Zena Kamash FSA is a British Iraqi

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 senior lecturer at

Royal Holloway Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Her research topics include water, food, memory, the

Roman 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 ...

period in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and Britain.

Education

Kamash studied for a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) degree in

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. She completed a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(DPhil) degree at Oxford in 2007: her

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was entitled ''Water supply and management in the Near East, 63 BC-AD 636'' and her

supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...

was Andrew Wilson.

Career

Kamash's early research focused on archaeological evidence for water management in the Roman Middle East, including dams, irrigation technology and toilets. From 2011 to 2014 she worked on the ERC funded English Landscapes and Identity Project, directed by

Chris Gosden Christopher Hugh Gosden (born 6 September 1955) is a British and Australian Archaeology, archaeologist specialising in the archaeology of Identity (social science), identity, particularly English national identity, English identity. He is Profes ...

. She was the Director of Studies in Archaeology at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. She was appointed as a lecturer in Roman Art and Archaeology at

. More recently, her research has focused on post conflict reconstruction in the Middle East, including an investigation into the public response to the reconstruction of

Monumental Arch of Palmyra The Monumental Arch, also called the Arch of Triumph ( ar, قوس النصر) or the Arch of Septimius Severus, was a Roman ornamental archway in Palmyra, Syria. It was built in the 3rd century during the reign of emperor Septimius Severus. Its ...

. The project "Rematerialising

Mosul Museum The Mosul Museum ( ar, متحف الموصل) is the second largest museum in Iraq after the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. It was heavily looted during the 2003 Iraq War. Founded in 1952, the museum consisted of a small hall until a new buil ...

" utilised crafting as a response to cultural heritage destruction in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, collaborating with the artist Karin Celestine. Another research focus has been the role of food in the construction of memory and identity. In 2019, Kamash was awarded a grant of £227,813.50 by 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 ...

Principal Investigator In many countries, the term principal investigator (PI) refers to the holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project, usually in the sciences, such as a laboratory study or a clinical trial. The phrase is also often us ...

for a project entitled 'Crafting Heritage for Well-Being in Iraq'. Her co-investigators are Dr Emma Claire Palmer-Cooper of the

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

and Dr Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosse of the American University of Iraq. Kamash has also published on therapeutic uses of crafting in heritage and public engagement contexts, and the state of Roman archaeology as a discipline from the perspective of

decolonisation Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...

and inclusivity.

Honours and awards

Kamash was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 2016. Kamash delivered the keynote address at the 2019

Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference The Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC) is an academic organisation and conference which was designed to be an arena for open discussion of archaeological theory in Roman archaeology. History TRAC, organised initially by Eleanor Sc ...

Selected publications

Books

*Kamash, Z. 2010. ''Archaeologies of Water in the Roman Near East''. Gorgias Press *Kamash, Z, Gosden, C, Green, C, Cooper, A, Creswell, M, Donnelly, V, Franconi, T, Glyde, R, Mallet, S, Morley, L, Stansbie, D & ten Harkel, L. 2021, ''English Landscapes and Identities: Investigating Landscape Change from 1500 BC to AD 1086''. Oxford University Press; Oxford.

Journal articles

*Kamash, Zena. 2021. "Rebalancing Roman Archaeology : From disciplinary inertia to decolonial and inclusive action", '' Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal'' 4.1, pp. 1–41. doi:10.16995/traj.4330 * Baird, J and Z Kamash. 2019. 'Remembering Roman Syria: Valuing Tadmor‐Palmyra, from ‘Discovery’ to Destruction' ''Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies'' 62.1, p. 1-29 *Kamash, Z. 2018. 'Sweet and Delicious, he who Tastes it will Go Back to it’: Food, Memory and Religion in the Roman Middle East'. ''Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal''. 1. *Kamash, Z. 2018. 'Sweet and Delicious, he who Tastes it will Go Back to it’: Food, Memory and Religion in the Roman Middle East'. ''Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal''. 1. *Kamash, Zena et al. 2017. Remembering the Romans in the Middle East and North Africa: memories and reflections from a museum-based public engagement project. ''Epoiesen: Journal for Creative Engagement in History and Archaeology''. *Kamash, Zena. 2017. 'Postcard to Palmyra’: bringing the public into debates over post-conflict reconstruction in the Middle East. ''

World Archaeology ''World Archaeology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of archaeology. It was established in 1969 and originally published triannually by Routledge & Kegan Paul. In 2004 it changed to a quarterly publication schedule while ...

'' 49, 5, p. 608-622 *Kamash, Zena. 2012. Irrigation technology, society and environment in the Roman Near East. '' Journal of Arid Environments''. 86, p. 65-74 *Kamash, Z, C Gosden, and G Lock. 2010. “Continuity and Religious Practices in Roman Britain: The Case of the Rural Religious Complex at Marcham/Frilford, Oxfordshire.” ''

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

'' 41: 95–125. *Kamash, Zena. 2009. “What Lies beneath ? Perceptions of the Ontological Paradox of Water.” ''

'' 40 (2): 224–37.

References

External links

Interview with Zena Kamash on the Coffee & Circuses podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamash, Zena Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Women classical scholars Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British classical scholars Alumni of the University of Oxford British women archaeologists 21st-century British archaeologists British archaeologists