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Staff Profiles

Dr Matthew Haysom

Lecturer Ancient History & Archaeology

Background

Research Interests

Aegean Bronze Age; Aegean Iron Age; Archaeology of Religion and Ritual; Comparative approaches to Social Complexity and Religion; Archaeology of Greece; Greek Religion; 'Minoan' Religion; 'Mycenaean' Religion


Office (Armstrong Building 2.27)


Previous Positions

Knossos Curator, British School at Athens (2012-2015)

Lecturer (UTO), University of Cambridge (2010-2012)

Visiting Assistant Professor, Lake Forrest College (2009-2010)

A.G. Leventis Research Fellow, British School at Athens (2006-2009)

Macmillan Rodewald Student, British School at Athens (2004-2005)


Qualifications

D.Phil. in Archaeology, University of Oxford

M.St. in Literae Humaniores, University of Oxford

MA in Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh


Research
My primary research interest is the archaeology of religion from the Bronze Age down to the Classical period. My interest is twofold. Religion is traditionally seen as one of the most difficult topics for non-text assisted archaeologists to approach. It is, therefore, a fascinating proving-ground for the development of methodologically robust interpretive approaches. At the same time, religion is a nexus for many other elements of social, economic and political change, making it an opportune focus for holistic attempts at the reconstruction of ancient societies and their dynamics. Thus far, my research has focused on Crete, which is the most extensively excavated and surveyed region of modern Greece. It has touched upon all periods from the Late Bronze Age through to the Hellenistic period, although it has been focused on the former. Throughout this time-frame Crete has a rich archaeological record with minimal textual records making it an important case study for archaeological approaches to Greek antiquity.
Teaching

Module Leader

CAC1012 Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology

ARA2016 Aegean Prehistory

CAH2020 Greek and Roman Religions

CAH3041 Gods in the Material World: Religion and Material Culture in Greece, Egypt and Mesopotamia

ARA8293 From Palaces to City States


Contributor

ARA1027 Introduction to Archaeology

ARA3100 The Rise of the Middle Sea

CAH1012 West meets East: Greek History and Society

HCA1008 Global Ancient Histories

ARA3001 Dissertation in Archaeology


Previous contributions to:

CAH2006 In Alexander's Footsteps

CAH2009 Portfolio in Ancient History I (module leader)

CAH3000 Portfolio in Ancient History II

CAC8000 Research Skills and Development

CAC8110 Ancient Cultures in Context

CAH8020 Masterclass in Ancient History

ARA8190 Research Themes, Theories and Skills in Archaeology


Publications

  • Articles

    • Haysom M. Recent research into Minoan extra-urban sanctuaries. Archaeological Reports 2015, 61, 94-103.
    • Haysom M. Crete (prehistoric to Hellenistic). Archaeological Reports 2014, 60, 81-87.
    • Haysom M. Crete (Iron Age to Hellenistic). Archaeological Reports 2013, 59, 68-76.
    • Haysom M. The double-axe: a contextual approach to the interpretation of a Cretan symbol in the Neopalatial period. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 2010, 29(1), 35-55.

  • Book Chapters

    • Haysom M. Image, Context and Worldview: Peak Sanctuaries, Tripartite Buildings and the Palace at Knossos. In: J. Bennet, ed. Representations: Material and Immaterial Modes of Communication in the Bronze Age Aegean. Oxford: Oxbow, 2021, pp.11-29.
    • Haysom M. Religion and Cult. In: I S Lemos and A Kotsonas, ed. A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean. Oxford, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2020.
    • Haysom M. Entangled religion, ritual and social practice: the case of Karphi. In: Lemos IS; Tsingarida A, ed. Beyond the Polis: Rituals Rites and Cults in Early and Archaic Greece (12th - 6th Centuries BC). Brussels: Centre de Recherches en Archéologie et Patrimoine, Université libre de Bruxelles, 2019, pp.53-64.
    • Haysom M. The find contexts of Knossian relief wall paintings: some ramifications. In: Johannes Becker, Johannes Jungfleisch and Constance von Rüden, ed. Tracing Technoscapes: The Production of Bronze Age Wall Paintings in the Eastern Mediterranean. Leiden, The Netherlands: Sidestone Press, 2018, pp.253-278.
    • Haysom M. Mass and elite in Minoan peak sanctuaries. In: Vavouranakis, G; Kopanias, K; Kanellopoulos, Ch, ed. Popular Religion and Ritual in Prehistoric and Ancient Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. Oxford, UK: Archaeopress, 2018, pp.19-28.
    • Haysom M. Fish and ships: Neopalatial seascapes in context. In: G. Vavouranakis, ed. The Seascape in Aegean Prehistory. Aahus: Aarhus University Press, 2011.

  • Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

    • Haysom M. The strangeness of Crete: problems for the protohistory of Greek religion. In: Current Approaches to Religion in Ancient Greece. 2011, Athens, Greece: The Swedish Institute at Athens.
    • Haysom M. In what context? Competing and complementary approaches to contextual analysis in the study of Minoan religion. In: Cult in Context: Comparative Approaches to Prehistoric and Ethnographic Religious Practices. 2007, Cambridge: Oxbow.

  • Edited Book

    • Haysom M, Wallensten J, ed. Current Approaches to Religion in Ancient Greece. Stockholm: The Swedish Institute at Athens, 2011.

  • Reviews

    • Haysom M. Review of: Cline E. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean. Journal of Hellenic Studies 2013, 133, 256-7.
    • Haysom M. Review of: Privitera S. Case e rituali a Creta nel period neopalaziale (Tripodes 9). Classical Review 2011, 61, 253-4.
    • Haysom M. Review of: Berg, Ina. Negotiating Island Identities: the Active use of Pottery in the Middle and Late Bronze Age Cyclades. Journal of Hellenic Studies 2010, 130, 244-6.