Ben Roberts
Curator, European Bronze Age
Bronze Age Europe
Department: Prehistory and
Europe
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7323 8579
Email: broberts @ britishmuseum.org
Ben Roberts is responsible for the European
Bronze Age collections. His research interests
include approaches to
archaeological cultures and cultural transmission;
the appearance and early development of metal in Europe
and the Middle East; the roles of jewellery in prehistoric
societies; and the production, circulation and deposition of metal
objects in prehistoric Europe.
Before joining the department of
Prehistory and Europe, Ben studied at the universities of
Sheffield and Cambridge and worked for nearly two and a half years
on numerous archaeological field projects throughout Britain,
Europe and Central America
Current British Museum projects
- Bronze Age research agenda
Previous British Museum projects
-
External fellowships/ honorary positions/ membership of professional bodies
- Associate member of the Institute of Field Archaeologists
- Member of the Prehistoric Society
Publications
B.W. Roberts and M. Vander Linden (eds.),
Investigating Archaeological Cultures: material culture,
variability and transmission, (New York: Springer,
forthcoming)
B.W. Roberts, and C. Frieman, forthcoming
‘Drawing boundaries and building models: investigating the concept
of the ‘Chalcolithic frontier’ in Northwest Europe. In M. Allen, J
Gardiner, A. Sheridan & D. McOmish (eds.) Is there a British Chalcolithic:
people, place and polity in the later 3rd millennium
BC, (Oxford, Oxbow)
C.P. Thornton, J.M. Golden, D.J. Killick, V.C.
Pigott, Th. Rehren, and B.W. Roberts, ‘A Chalcolithic Error:
Rebuttal to Amzallag 2009’. American Journal of
Archaeology 114 (2010) 305–15
B. W. Roberts, C.P. Thornton, V.C. Pigott,
‘Development of metallurgy in Eurasia’. Antiquity 83
(2009), 1012–1022.
T.L. Kienlin, and B.W. Roberts, (eds.)
Metals and Societies. Studies in honour of Barbara S.
Ottaway. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen
Archäologie (Bonn, Habelt, 2009)
C.P. Thornton and B.W. Roberts, ‘Introduction: The Beginnings of
Metallurgy in Global Perspective’. Journal of World
Prehistory 22, (2009), pp 181-4
B.W. Roberts, 'Production Networks and Consumer Choice in the
Earliest Metal of Western Europe', Journal of World
Prehistory 22, (2009), pp. 461–481
B.W. Roberts, ‘Subsistence, Structures and Craftworking:
analysing economic dynamics in Britain 2500-800 BC’ in M.
Bartelheim and H. Stäuble (eds.) The Economic Foundations of
the European Bronze Age (Rahden/Westf, Leidorf, 2009)
B.W. Roberts, 'Migration, craft expertise and metallurgy:
analysing the ‘spread’ of metal in Europe' Archaeological
Review from Cambridge 23 (2),
(2008), pp.
27-45
B.W. Roberts, 'Creating Traditions and Shaping Technologies:
understanding the emergence of metallurgy in Western Europe c.
3500-2000 BC', World Archaeology 40 (3), (2008), pp. 354-72
B.W. Roberts, The Bronze Age, in L. Atkins, R. Atkins and V. Leitch
(eds) The Handbook of British Archaeology, second edition,
(London: Constable and
Robinson, 2008),
pp. 60-91
B.S. Ottaway and B.W. Roberts, 'The emergence of
metalworking', in A. Jones (ed.) Prehistoric Europe
(London, Blackwell, 2008), pp. 193-225
B.W. Roberts, 'Adorning the living but not the dead: a
reassessment of Middle Bronze Age ornaments in Britain',
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 73 (2007),
pp.135-167
L. O'Brien and B.W. Roberts, 'Excavations on Roman Ermine Street
at the New Restaurant Facility, GlaxoSmithKline, Ware',
Hertfordshire Archaeology and History, 14 (2004-5) pp.
3-39
B.W. Roberts and B.S. Ottaway, 'The use and significance of
Late Bronze Age socketed axes in Britain: an experimental and
contextual approach', Journal of European Archaeology, 6
(2), (2003) pp. 117-13