Ben Jervis

Professor of Medieval Archaeology, University of Leicester
I am professor of medieval archaeology, specialising in the archaeology of medieval Britain and the analysis of ceramics. My research seeks to use material culture to understand how people coped with and experienced change, and how the roots of contemporary society are planted in the medieval period. For example, my research into diet examines how communities adapted to social and political change in the early medieval period and my analysis of medieval rural material culture considers how the development of commercial attitudes can be seen in the archaeological record. My work also applies archaeological theory (particularly ‘non-representational’ theories such as Assemblage Theory and Actor-Network Theory) to important archaeological questions. I also examine the relationship between historical text and the archaeological record.

I am currently PI of the UKRI funded research project ENDURE: Urban Life in a Time of Crisis, which examines lived experiences of the 14th century crises among the populations of small towns in medieval England.

Honours and awards

PI: UKRI funded project: ENDURE: Urban Life in a Time of Crisis
Co-Investigator, Leverhulme Trust funded project Living Standards and Material Culture in English Rural Households 1300-1600
Recipient of grant from the Royal Archaeological Insitute Tony Clark Fund (2016)
Recipient of research grant from Society of Antiquaries (2016)
Recipient of research grant from Society for Medieval Archaeology (2016)
Recipient of grant from Society for Medieval Archaeology Eric Fletcher Fund (2009)
AHRC Doctoral Award (2008)
AHRC MA studentship (2006)

Previous academic positions

2014 -2023: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Reader in Archaeology, Cardiff University
2012-13: Lecturer in Medieval History & Archaeology, Birkbeck
2012: Research Associate, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge
2010: Research Assistant, Institute of Archaeology, UCL.
2006: Graduate Attachment, British Institute in East Africa, Nairobi.
Speaking engagements