Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe (born 10 December 1939), usually known as Sir Barry Cunliffe, is a British

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been an

emeritus professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

Biography

Cunliffe's decision to become an archaeologist was sparked at the age of nine by the discovery of Roman remains on his uncle's farm in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. Cunliffe studied at Portsmouth Northern Grammar School (now the Mayfield School) and read

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. While a student at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, he ran and won an election against his course mate and fellow Johnian

Colin Renfrew Andrew Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, (25 July 1937 – 24 November 2024) was a British archaeologist, paleolinguist and Conservative peer noted for his work on radiocarbon dating, the prehistory of languages, archaeogenetics, ...

in order to become president of the University of Cambridge Archaeological Field Club (AFC). He became a lecturer at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

in 1963. Fascinated by 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

remains in nearby

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

he embarked on a programme of excavation and publication. In 1966, he became an unusually young professor when he took the chair at the newly founded Department of Archaeology at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

. There he became involved in the

excavation Excavation may refer to: * Archaeological excavation * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...

(1961–1968) of the

Fishbourne Roman Palace Fishbourne Roman Palace or Fishbourne Villa is in the village of Fishbourne, West Sussex, Fishbourne, near Chichester in West Sussex. The palace is the largest known Roman residence north of the Alps, and has an unusually early date of 75 A ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

. Another site in southern England led him away from the Roman period. He began a long series of summer excavations (1969–1988) of the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

Danebury Danebury is an Iron Age hillfort in Hampshire, England, about north-west of Winchester (). Retrieved on 23 July 2008. The site, covering , was excavated by Barry Cunliffe in the 1970s. Danebury is considered a type site for hillforts, a ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and was subsequently involved in the Danebury Environs Programme (1989–1995). His interest in Iron Age Britain and Europe generated a number of publications and he became an acknowledged authority on the

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

. Other sites he has worked on include

Hengistbury Head Hengistbury Head (), formerly also called Christchurch Head, is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Mudeford in the English county of Dorset. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeolog ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

Mount Batten Mount Batten is a 24-metre (80-ft) tall outcrop of rock on a 600-metre (2000-ft) peninsula in Plymouth Sound, Devon, England, named after Sir William Batten (c.1600-1667), MP and Surveyor of the Navy; it was previously known as How Stert. Af ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, Le Câtel in

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

, and Le Yaudet in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, reflecting his interest in the communities of

Atlantic Europe Atlantic Europe encompasses the western portion of Europe which borders the Atlantic Ocean. The term may refer to the idea of Atlantic Europe as a cultural unit and/or as a biogeographical region. It comprises the British Isles (Great Britain an ...

during the

. In his later works, he sets out the thesis that Celtic culture originated along the length of the Atlantic seaboard in the Bronze Age before being taken inland, which stands in contrast to the more generally accepted view that Celtic origins lie with the

Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallst ...

of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. One of his most recent projects has been in the Najerilla valley,

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...

, Spain, which straddles "the interface between the Celtiberian heartland of central Iberia and the Atlantic zone of the Bay of Biscay". Cunliffe was elected as a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters 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 t ...

in 1979. He lives with his wife in Oxford. Cunliffe inspired the name for the character "Currant Bunliffe", an archaeologist in

David Macaulay David Macaulay (born 2 December 1946) is a British-born American illustrator and writer. His works include ''Cathedral'' (1973), ''The Way Things Work'' (1988), and its updated revisions ''The New Way Things Work'' (1998) and ''The Way Thin ...

's 1979 book, ''Motel of the Mysteries''.

Positions and honours

* President,

Council for British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and fut ...

(1976–1979) *

(FBA; 1979) * Former President, University of Cambridge Archaeological Field Club (AFC) * Member, Ancient Monuments Advisory Committee of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

, since 1984 * Honorary Graduate, Doctor of Science,

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

(1984) * Member, Advisory Committee of

The Discovery Programme The Discovery Programme: Centre for Archaeology and Innovation Ireland is an all-Ireland centre for archaeology and heritage research. It was established by the Irish Government in 1991. It is a company limited by guarantee, funded mainly through ...

(Ireland), since 1991 *

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1994 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday. Publication dates vary from year to year. Most are published in supplements to the ''London Gazette'' and many are formally conferred by the monarch (o ...

for services to archaeology * Trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

* Governor,

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA) * Original Chair of Steering Committee for the e-journal ''

Internet Archaeology ''Internet Archaeology'' is an academic journal and one of the first fully peer-reviewed electronic journals covering archaeology. It was established in 1995. The journal was part of the eLIb project's electronic journals. The journal is produced ...

'' *

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, 17 June 2006"Honours: 'Jewel in the Crown' star appointed OBE"
. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. 17 June 2006. Accessed 2 October 2008. * Interim chair of

in September 2008 * Chairman,

The British Museum Friends The British Museum Friends (BMF) is a registered charitable organisation in the UK with close links to the British Museum, and was set up in 1968. It provides funding in the form of grants to the British Museum in order to support the education ...

(until 2009) * Founding Fellow, The

Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales () is a national academy, learned society and Charitable organization, charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the W ...

