Simon James Keay, FBA (21 May 1954 – 7 April 2021) was a British archaeologist and academic. Keay specialized in the archaeology of the Roman Empire, particularly Roman Mediterranean ports, commerce and cultural change in Italy and Iberia.

Biography

Simon Keay was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, to a British father, Anthony Keay and an Australian mother, Lorelei (née Shiel) Keay He attended

Downside School Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey. Original ...

in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset. Keay received his BA (1977) and PhD (1983); funded by a British Academy Scholarship from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. Keay joined the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

in 1985 as lecturer in Iberian Archaeology, eventually becoming

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Roman Archaeology Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

in 1997 where he remained until his retirement in 2020 He was a research professor and director of archaeology at the British School at Rome from 2006. Simon Keay died on 7 April 2021 after a long illness.

Honours

In 1986, he was elected a

Fellow of the Society Antiquaries 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 July 2016, Keay was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with State (polity), state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but ...

for the humanities and social sciences.

Necrology

Martin Millett Martin John Millett, (born 30 September 1955) is a British archaeologist and academic. From 2001 to 2022, he was the Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Cambridge and a professorial fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Ca ...

"Simon Keay obituary: Archaeologist who specialised in the Roman empire, focusing on ports and commerce in Italy and Spain
''The Guardian'' 9 May 2021

References

Academics of the University of Southampton Fellows of the British Academy 1954 births British archaeologists 2021 deaths Classical archaeologists {{UK-archaeologist-stub