Valerie Maxfield FSA is a Roman archaeologist and emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...
. She is a specialist in the archaeology of the Roman army and frontiers, and edited the ''Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society'' until December 2020.
Academic career
Maxfield completed an undergraduate degree in History at the
University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_labe ...
and completed a Phd 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 ...
in 1972, at
Trevelyan College
, motto_English = Truth more readily than falsehood
, scarf =
, named_for = George Macaulay Trevelyan
, namesake = George Macaulay Trevelyan
, established = 1966
, principal = Adekunle Adeyeye
, vice_principal = I ...
, supervised by
Brian Dobson.
She studied at the
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome (BSR) is an interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture.
History
The British School at Rome (BSR) was established in 1901 and granted a UK Royal Charter in 1912. Its mission is " ...
, and was then appointed as a Lecturer in Archaeology at the
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...
.
Maxfield retired from the university in 2008, coinciding with
Bryony Coles
Bryony Jean Coles, (born 12 August 1946) is a prehistoric archaeologist and academic. She is best known for her work studying Doggerland, an area of land now submerged beneath the North Sea.
Early life and education
Coles was born on 12 Aug ...
' retirement. To mark their departure, the archaeology department held a conference dedicated to them titled 'From Desert to Wetland'. Valerie Maxfield is currently an emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...
.
Excavations
In 1972 Maxfield excavated the Roman temporary camp at Eskbank, revealing its entrance complex, and in 1975 a series of pits at the camp. She excavated the Roman fort of Camelon, Falkirk from 1975–1977, and discovered a new camp at Lochlands through excavations in 1980–1984. Maxfield has worked in the Eastern Desert of Egypt since 1987 and excavated at
Mons Porphyrites Mons Porphyrites (today Jabal Abu Dukhkhan) is the mountainous site of a group of ancient quarries in the Red Sea Hills of the Eastern Desert in Egypt. Under the Roman Empire, they were the only known source of the purple "imperial" variety of por ...
with
David Peacock in the 1990s. This led to a grant of £5,595 from the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
in 2005 to fund
post-excavation work on the project.
Archaeological societies
Maxfield co-founded the
Hadrianic Society
The Hadrianic Society was a British historical society focused upon Hadrian's Wall and Roman Britain as well as the Antonine Wall, the Gask Ridge, and other Limes (Roman Empire), Roman Frontier systems.
It was founded in 1971 under the leaders ...
in 1971 with
David Breeze
David John Breeze, OBE, FSA, FRSE, HonFSAScot, Hon MIFA (born 25 July 1944) is a British archaeologist, teacher and scholar of Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall and the Roman army. He studied under Eric Birley and is a member of the so-ca ...
and
Brian Dobson and was elected as a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries in 1978. Maxfield is a member of the Durham School of Archaeology. She has a longstanding involvement with both the Devon Archaeological Society and the
Cornwall Archaeological Society
Cornwall Archaeological Society is an amateur archaeological society based in Cornwall, United Kingdom for the study of archaeology in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It was founded in 1961 by members of the West Cornwall Field Club.
History
...
, whose president she was in 2014.
She is the current vice-president of the Devon Archaeological Society and edits the society's journal.
Selected publications
*V. Maxfield 1972. Excavations at Eskbank Midlothian, 1972. ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotlan''d. 141-150.
*V.A. Maxfield. 1981. ''The Military Decorations of the Roman Army''. London: Batsford.
*V.A. Maxfield. 1986. Pre-Flavian Forts and their Garrisons. ''Britannia'' 17: 59-72.
*V. Maxfield. 1989. ''The Saxon Shore: A Handbook''. Exeter: Exeter University Press.
*Dobson, B. and Maxfield, V. 1995. ''Some Inscriptions of Roman Britain''. London: London Association of Classical Teachers
*V.A. Maxfield, D. Peacock. 2001. ''The Roman Imperial Quarries: Survey and Excavation at Mons Porphyrites 1994-1998 Volume 2.'' London: Egypt Exploration Society.
*V.A. Maxfield. 2001. Stone quarrying in the Eastern Desert with particular reference to Mons Claudianus and Mons Porphyrites. In D. Mattingly and J. Salmon. ''Economies beyond Agriculture in the Classical World''.
*V.A. Maxfield and D. Peacock. 2001. Survey and Excavation. Mons Claudianus 1987-1993 II: Excavations part 1. Cairo: Institute francais d'archeologie orientale
*V.A. Maxfield and M.J. Dobson (eds). 2003. ''Roman Frontier Studies''. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.
*V.A. Maxfield. 2003. Ostraca and the Roman army in the Eastern desert. ''Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 46'': 153-173.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxfield, Valerie
Academics of the University of Exeter
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Alumni of Trevelyan College, Durham
British women archaeologists