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Overview

Dr Kristen Hopper

Assistant Professor (Research)


Affiliations
AffiliationRoom numberTelephone
Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Archaeology001 
Member of the Centre for the Study of the Ancient Mediterranean and the Near East  

Biography

I hold a BA Hons in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from the University of Saskatchewan, and a MA (by research) in Archaeology from Durham University. My PhD, The Gorgan Plain of northeast Iran: a diachronic analysis of settlement and land use patterns relating to urban, rural and mobile populations on a Sasanian frontier was undertaken at Durham University as part of the ERC Funded Project ‘Persia and its Neighbours: The Archaeology of Late Antique Imperial Power in Iran (Persia Project) which has been investigating frontier landscapes of the Sasanian Empire (3rd -7th centuries AD). My research focused on reconstructing long-term settlement patterns (Iron Age through Sasanian) using data obtained from both modern and historical (CORONA) satellite imagery and field surveys. 

I am currently Assistant Professor (Research) on the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East & North Africa (EAMENA) project. The EAMENA project uses the remote sensing of satellite imagery to rapidly document and monitor archaeological sites across the MENA region. I am currently involved in documentation of and research into archaeological landscapes in Georgia, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and Syria.

My research interests include landscapes of empires, water management in arid regions, archaeology of mobile pastoral communities, and GIS and remote sensing applications in archaeology. I have extensive fieldwork experience in the Near East and the Caucasus including as assistant survey director of the Gorgan Wall Project Survey (Iran) and the Caucasian Gates Project Survey (Georgia).

Research groups

  • Heritage Partnerships
  • Landscapes of Complex Society
  • Postgraduate students

Research Projects

  • Gorgan Wall Project
  • Persia and its Neighbours: the Archaeology of Late Antique Imperial Power in Iran (Persia Project)

Publications

Chapter in book

Edited book

  • Anderson, William, Hopper, Kristen & Robinson, Abby (2018). Landscape Archaeology in Southern Caucasia: Finding Common Ground in Diverse Environments. Workshop held at 10th ICAANE in Vienna, April 2016. Oriental and European Archaeology. Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna.

Edited Journal

  • Charbonnier, Julien & Hopper, Kristen (2018). Special Issue: The Qanāt: Archaeology and Environment. Water History, 10 (1): Springer.

Journal Article

Report

  • Fobbe, Sean, Navrouzov, Natia, Hopper, Kristen, Khudida Burjus, Ahmed, Philip, Graham, Nawaf, Maher G, Lawrence, Daniel, Walasek, Helen, Birjandian, Sara, Ali, Majid Hassan, Rashidani, Salim, Salih, Hassan & Qari, Dawood Sulaiman (2019). Destroying the Soul of the Yazidis: Cultural Heritage Destruction During the Islamic State's Genocide Against the Yazidis. RASHID International, Yazda, EAMENA Project.