Barry John Kemp, (born 14 May 1940) is an English
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
Egyptologist. He is
Professor Emeritus of Egyptology at the
University of Cambridge and directing excavations at
Amarna
Amarna (; ar, العمارنة, al-ʿamārnah) is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site containing the remains of what was the capital city of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Ph ...
in Egypt. His widely renowned book ''Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilisation'' is a core text of Egyptology and many Ancient History courses.
Early life and education
Kemp was born on 14 May 1940.
He studied
Egyptology at the
University of Liverpool, graduating with a
Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1962.
Academic career
In 1962, Kemp joined the
University of Cambridge an assistant lecturer.
He was promoted to lecturer in 1969,
Reader in Egyptology in 1990, and made Professor of Egyptology in 2005.
He was also a
Fellow of
Wolfson College, Cambridge from 1990 to 2007.
He retired from full-time academia in 2007, and was made
professor emeritus.
Since 2008, he has been a senior fellow of the
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at Cambridge.
From 1977 until 2008, he has been the director of excavation and archaeological survey at
Amarna
Amarna (; ar, العمارنة, al-ʿamārnah) is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site containing the remains of what was the capital city of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Ph ...
for the
Egypt Exploration Society. He continues his research of the
Amarna Period
The Amarna Period was an era of History of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian history during the later half of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten ('Horizon of the ...
of ancient Egypt as director of the Amarna Project and secretary of the Amarna Trust. He has also contributed to many highly regarded and widely used Egyptology texts, including ''Civilisations of the Ancient Near East'', edited by
Jack Sasson. He is a co-author of
Bruce Trigger's ''Ancient Egypt: A Social History'', which incorporates the work of many leading Egyptologists and addresses recent trends in the subject. Kemp states to be interested in developing a holistic picture of Ancient Egyptian society rather than focussing on the elite culture that dominates the archaeological record: "This holistic approach involves explaining the present appearance of the site in terms of all the agencies at work..."
Honours
Kemp was elected
Fellow of the British Academy
Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are:
# Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom
# C ...
(FBA) in 1992.
He was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to archaeology, education and international relations in Egypt.
Publications
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References
External links
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English Egyptologists
Living people
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of the British Academy
Academics of the University of Cambridge
Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge
1940 births
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