Dr. Helena Hamerow

Biography

Helena Hamerow is a Professor of Early Medieval Archaeology at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the archaeology of rural communities in early medieval Europe, particularly within the North Sea area. She has a keen interest in the impacts of the establishment of kingdoms, monasteries, and towns on rural producers in the early medieval countryside. Hamerow has authored significant publications including 'Rural Settlements and Society in Anglo-Saxon England' (OUP 2012) and 'Early Medieval Settlements: Archaeology of Rural Communities in Northwest Europe AD 400-900' (OUP 2002). Currently, she leads the ERC-funded project 'Feeding Anglo-Saxon England,' which investigates preserved remains of medieval crops and livestock to understand the so-called agricultural revolution of the medieval period. Hamerow's work also explores the changing roles of women during the Conversion period through studies of seventh-century burials. Additionally, she is co-Director of excavations at the Roman small town of Dorchester-on-Thames and PI of the AHRC-funded Novum Inventorium Sepulchrale, an online database of Anglo-Saxon graves and grave goods.

Research Interests

Experience