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Staff profile

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Member of the Department of Archaeology

Biography

I am an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Archaeology. My research focusses on questions of epistemology in archaeology — exploring how we use a partial and fragmentary archaeological record to reason about the past. This extends to how archaeological knowledge of all periods is constructed, but I am particularly interested in the frontiers of the Roman Empire and maritime archaeology.

My PhD thesis (2020–24) explored how evidential reasoning is conducted in archaeology, using the Roman frontier of Hadrian’s Wall as a case study. The project sought to investigate and address an epistemological tension between the growing quantity of increasingly specialist research and its use for addressing broader research questions. Through the development of a new methodological approach, the thesis offered a means to integrate and recontextualise legacy data to effectively overcome this problem. Specifically, the project collated and analysed the archaeological evidence gathered over the last two hundred years and examined how knowledge has been constructed around this evidence, and how these ideas feed into alternative interpretations of the Wall’s functions. The three dominant archaeological theories for the function of the Wall have included defence, control-of-movement and symbolism. Rather than looking to support or contest one of these interpretations, the approach sought to assess the degree to which each is compatible with the full range of evidence and to develop new interpretations in turn. The thesis thus captures the ongoing debates surrounding archaeological evidence and interpretation and uses these as a catalyst, rather than an obstacle, to further research. Systematic analysis through the construction and assessment of a series of statements about the evidence base served to mitigate bias and encourage reflexive thinking. The inherent subjectivity of archaeological data and theory thus does not negate a testing approach; rather, critically examining how archaeological evidence is constructed and how it corresponds with multiple interpretations can challenge assumptions, prompt new avenues of research and ensure legacy data is of continuing relevance and utility to researchers in the future.

Research interests

  • Evidential reasoning and epistemology in archaeology
  • Integrating textual and material evidence in historical archaeology
  • Theoretical archaeology
  • Roman frontiers, especially in Britain
  • Roman military archaeology
  • The sea in the ancient world
  • Maritime archaeology
  • Maritime cultural landscapes
  • Classical reception

Publications

Book review

Chapter in book

  • Imagining Hadrian's Wall: Developing and Assessing Explanations Behind its Construction
    Kitching, P. (2024). Imagining Hadrian's Wall: Developing and Assessing Explanations Behind its Construction. In H. van Enckevort, M. Driessen, E. Graafstal, T. Hazenberg, T. Ivleva, & C. van Driel-Murray (Eds.), Current Approaches to Roman Frontiers: Proceedings of the 25th International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies Volume 1 (187-194). Sidestone Press. https://doi.org/10.59641/3d278gp

Journal Article