Professor Carenza Rachel Lewis (born 30 November 1963) is a British academic
archaeologist and television presenter.
Early life
Lewis received her formal education at the school of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
Community of All Hallows, in
Suffolk, and at
Girton College
Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...
,
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
.
Field and academic career
In 1985, she joined the
Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...
as a field archaeologist for the
Wessex
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = Wessex
, image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg
, map_caption = S ...
area. During part of her time with the Commission she was seconded to the History Department of the
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...
to research the relationship between settlement and landscape in the
East Midlands. She followed this with a similar project in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
and the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
.
Lewis was elected a
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 ...
in 1998. In 1999, she was elected a visiting fellow of
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where she was a Senior Research Associate and Affiliated Lecturer. In 2004, she took on a new post at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
to promote undergraduate archaeology, and created ''Access Cambridge Archaeology''. In 2015, Lewis was appointed to the Professorial Chair of 'Public Understanding of Research' at the
University of Lincoln
, mottoeng = Freedom through wisdom
, established = 1861 – Hull School of Art1905 – Endsleigh College1976 – Hull College1992 – University of Humberside1996 – University of Lincolnshire and Humberside2001 †...
.
Television career
In the early 1990s she joined the team presenting the ''
Time Team
''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...
'' series, a new television programme designed to make archaeology accessible for the general public, which was first broadcast on
Channel 4 Television
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
in 1994. She appeared on the show from 1993 to 2005, appearing each season from the first through the twelfth. The
ratings success of the ''Time Team'' series led to further television presenting commissions for Lewis, including the series ''House Detectives'' (1997–2002).
In 2000, Lewis presented an episode of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's theoretical history programme entitled ''What If'', where she examined the failed revolt of
against the Roman Empire in AD 60. She also devised and presented a series called ''Sacred Sites'' for
''.
In 2022, she rejoined the Time Team crew for its Youtube revival.
Lewis has three children. In 2000, she appeared in national print media detailing her experiences as one of a number of victims of medical misdiagnosis at the hands of Dr
in the late 1990s.
and Lewis, Carenza (eds.) (1994) ''The Medieval Landscape of Wessex'' Oxford: Oxbow
*Lewis, Carenza, Mitchell-Fox, Patrick and
(1997) ''Village, Hamlet and Field: Changing Medieval Settlements in Central England'' Manchester University Press
*Lewis, Carenza,
and Aston, Mick (2000) ''Time Team's Timechester: a companion to archaeology''; ed.
London: Macmillan
*Aberg, Alan and Lewis, Carenza (eds.) (2000) ''The Rising Tide: Archaeology and Coastal Landscapes'' Oxford: Oxbow