Grahame Clark Medal The Grahame Clark Medal is awarded by the British Academy every two years "for academic achievement involving recent contributions to the study of prehistoric archaeology". It was endowed in 1992 by Sir Grahame Clark, an eminent prehistorian and a ...

of the British Academy (2004) * Corresponding Member of the

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

(since 2006) * Member of the Antiquity Trust, which supports the publication of the archaeology journal

Antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

Works

*''The Roman Occupation, Introduction, Cumberland and Westmorland, The Buildings of England'',

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

, Harmondsworth: Penguin (1967) *''Roman Hampshire, Introduction, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, The Buildings of England'', Nikolaus Pevsner, Harmondsworth: Penguin (1967) *''The Roman Occupation, Introduction, Worcestershire, The Buildings of England'', Nikolaus Pevsner, Harmondsworth: Penguin (1968) *''Roman Kent, Introduction, North East and East Kent, The Buildings of England'', Nikolaus Pevsner, Harmondsworth: Penguin (1969) *''Fishbourne: A Roman Palace and Its Garden'' (1971) (updated ed., Stroud: Tempus, 1998) *''Cradle of England: An Introduction through Archaeology to the Early History of England and a Brief Guide to Selected Sites in the South'', London:

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

(1972) *''The Regni'' in the "Peoples of Roman Britain" series Ed.Keith Brannigan, pub. Duckworth (1973) *''Iron Age Communities in Britain'' (1974) (4th edition, Jan 2005) *''Fishbourne: A Guide to the Site'' (1977) *''Excavations in Bath 1950-1975'' (1979) *''Danebury: Anatomy of an Iron Age Hillfort'' (1983) *''Roman Bath Discovered'' (1984) *''The Celtic World'' (1987) *''Greeks, Romans and Barbarians'' (1988) *''Wessex to AD 1000'' (1993) *''Fishbourne Roman Palace'',

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

: Tempus (1998) *''Facing the Ocean: The Atlantic and Its Peoples, 8000 BC to AD 1500'' Oxford University Press (2001) *''The Oxford Illustrated History of Prehistoric Europe'' (2001) *''The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek: The Man Who Discovered Britain'' (2001), Walker & Co; (2002 Penguin ed. with new post-script: ) *''The Celts:

A Very Short Introduction ''Very Short Introductions'' (''VSI'') is a book series published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). The books are concise introductions to particular subjects, intended for a general audience but written by experts. Most are under 200-page ...

'', Oxford University Press (2003) *''Les Fouilles du Yaudet en Ploulec'h, Côtes-d'Armor. Volume 1: Le Site, Le Yaudet, dans L'Histoire et la Legende'' with Patrick Galliou, Oxford School of Archaeology (2004) *''England's Landscape: The West'' (English Heritage 2006) *''Les Fouilles du Yaudet en Ploulec'h, Côtes-d'Armor. Volume 2: Le Site, de la Prehistoire, a la Fin de L'Empire Gaulois'' with Patrick Galliou, Oxford University School of Archaeology (2006) *''Les Fouilles du Yaudet en Ploulec'h, Côtes-d'Armor. Volume 3: Le Site, du Quatrieme Siecle apr. J.-C. a aujourd'hui'' with Patrick Galliou, Oxford University School of Archaeology (2007) *''Europe Between the Oceans: 9000 BC – AD 1000'', Yale University Press (2008) *''A Valley in La Rioja: The Najerilla Project'' with

Gary Lock Gary R. Lock is a British archaeologist and emeritus professor at the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford. He is noted for his contributions to computational archaeology. Work in the UK In the 1980s Lock became involved in computational ...

, Oxford University School of Archaeology (2008) *''Druids:

'', Oxford University Press (2010) *''Celtic from the West. Alternative Perspectives From Archaeology, Genetics and Literature'', Oxford: Oxbow Books (2010) *''Britain Begins'', Oxford University Press (2012) *''Celtic from the West 2: Rethinking The Bronze Age and the Arrival of Indo-European in Atlantic Europe'' editor with

John T. Koch John Thomas Koch (born 1953) is an American academic, historian, and linguist who specializes in Celtic studies, especially prehistory, and the early Middle Ages. He is the editor of the five-volume ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia'' ...

, Oxford: Oxbow Books (2013) *''By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean: The Birth of Eurasia'', Oxford University Press (2015) *''Le Yaudet en Ploulec'h, Côtes-d'Armor: Archéologie d'une Agglomération, IIe siècle av. J.-C. – XXe siècle apr. J.-C.'' with Patrick Galliou,

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

: Presses Universitaires de Rennes (2015) *''Celtic from the West 3: Atlantic Europe in the Metal Ages – Questions of Shared Language'' editor with John T. Koch , Oxford: Oxbow Books (2016) *''On the Ocean: The Mediterranean and the Atlantic from Prehistory to AD 1500'', Oxford University Press (2017) *''The Ancient Celts'', Oxford University Press (2nd ed. 2018) *''Exploring Celtic Origins: New Ways Forward in Archaeology, Linguistics, and Genetics'' editor with John T. Koch, Oxford: Oxbow Books (2019) *''Sark: A Sacred Island? volume 1: Fieldwork and Excavations 2004–2017'' with Emma Durham, Oxford University School of Archaeology (2019) *''The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe'', Oxford University Press (2019) *''Bretons and Britons: The Fight for Identity'', Oxford University Press (2021) *''Facing the Sea of Sand: The Sahara and the Peoples of Northern Africa'', Oxford University Press (2023)

References

External links

Sir Barry Cunliffe

School of Archaeology The School of Archaeology is an academic department of the University of Oxford comprising the Institute of Archaeology and the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art (RLAHA), and is part of Oxford's Social Sciences Division ...

, University of Oxford.
Video interview
Prof Cunliffe describes the East Gate at Danebury hillfort. *
Breton, Britons, Celts and King Arthur
' Podcast in which Cunliffe discusses prehistoric links between Brittany and the British Isles (published 26 May 2021). {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunliffe, Barry 1939 births Living people People from Portsmouth 20th-century English archaeologists 21st-century British archaeologists Archaeologists from Hampshire Prehistorians English prehistorians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of Keble College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales Presidents of the Society of Antiquaries of London Academics of the University of Bristol Academics of the University of Southampton Trustees of the British Museum Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford Recipients of the Grahame Clark Medal Corresponding members of the Real Academia de la Historia Wolfson History Prize winners