Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe

Barry Cunliffe studied Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge where he also gained his doctorate. He taught archaeology at Bristol and Southampton Universities before becoming Professor of European Archaeology at Oxford in 1972. He retired in 2008 and is now emeritus professor.

He has been closely involved in the organization of archaeology in Britain serving as President of the Society of Antiquaries, President of the Council for British Archaeology, commissioner of English Heritage and trustee of the British Museum.

His research interests focus particularly on the Atlantic-facing countries of Europe and he has excavated widely in Britain and in the Channel Islands, Brittany and Spain. His recent books include Europe between the Oceans, Britain Begins, and By steppe, Desert and Ocean. His fascination with the response of humans to the sea and its effect on history is further explored in his new book On the Ocean.