Nancy Margaret Edwards, (born 8 January 1954) is a British

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, who specialises in medieval archaeology and ecclesiastical history. Since 2008, she has been Professor of Medieval Archaeology at

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

Early life and education

Edwards was born on 8 January 1954 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England to David Cyril Bonner Edwards and Ann Edwards. She was educated at Portsmouth High School, an all-girls

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 Southsea, Portsmouth. She then studied archaeology, ancient history, and medieval history at the University of Liverpool, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1976. She undertook postgraduate research in archaeology at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, and completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1982. Her doctoral thesis was titled "A reassessment of the early medieval stone crosses and related sculpture of Offaly, Kilkenny and Tipperary".

Academic career

Edwards has spent all her academic career at

(or its predecessors University College of North Wales and University of Wales, Bangor). She was a lecturer from 1979 to 1992, a senior lecturer from 1992 to 1999, and a reader from 1999 to 2008. In 2008, she was appointed Professor of Medieval Archaeology. In addition to her full-time positions at Bangor, Edwards has held a number of temporary visiting appointments. She was a visiting fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge in 1991 and at

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

in 2007. She was the O'Donnell Lecturer in Celtic Studies at the University of Oxford in 1999/2000; lecturing on "Early Medieval Stones and Stone Sculpture in Wales: Context and Connections". Edwards is Chair of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. She also served as the Chair of the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust from 2004 until 2018.

Personal life

In 1983, Edwards married Anthony Huw Pryce. Together they have one son.

Honours

On 4 May 1989, Edwards was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA). In 2012, she was elected a

Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales (Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh nation ...

(FLSW). In July 2016, she was elected a

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), the UK's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Nancy Living people British archaeologists British women archaeologists 20th-century archaeologists 21st-century archaeologists British medievalists Women medievalists Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales 1954 births People educated at Portsmouth High School (Southsea) Alumni of the University of Liverpool 21st-century British women writers 20th-century British women writers British women historians Durham University Graduate Society alumni