, and was a corresponding Member of the

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...

(1981) and a member of Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften from 1994 to 2002. Birley was a founder trustee of the Vindolanda Trust since 1970 and remained in this role until 2016, having also served as the Chair of Trustees from 1996 to 2016.

Personal life

Birley was married to Heide. Together they had children. Birley died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

on 19 December 2020.

Selected publications

*
Hadrian's Wall: an illustrated guide
'. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) (1963). *''Imperial Rome'' with drawings by the artist. Alan Sorrell London: Lutterworth Press (1970) *''Life in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...

'' (1972) *''Lives of the Later Caesars'' (1976) *''The

Fasti In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...

of Roman Britain'', Clarendon Press (1981) *''Septimius Severus: The African Emperor'' (1972, revised edition 1988) *''Roman Papers'', vol. 6, by Ronald Syme, edited by A. R. Birley (

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

1991) *''The People of Roman Britain'' (1992) *''

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

: a Biography'', London: Routledge, (1993) *''Anatolica - Studies in Strabo'', by Ronald Syme, edited by A. R. Birley (Oxford: OUP 1995) *''Vindolanda Research Reports'' (new series) 6 vols. (1996) *''

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

: the Restless Emperor'', London: Routledge, (1997) *''Eques Romanus - Reiter und Ritter'' (in German) by Michel Stemmler, edited by A. R. Birley (Peter Lang GmbH, 1997) *'' Onomasticon to the Younger Pliny'', Clarendon Press (2000) *''Garrison Life at Vindolanda: a Band of Brothers'', Stroud: Tempus, (2002) *''The Roman Government of Britain'' (2005) *''Agricola and Germany'' (2009)

References

External links

Entry on Birley family genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birley, Anthony 1937 births 2020 deaths British people of English descent People educated at Clifton College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester British archaeologists Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf faculty Anthony Birley Scholars of Hadrian's Wall Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London British classical scholars Deaths from lung cancer in the United Kingdom