Charlotte Ann Roberts, FBA (born 25 May 1957) is a British archaeologist, academic and former nurse. She is a bioarchaeologist and palaeopathologist, whose research focuses on health and the evolution of infectious disease in humans.[1] From 2004 to 2020, she was Professor of Archaeology at Durham University: she is now professor emeritus.[2]
Charlotte Roberts | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charlotte Ann Roberts 25 June 1957 Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Title | Professor of Archaeology |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Leicester University of Sheffield University of Bradford |
| Thesis | Trauma and its treatment in British antiquity: An osteoarchaeological study of macroscopic and radiological features of long bone fractures from the historic period with a comparative study of clinical radiographs (1988) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Archaeology |
| Sub-discipline | Bioarchaeology Palaeopathology Medical history Medical anthropology |
| Institutions | University of Bradford Durham University |
| Doctoral students | Mary Lewis |
Early life and education
editRoberts was born on 25 May 1957 in Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. She trained as a nurse at St James's University Hospital in Leeds, becoming a State Registered Nurse (SRN) in 1978. She then worked as a staff nurse on the burns unit of St Lawrence Hospital, Chepstow.[3]
In 1979, Roberts left her nursing career and matriculated into the University of Leicester to study archaeology.[3][4] She graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons) degree.[3] She had originally intended to return to nursing after completing her degree, but instead continued to study archaeology.[5] From 1982 to 1983, she studied environmental archaeology and palaeoeconomy at the University of Sheffield,[6] graduating with a Master of Arts (MA) degree.[3] She undertook postgraduate research in bioarchaeology, palaeopathology and medical history on a part-time basis at the University of Bradford, and completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1988.[3][6] Her doctoral thesis was titled "Trauma and its treatment in British antiquity: An osteoarchaeological study of macroscopic and radiological features of long bone fractures from the historic period with a comparative study of clinical radiographs".[7]
Academic career
editFrom 1983 to 1988, Roberts was a research assistant at the University of Bradford "on a project focusing on human remains".[3][5] She was appointed a lecturer in palaeopathology in 1989 and made a senior lecturer in medical anthropology in 1994.[3][4] While at Bradford, she supervised Mary Lewis' doctoral thesis.[8] In 2000, she moved to Durham University where she had been appointed Reader in Archaeology.[3][4] She was appointed Professor of Archaeology in 2004.[4] She was also a Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellow from 2006 to 2008, and a Nuffield Foundation Research Fellow from 2006 to 2007.[3] She retired in October 2020, and was appointed professor emeritus.[9]
Roberts is deputy editor of the International Journal of Paleopathology.[10] She was president of the Paleopathology Association from 2011 to 2013.[3][11] From 2010 to 2014, she served as a member of the Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology sub-panel for the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014).[12][13] In 2015, she was elected president of the British Association of Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO); she will serve a three-year term.[4][14]
She led the research on the 7th and 8th century Bowl Hole cemetery at Bamburgh Castle.[15]
Personal life
editIn 2003, Roberts married Stewart James Gardner.[3] She is a member of the Women's Institute (WI).[4]
Honours
editIn July 2014, Roberts was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, the UK's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.[16]
Selected works
edit- Roberts, Charlotte A.; Lee, Frances; Bintliff, John, eds. (1989). Burial archaeology: current research, methods, and developments. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports. ISBN 978-0-86054-671-9.
- Hunter, John; Roberts, Charlotte; Martin, Anthony (1996). Studies in crime: an introduction to forensic archaeology. London: Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-7901-0.
- Roberts, Charlotte; Manchester, Keith (1997). The Archaeology of Disease (2nd ed.). Stroud: Alan Sutton. ISBN 978-0-7509-1483-3.
- Roberts, Charlotte; Cox, Margaret (2003). Health and disease in Britain: from prehistory to the present day. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 978-0-7509-1844-2.
- Roberts, Charlotte A.; Buikstra, Jane E. (2003). The bioarchaeology of tuberculosis: a global view on a reemerging disease. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-2643-5.
- Roberts, Charlotte; Manchester, Keith (2005). The Archaeology of Disease (3rd ed.). Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 978-0-7509-2683-6.
- Roberts, Charlotte A. (2009). Human remains in archaeology: a handbook. York: Council for British Archaeology. ISBN 978-1-902771-75-5.
- Buikstra, Jane E.; Roberts, Charlotte A., eds. (2012). The global history of paleopathology: pioneers and prospects. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-538980-7.
References
editExternal links
edit- Durham University profile
- "Meet The Archaeologist: Charlotte Roberts" Interview with Archaeosoup Productions